[nfbwatlk] FW: No SSA COLA for 2010 or 2011

[Robert Sellers]

Hello, "no inflation for several years", what planet is he living on?  Many,
many experts are saying "with the spending and debt we are going through, by
2011 either taxes increase or inflation hits or both.  

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Nightingale, Noel
Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 9:31 AM
To: 'nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org'
Subject: [nfbwatlk] FW: No SSA COLA for 2010 or 2011

Information of interest to Social Security recipients


-----Original Message-----
From: ESD GP GCDE-INFO [mailto:GCDE-INFO at ESD.WA.GOV]
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 5:14 PM
To: GCDE-INFO at LISTSERV.WA.GOV
Subject: FW: No SSA COLA for 2010 or 2011



________________________________
From: Olson, Toby
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 12:07 PM
To: ESD GP GCDE-INFO
Subject: No SSA COLA for 2010 or 2011

The New York Times

Published: May 4, 2009

WASHINGTON - For the first time in more than three decades, Social Security
recipients will not get an increase in their benefits next year, federal
forecasts show.

The absence of a cost-of-living adjustment, calculated under a formula set
by law, will be a shock to older Americans already hit by plummeting home
values, investment losses and rising health costs.

"Most seniors have never been through a year in which there was no Social
Security COLA," said David Certner, legislative counsel at AARP.

In theory, low inflation is good for people on fixed incomes. But it is
creating political and policy problems for Congress, which is just learning
of the implications for Social Security and Medicare.

The forecasts, by the Obama administration and the Congressional Budget
Office, indicate that Social Security beneficiaries will not receive any
cost-of-living increase in 2010 or in 2011.

Social Security and Medicare trustees will describe the outlook for benefits
and premiums in their annual reports this month.

Officials have already said the condition of Medicare's hospital insurance
trust fund is deteriorating because of the recession, which has reduced
payroll tax revenue, the main source of money for the fund. Spending on
Social Security and Medicare totaled more than $1 trillion last year.

Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, predicted
that inflation would remain low for several years, so Social Security might
not pay a cost-of-living increase until January 2013. President Barack
Obama's budget assumes no increase in 2010 or 2011, then a 1.4 percent COLA
in 2012.

Certner, from AARP, described the outlook for consumers: "If, as expected,
there is no COLA in Social Security next year but premiums for drug coverage
increase, as expected, millions of beneficiaries will see their Social
Security checks reduced for the first time."

COLA AND MEDICARE

The cost-of-living adjustment is intended to preserve the purchasing power
of those reliant on Social Security by increasing benefits to keep pace with
consumer prices. A freeze in Social Security benefits would have major
implications for Medicare, because premiums for Part B of Medicare, which
covers doctors' services, are in many cases capped at cost-of-living
increases.

*Under federal law, most Medicare beneficiaries have some protection. Their
basic Part B premiums cannot rise more than the dollar amount of the
cost-of-living increase in their Social Security checks. So if there is no
COLA, their basic Part B premiums will not increase.

*But one-fourth of Medicare beneficiaries are not protected by the law, and
their premiums could increase.

*In addition, millions of beneficiaries could see higher premiums for drug
coverage, provided under Part D of Medicare.

*Most Medicare beneficiaries pay a monthly Part B premium of $96.40. The
Congressional Budget Office estimates the basic premium will rise to $119
next year and $123 in 2011 for those who are not protected under federal
law.

The New York Times
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