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

[KAYE KIPP]

Oh dear.  That's really scary.  Yikes.

Kaye
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nightingale, Noel" <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
To: <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 8:30 AM
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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