Millions Face Shrinking
Social Security Payments
By
STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer Stephen Ohlemacher,
Associated Press Writer – Sun Aug 23, 7:14 pm ET
All the while Obama Reid and Pelosi’s number one plan is Socialized
Healthcare that will cost the nation untold trillions – A plan that is so huge
and costly it will make Social Security and Medicare look like spit in a
bucket. Obama and the Democrat party have made a concious decision to end
their cozy relationship with seniors, by cutting Social Security payments, ending
Medicare, and diverting those hundreds of billions in cuts to Obama’s national
healthcare program that exempts 65% of all medical proceedures to those over
55. While offering the same end of life
counseling that Obama uses on all Veterans in the VA system designed to make
one feel guilty, and a burden to their family and the VA system – and thus
choose to kill themselves – both “legally” and “medically”. -- Senior death programs are just around the
corner --
By law, Social
Security benefits cannot go down. Nevertheless, monthly payments would drop for
millions of people in the Medicare prescription drug program because the
premiums, which often are deducted from Social Security payments, are scheduled
to go up slightly.
"I will
promise you, they count on that COLA," said Barbara Kennelly, a former
Democratic congresswoman from
Cost of living
adjustments are pegged to inflation, which has been negative this year, largely
because energy prices are below 2008 levels.
Advocates say
older people still face higher prices because they spend a disproportionate
amount of their income on health care, where costs rise faster than inflation.
Many also have suffered from declining home values and shrinking stock
portfolios just as they are relying on those assets for income.
"For many
elderly, they don't feel that inflation is low because their expenses are still
going up," said David Certner, legislative policy director for AARP.
"Anyone who has savings and investments has seen some serious
losses."
About 50 million
retired and disabled Americans receive Social Security benefits. The average
monthly benefit for retirees is $1,153 this year. All beneficiaries received a
5.8 percent increase in January, the largest since 1982.
More than 32
million people are in the Medicare prescription drug program. Average monthly
premiums are set to go from $28 this year to $30 next year, though they vary by
plan. About 6 million people in the program have premiums deducted from their
monthly Social Security payments, according to the Social Security
Administration.
Millions of
people with Medicare Part B coverage for doctors' visits also have their
premiums deducted from Social Security payments. Part B premiums are expected
to rise as well. But under the law, the increase cannot be larger than the
increase in Social Security benefits for most recipients.
There is no such
hold-harmless provision for drug premiums.
Kennelly's group
wants Congress to increase Social Security benefits next year, even though the
formula doesn't call for it. She would like to see either a 1 percent increase
in monthly payments or a one-time payment of $150.
The cost of a
one-time payment, a little less than $8 billion, could be covered by increasing
the amount of income subjected to Social Security taxes, Kennelly said. Workers
only pay Social Security taxes on the first $106,800 of income, a limit that
rises each year with the average national wage.
But the limit
only increases if monthly benefits increase.
Critics argue
that Social Security recipients shouldn't get an increase when inflation is
negative. They note that recipients got a big increase in January — after
energy prices had started to fall. They also note that Social Security
recipients received one-time $250 payments in the spring as part of the
government's economic stimulus package.
Consumer prices
are down from 2008 levels, giving Social Security recipients more purchasing
power, even if their benefits stay the same, said Andrew G. Biggs, a resident
scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a
"Seniors may perceive that they are being hurt because there
is no COLA, but they are in fact not getting hurt," Biggs said.
"Congress has to be able to tell people they are not getting everything
they want."
Social Security
is also facing long-term financial problems. The retirement program is
projected to start paying out more money than it receives in 2016. Without
changes, the retirement fund will be depleted in 2037, according to the Social
Security trustees' annual report this year.
President Barack
Obama has said he would like tackle Social Security next year, after Congress
finishes work on health care, climate change and new financial regulations.
Lawmakers are
preoccupied by health care, making it difficult to address other tough issues.
Advocates for older people hope their efforts will get a boost in October, when
the Social Security Administration officially announces that there will not be
an increase in benefits next year.
"I think a
lot of seniors do not know what's coming down the pike, and I believe that when
they hear that, they're going to be upset," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an
independent from
"It is my
view that seniors are going to need help this year, and it would not be
acceptable for Congress to simply turn its back," he said.