Posted on 09/27/2009 7:07:16 AM PDT by george76
Come January, seniors may do a double take after seeing their Social Security checks.
The 2% to 3% increase in benefits they usually get each year won't be there. The reason: For the first time in three decades, there likely won't be a cost-of-living adjustment.
Though benefit amounts for 2010 won't shrink, with investment losses and lower home values, the lack of an increase will feel like a loss to many seniors.
checks could be lower when factoring in premiums for Medicare Part B, which are deducted from monthly benefits.
For most of the 42 million Part B beneficiaries, the amount of the cost-of-living adjustment each year has been more than enough to offset the rise in Part B premiums...
But next year and in 2011, about 8% of Part B beneficiaries -- higher-income Medicare recipients and new enrollees -- will be subject to higher premiums...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Wouldn’t it be nice to wait until the 3rd qtr is over? Not only did they announce this a month or two ago, they also said there would be no increase next year either.
>>”For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White, and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that’s Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275,000.00 during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries. Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives.”
This NEEDS to be re-written, to make sense.Is that $7.8 Million per year? per month? Or some amount per year times X years? Where do these figures come from?
>>”In other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years to equal one (1) month of Senator Bill Bradley’s benefits!”
OK. $1k times 12 months times 68 years equals $816,000 per month?
Tell where the actual figures are to be found, and all in the same terms. Otherwise people will think that these are just made-up numbers.
DG
This has been going around for a long time. I have no clue who Congressman White is or was. But, Mrs. Byrd has died, and the Senator will likely greet her fairly soon. I doubt he will retire but will more likely die in office. So no retirement for him. Or her.
That doesn’t mean the perks the Congress has granted itself aren’t outrageous, both while in office and after retirement. I don’t think it’s true that their retirement is at full pay if they retire after one term. The basic concept of this email is right, but it needs work on the detail.
Do you have a source for that assertion. I receive a federal pension and received notification over two months ago that there would be no COLA increase. Federal COLAs use the CPI-W for increases. I can't imagine that Congress would vote for an increase, which isn't supported by the formula. They would have to change the law to do that and it would set a terrible precedent.
However, the baby boom generation will be robbed of the large amount of contributions because excess payroll taxes have already been spent.
SS is a pay as you go system. Those contributions have been spent along time ago and any surplus turned into non-market T-bills, i.e., IOUs and deposited into the SS Trust Fund, which is part of the national debt under "Intragovernmental Holdings." The SS Trust Fund will use up the "surplus" by 2036. However, the reality is that the General Fund will have to come up with the money to redeem the T-bills.
I believe it is H.R.3536 - Social Security COLA Fix for 2010 Act. The legislation will provide $150 increase in benefits. Setting a bad precedent has never stopped Congress especially a rat Congress.
It is ironic that wage indexing is now responsible for benefit freezes. No one ever thought that wages would decline. Welcome to the new Amerika!
A very positive benefit about the fall in the wage index is that Social Security taxes will not increase. The wage index was used as an underhanded way to increase taxes. Payroll taxes increased automatically without Congress taking a vote. However, rats have threatened to increase the maximum wage subject to Social Security. The benefit freeze will give the rats more reason to increase the maximum amount subject to tax.
I agree with your assessment of Social Security. It is an unfunded plan with excess taxes spent in the General Fund.
They should still wait until the numbers are in then make an official announcement. That goes double for next years figures. What they are doing is managing expectations, and that is pure politics.
With 50 million people receiving a one-time payment of $150, that could result in some real money.
A very positive benefit about the fall in the wage index is that Social Security taxes will not increase. The wage index was used as an underhanded way to increase taxes. Payroll taxes increased automatically without Congress taking a vote.However, rats have threatened to increase the maximum wage subject to Social Security.
It will be interesting to see if the cap is raised based on the National Average Wage Index It could still raise the cap despite the COLA decline.
I have no problem with making a projection based on the existing figures. Why delay it??
Next year's figures are estimates. What is wrong with managing expectations, if they are based on facts? Even though they have nothing to do with it, Obama and the Dems are being blamed for the lack of an increase. I am sure that there will be something mailed to all SS recipients expaining why there is no increase next year. The problem for Obama is that no one trusts him.
What I read wasn’t described as a projection. It was described as an accomplished fact. If it had been described as an estimate or a projection I would have had no problem with it. That was not the case.
It is a fact as much as you might try to deny it. We don’t have to wait until September 30 to realize that there is no way in hell there can be an increase. Denial just ain’t a river in Egypt.
If you are a Senior and live on a Social Security check then you are a fool and most likely a Democrat.
Others see a SPAM can opener
What does the elderly husband say when his wife is serving ALPO?
We're having company?
I give up. You still don’t get it and I have better things to do. I never said the numbers weren’t true. I just don’t like the way they went about it. Don’t drown in that river, and please don’t post to me any more.
LOL. You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts. I get it, but you don’t. There is nothing wrong with giving people the truth before waiting for some sort of artificial deadline. You can follow the data online and come to the same conclusion without waiting for an announcement. You can’t handle the truth.
And your reading comprehension sucks. You are one of those people who just live to share their knowledge because everyone deserves to hear your version of the facts, and anyone who has a different point of view is just uninformed. Well I tried to see your point of view, but I just couldn’t get my head that far up my ass. Now once and for all, go away and find someone else to inflict your closed mind on.
LOL. I thought you gave up. You must be the one with a reading comprehension problem. Your ignorance is only exceeded by your arrogance. Facts are facts. I already received notice from the Federal government in June that there would be no COLA increase. You go away a$$hole.
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