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Insider's Report: New threats and opportunities in the new Congress
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While we expect threats to earned benefits to continue in 2021, we also have an extraordinary opportunity to shift the focus of this critical debate away from cutting benefits and toward expanding and improving Social Security and Medicare for current and future generations of Americans. That’s why the National Committee has been working overtime to prepare for the battles that lie ahead in the 117th Congress (2021-2022). We need to ensure that your voice is heard loudly and clearly in Washington as policies are debated that could impact earned benefits.
We are organizing phone calls and petition and letter-writing campaigns to our elected representatives and President-elect Biden. We are also working to strengthen our firewall in the House of Representatives and the Senate to ensure that no wrong-headed bill that impacts earned benefits makes it out of Congress and up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
In the weeks ahead we will continue to urge Congress to take action to correct the notch in benefits for workers born in 1960 and 1961 who will take a hit to their future Social Security benefits because of the coronavirus-induced decline in average wages used to calculate those benefits. We’re also calling on lawmakers to take up and pass legislation that would provide beneficiaries with a 3% monthly increase in their Social Security benefit check to help offset the pain seniors are experiencing during the pandemic.
Given the urgent need to strengthen Social Security, the National Committee will be working with our allies in the new Congress to reintroduce and pass U.S. Representative John Larson’s "Social Security 2100 Act" which would go a long way to boost earned benefits and improve Social Security’s long-term solvency. There is a lot of overlap between Representative Larson’s bill and President-elect Joe Biden’s proposal to improve Social Security.
But make no mistake: The forces aiming to destroy our treasured social insurance programs remain committed to attacking these programs in order to pay down deficits and fund unrelated fiscal priorities. The stakes are high. But we can protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and keep them solvent for the future, without cutting benefits for millions of Americans if we organize, mobilize and make our voices heard on Capitol Hill. I look forward to working with you in the immediate days and weeks ahead.
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| Good Bills |
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The National Committee endorses the "Social Security 2100 Act", to be reintroduced shortly in the 117th Congress (2021-2022) by U.S. Representative John Larson (CT-01). This important bill provides vital benefit improvements while strengthening Social Security’s financial foundations.
The "Social Security 2100 Act" would: 1) increase benefits by about 2%; 2) ensure beneficiaries receive a fair Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA), which more truly reflects seniors’ expenses; 3) cut taxes for 11 million seniors; and 4) make the wealthy pay their fair share into the Social Security program by, over time, gradually eliminating the cap on Social Security payroll taxes.
The National Committee is urging lawmakers in the new Congress to support Representative Larson’s critical bill which would increase benefits, prevent Americans from retiring into poverty and strengthen the Social Security program for current and future generations of Americans.
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| Ask Web |
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Our resident Social Security expert, Webster Phillips — a Senior Policy Analyst for the National Committee and a 31-year veteran at the Social Security Administration — is here to answer your questions about Social Security.
You can either search our archives for valuable advice on a broad range of concerns or submit your question here.
This week's question is: I was just wondering if we will get an increase on our Social Security this year or not?
Click here to read the answer.
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| Take Our Poll! |
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Social Security Primer
Learn more about why Social Security remains the foundation for most seniors’ retirement. |
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Join Now
Your support sustains our campaigns in Washington to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare. |
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Coronavirus
Find valuable information, essential tips and warnings about COVID-19-related scams. |
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| Social Security, Medicare Face Urgent Challenges in 2021 |
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As more baby boomers retire and claim Social Security, the worries about the federal program grow, especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, slowing economy and fewer people working to help pay for the program. (December 22, 2020, Think Advisor, Ginger Szala)
Read More →
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| COVID-19 Will Change LTC Plans for Clients |
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The pandemic has hit long-term care institutions particularly hard, and the effects are likely to persist, including a shift to more home-based care and changing projections for clients’ retirement costs. (December 22, 2020, Wealth Management, Mark Miller)
Read More →
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| COVID Vaccines Appear Safe and Effective, but Key Questions Remain |
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The recent rollout of two newly authorized COVID-19 vaccines is a bright ray of hope at the pandemic’s darkest hour. We now have a path that can lead us to happier times — even as we watch and suffer from the horrible onslaught of new infections, hospitalizations and deaths that mark the end of this regrettable year. (December 23, 2020, Kaiser Health News, Bernard J. Wolfson)
Read More →
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