END OF SOCIAL SECURIT??????????

[Wilma]

Frank, just what are you afraid of?  I have read what Warph posted.  I had read it some where before and I do not find anything in it that is threatening us with the loss of Soc. Sec. payments or even a reduction in the amount of the payments.  Of course, mine is set and isn't affected in any way by this.  If you see something different, please explain it to me.  I  might not be seeing it right.  It seems to affect disabililty recipients more than anything else and they are not being cut off.

[Diane Amberg]

Not long ago I got a letter from SS confirming what my monthly check will be for 2016 and when it would be  deposited. It was about what I was expecting .No surprises  and no bad news. Didn't you all get one too?

[frawin]

Wilma, like I said in my Post, I have received emails and other correspondence that are saying it is both ways, And I am not sure who to believe. Iam going to check more,because We think OBUMA and company are capable of doing anything to take from us and give to all of the Illegas he is allowing to Pour in to the country.

[W. Gray]

There is no plan to end Social Security.

There is no plan or proposal in Congress to end Social Security. There are folks outside of Congress who would like to end it or drastically change it or curtail it, but that does not include anyone in Congress.

The changes taking effect on May 1 will not end the Social Security program.

The administration has, for some time, wanted to change the method of computing the COLA, Cost of Living Allowance, for Social Security. The government wants a method of computation that would be cheaper than the way it is computed now. For instance, it the COLA is computed at 2%, the government wants a way of computing and limiting it at, say, 1%. 

Any attempted effort to curtail COLAs would not end Social Security payments but would cut down on the annual COLA cost to the government and lessen the amount of the COLA to each individual each year. So far Congress has resisted.

The fact there was no COLA for Social Security this year was not an attempt to end the Social Security program. This has been only the third year since the law authorizing Social Security COLAs came into affect in 1975. The other two zero years were 2010 and 2011. The highest COLA ever granted was 14.3% in 1980. The president in office has no bearing on the COLA. The method of COLA computing is set by law.

Here is what I posted on Jan 20:


FILE AND SUSPEND
Currently, a married person — typically the higher wage earner in a couple — who's at least full retirement age could file for his or her own Social Security benefits and then immediately suspend those benefits while the spouse could file for spousal benefits. By doing this, the higher wage earner's benefits would grow 8% per year. In the meantime, the couple still get a Social Security check, and down the road the surviving spouse could get a higher benefit.
That option is ending for new filers starting May 1, 2016, so if you're interested, now's the time to apply. People already using this strategy will be grandfathered in until age 70.

RESTRICTED APPLICATION
This is also being phased out. Currently, individuals eligible for both a spousal benefit based their spouse's work record and a retirement benefit based on his or her own work record could choose to elect only a spousal benefit at full retirement age, according to Social Security Timing. That would let them collect a higher benefit later on.

Under the new law, however, only those born Jan. 1, 1954, or earlier can use this option. Anyone younger will just automatically get the larger of the two benefits, according to Social Security Timing.

SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY
The Social Security Disability trust was on pace to run out money next year and, as a result, millions of Americans were going to receive an automatic 19% reduction in their disability benefits in the fourth quarter of 2016. The new law fixes that by shifting payroll tax revenue from one Social Security trust fund — the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust fund — to another, the Disability Insurance Trust Fund

MEDICARE PART B [I think a good many people on the forum are in the 70% that will continue to pay 104.70]
Some 30% of Medicare beneficiaries were expecting a 52% increase in their Medicare Part B medical insurance premiums and deductible in 2016. Under the new law, those beneficiaries — an estimated 17 million Americans — will pay about $119 per month, instead of $159.30, for Part B. (Some 70% of Medicare beneficiaries will continue to pay the same premium in 2016 as they did in 2015, $104.90.)

Beneficiaries, however, will also have to pay an extra $3 per month to help pay down a loan the government gave to Medicare to offset lost revenue. Plus, all Part B beneficiaries will see their annual deductible increase by 15% to about $166 in 2016.