Social security is changing, join Heather Majka the owner of Citizens Insurance Solutions to keep up with the changes.
To sign up for this seminar call the Tellico Village public library at (865) 458-5199.
This event is on July 11, 2023 at 4 pm at the Tellico Public Library located at
300 Irene Ln, Loudon, TN, United States, Tennessee.
Join Citizens Insurance Solutions at the Kodak United Methodist Church, 2923 Bryan Road, Kodak, TN 37764 for a FREE veterans breakfast!
We invite Veterans of all branches of the service, all eras, and their guests to enjoy hot food and warm fellowship at no cost.
This event takes place on July 8, 2023 at 2 pm.
The Social Security class we will offer will help you understand the ins and outs before you begin collecting. We invite you to join us for a special presentation at the Tellico Village Public Library.
You will learn:
– How to decide when to collect your benefits.
– How to coordinate benefits with your spouse.
– The Social Security options available to divorcees.
– How the death of a spouse affects your Social Security benefits.
– How work affects your benefits.
– How your benefits are taxed and what you can do about it.
Call The Library to Register: 865-485-5199
Event Location: Tellico Village Public Library
300 Irene Lane
Loudon, Tennessee 37774
Join Heather Majka, Tennessee’s only Social Security Claiming strategist for basic rules and filing strategies when filing for Social Security retirement. In just 30 minutes learn:
– How to decide when to collect your benefits.
– How to coordinate benefits with your spouse.
– The Social Security options available to divorcees.
– How the death of a spouse affects your Social Security benefits.
– How work affects your benefits.
– How your benefits are taxed and what you can do about it.
—-You must kindly RSVP by calling the library @ (865) 458 – 5199—-
A message from Andrew Saul, Commissioner of Social Security:
About a year ago, I took the unprecedented step to close our offices to the public. I did this to keep our employees and you—the public we serve—safe. As we enter year two of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines and other precautionary measures give us cause for hope. For now, we will continue our current safety measures as described in our COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan. This plan is iterative, and we will update it as we receive additional government-wide guidance and information from public health experts in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
We understand that the public wants to engage with us on some matters in person, and our local offices are integral to our communities. We also know that not everyone can conveniently come to us in person and that when you do visit, you want the process to be efficient. For example, we may need evidence from you, but we do not need to interview you in person. We are currently testing drop box and express appointment options for the public to bring in documentation.
Often, you only need to know your Social Security number and do not need a physical Social Security card. However, if you do need to replace your card, we are testing video appointments if you need a new Social Security card but do not need to change any of the information in our records. Although ideas like these began as solutions during COVID-19, we are considering how they could improve service in the future.
Some of these concepts also allow us to consider how we might continue to use telework, something that most organizations and companies have depended on during the COVID-19 pandemic, to drive longer-term operational efficiencies like reducing space. We could use those savings to provide you more online service options and hire more people to serve you more quickly as well as to retain outstanding employees. We will continue to engage our managers, employees, and unions on ways we could use telework to improve customer service and other issues.
You can find the full statement, and links to helpful resources, here.
There has been a certain amount of educated speculation about the effect of COVID-19 on the Social Security and Medicare systems. The 2020 OASDI Trustees Report, which was prepared before the pandemic gained a foothold and showed financial results through 2019, projected an exhaust date of 2035 for the combined OAS and DI funds. In April, Alicia Munnell of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College issued a brief saying that if the COVID-19 economic collapse causes payroll taxes to drop by, say, 20% for two years, the depletion date would move up by about two years, to 2033.The latest weigh-in has come from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Its September 2020 report, CBO Outlook for Major Federal Trust Funds 2020 to 2030, projects the following exhaust dates:
The CBO report also explained how trust fund financing works. It’s basically an accounting mechanism to link earmarked receipts (that is, money dedicated to a specific purpose) with corresponding expenditures. Retirement, survivor, and disability benefits, for example, are paid out of the 12.4% payroll tax collected from employees and employers. Medicare Part A benefits are paid out of the 2.9% Medicare tax as well as the additional 0.9% paid by couples with income over $250,000 and individuals with income over $200,000. When the receipts from these taxes exceed the amount that needs to be paid out, the overage is held in the respective trust fund and invested in special-issue Treasury securities.
It should be noted that when Congress and the president are planning their spending, they use the unified budget perspective. Rather than attaching an expenditure to the earmarked receipts (e.g., payroll taxes), the expenditures are based on the underlying authorizing laws. Both Social Security and Medicare are mandatory expenditures, making up about 60% of the total federal budget. This means they are protected from the appropriations process. The only way these expenditures can be reduced is to change the authorizing laws, which requires a 60-vote majority in the Senate.
If the trust funds were to run dry, the United States would still be obligated to pay Social Security and Medicare benefits. The trustees, in their annual reports, generally say that when the trust funds run out, payroll taxes will be sufficient to pay X% of benefits (depending on which trust fund they are talking about). But the Social Security Act of 1935, as amended, requires benefits to be paid. There would be a conflict between two federal laws. Since we’ve never been in this situation, it’s impossible to know how it would be resolved.
On March 11, 2021 Biden passed the American Relief Act at a price tag of $1.9 trillion.
The highlights:
Additionally, it will increase subsidies for health insurance up to $85 per month per person for those eligible starting April 1. you can update your marketplace application to realize the savings or it will be reconciled at tax time. Read more about that https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/american-rescue-plan-and-marketplace?utm_campaign=hcgov_ab&utm_content=english&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
No. Medicare and Social Security are MANDATORY expenses! Mandatory spending pays for U.S. federal programs that have already been established by Congress under so-called authorization laws. These laws both establish the federal programs and mandate that Congress must appropriate whatever funds are needed to keep the programs running. In other words, Congress cannot reduce the funding for these programs without changing the authorization law itself. Social Security and Medicare are the major mandatory spending categories.
Clients who are worried that Congress can just decide to cut Social Security or Medicare benefits as part of the budget process – the way they play with defense spending and food stamps – need not worry. Because these programs involve mandatory spending, they cannot be cut without changing the authorization laws underlying them. This would take a 60-vote majority in the Senate.
We’ve been saying for years that Social Security benefits for baby boomers are not jeopardy.
Social Security is completely self-financed. Payroll taxes are deposited into a dedicated trust fund, along with income taxes on benefits and interest on the securities in the trust fund. The trust fund currently holds about $2.8 trillion in excess cash (currently invested in special-issue Treasury securities), an amount that will gradually be drawn down as baby boomers retire. By 2034 assets will be depleted and income will be sufficient to pay about 79% of promised benefits, under the trustees’ intermediate-cost projections.
Social Security does need to be reformed in some way. The trustees have been telling us this for years. If it’s not, the trust fund will be exhausted in 2034 and payroll taxes will cover only about 77% of promised benefits. No one wants an across-the-board benefit cut in 2034. There are great reform measures proposed (and will likely be voted on closer to 2034) view them here. View Social Security’s current solvency here. Medicare is the largest government health program and the federal government is the largest payor of health services.
