1 day ago

# **"Medicare & Dental Coverage--A Closer Look–From KFF–Kaiser Family Foundation"**

**By Brian Demo--Solutions Benefis Advocate--July 29, 2021**

**Key Findings & Facts--Possible Legislation to include Dental, Vision, & Hearing.**

**Go Here to Read the Article on Brians Benefits Advocate Page--**

**https://www.geretireesolutions.org/medicare-and-dental-coverage-a-closer-look-from-kff-kaiser-family-foundation/** ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

As I have said many times--**we are NOT ONLY an Advocacy Group to protect your GE Benefits...we are also an Activist Group to try to support Legislative activity that will benefit our Retirees & Dependents.**

**One of our No. 1 Concerns is Prescription Costs!**
# **"Pass Bills to Lower Drug Prices"**

**For years there has been talk in Congress about reducing the high price Americans pay for prescription drugs. Numerous bills have been introduced in the House and Senate, but no meaningful legislation has been enacted. The NRLN is supporting two House bills and three Senate bills that would lower drug prices. Click the TAKE ACTION link below to access the NRLN’s sample letter to tell your Representatives and Senators to pass those bills.**

**Please join us in Taking Action to support these legislative actions-- go here-- Click the button that says "Take Action" under Pass Bills to Lower Drugs Prices. It will ask for your address and zipcode---so you can sign the petition to your Congress person & Senators-- www.nrln.org/SE.html#/** ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago

# **What Would Boosting the Minimum Wage Mean for All; But Especially for us Seniors/Retirees?**

**This article just offers some food for thought. Our kids, our grandchildren; the poor, women... would ALL benefit from a minimum raise!**

**The Proposal**

The nation’s current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has not been increased since 2007. The Raise the Wage Act of 2021 (S. 53 and H.R. 603) would increase the federal minimum wage from its current rate in five steps to $15 per hour by 2025. The first step, effective June 1, 2021 would raise the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour. Although many retirees may question what impact an increase in the minimum wage would have on their lives, the increase could make a difference for seniors (anyone over 55; or those seniors that would like to earn additional money).

**Who Would Be Affected?**

A common myth, often repeated, is that an increase in the minimum wage would primarily affect teenagers. Actually, fewer than 10 percent of those affected by an increase are teenagers. To the contrary, more than half of the 32 million workers who would benefit by an increase are age 25-54, and 59 percent are women. The 32 million workers who would be affected represent 21 percent of the wage-earning workforce.

Workers age 55 or older will be impacted more than teenagers. In fact, 15 percent of workers age 55 or older would receive a pay increase. Although the majority of workers who would benefit from increasing the minimum wage are white, 31 percent of all African American workers would receive a raise, while 26 percent of all Latino workers would benefit.

**What Would an Increase Mean for the Economy?**

Research conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, a leading Washington think tank, concluded that raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2025 would generate $107 billion in additional wages for workers, providing workers an extra $3,300 per year. The additional wages will benefit local and state economies because low-wage workers, like many Social Security recipients, need every penny of their monthly checks to make ends meet, so they will spend any additional earnings to meet their basic needs. Any increased spending by low-wage earners will flow into the community and stimulate the overall economy. This contrasts with higher wage-earners, who tend to save a portion of any additional income. Also, an increase in the minimum wage will help reduce income inequality by increasing pay at the lower end of the wage scale. In fact, two-thirds of the working poor would receive a pay increase.

**What Is the Impact on Seniors?**

**For those 15 percent of affected workers who are age 55 and older, an increase from $7.25 per hour to $15.00 per hour will make an enormous difference in a senior’s quality of life. ** An individual working full-time at the current minimum wage earns approximately $15,000 per year, somewhat less than what an average Social Security retiree benefit of $18,500 per year. An increase to $15.00 per hour would boost annual full-time wages by $3,300 per year, bringing earnings in line with the average yearly Social Security benefit. **For those older workers whose wages are increased, the added earnings would ultimately be reflected in the calculation of their Social Security benefit and motivate more seniors to delay claiming their Social Security benefits thereby increasing their future payment.**

Contrary to the belief that higher minimum wages trigger forced early retirements, research conducted by economists from the University of Illinois in 2019 found that higher minimum wages may have small positive effects on the labor supply of workers in the key age 62-70 demographic. The researchers noted that employment went up for workers at retirement age, suggesting that minimum wage increases kept seniors in the labor force longer.

The $15 minimum wage is not simply an economic issue. It is a moral imperative for the nation to stand behind the tenet that people who work hard and play by the rules should be able to support themselves. The increase will begin to address the unacceptable income divide in this country. According to a 2018 study from the Urban Institute, an increase in the minimum wage to $12 per hour and subsequent adjustment for inflation would, by 2065, offset 57 percent of the current projected retirement income lost to wage inequality. T**oday’s seniors can expect that their 20-year-old grandchildren, just entering the workforce, will benefit from the lasting impact of this increase when they retire over 40 years in the future.**

**What Is the Impact on Social Security?**

According to a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), an increase in the minimum wage would increase average Social Security benefits because initial benefits are indexed to economywide average wages, which would reflect the national increase. CBO also projects an increase in Social Security cost-of-living adjustments based on its prediction that inflation will increase.

Additionally, CBO predicts that revenues from payroll taxes for Social Security are expected to increase by $11.8 billion from 2021 to 2026. ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

# **Boost Social Security Benefits NOW Petition--PLEASE SIGN!**

**Petition Link in the Comments Section Below.**

Social Security is the major source of income for most of America’s elderly with 46% of retirees depending on Social Security for 90% or more of their income and an average monthly benefit of just $1,269.

**The Social Security COLA has averaged just over 1% over the past five years with 0% for two of those years, far below the largest spending increase seniors’ face, which is spending on health care.**

**Older Americans spend 20% to 40% of their income on HEALTH CARE, yet those costs are not fully factored into the current COLA formula. We DON't need reductions, we NEED INCREASES!** ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

# **One of My Pet Peeves--Out of Control Drug Prices-- that Cause People to Skip Medications! Click on the Image Below to See Examples!!**

**"Prescription Drug Price Increases Continue to Outpace Inflation" From AARP-- June 7th**

In 2020, prices for 260 commonly used medications whose prices AARP has been tracking since 2006 increased 2.9 percent while the general rate of inflation was 1.3 percent, according to a recent AARP “Rx Price Watch” report.

**For example, between 2015 and 2020**, the annual price of **Victoza, a diabetes medication, increased by 42 percent,** with the price of a year’s supply rising from $7,936 to $11,300. During that same period **the price of Lyrica, used to treat fibromyalgia, increased by 47 percent **— from $5,827 a year to $8,562.

**“Americans over the age of 50 use more prescription drugs than any other segment of the population. This is not a population that can afford rising drug prices.”**

**Link to the Article is in the Comments Section below. TAKE ACTION Link Below in the Comments Section!** ... See MoreSee Less

3 weeks ago

# **Do You Remember Faces & Names???**

**A Video & Some GREAT Techniques!**

People who are good with names or never forget a face are that way because they work at it. And, odds are, if you know someone with these skills, you perceived them as charming, kind, and genuinely interested in you. You can be one of those people, too. All it takes is practice — like any skill that’s worth acquiring. In this challenge, you’ll learn **Specific Techniques and Strategies** that anyone can use to get better with names.

Link is here--https://stayingsharp.aarp.org/challenges/faces-names/ ... See MoreSee Less