Social Security keeps an estimated 40
percent of Americans out of poverty
For example, due to pre-existing
conditions, people with disabilities often are not able to get supplemental
coverage. This means that if they are enrolled in traditional Medicare only,
they are likely to have high outof- pocket expenses. Medicare Advantage plans,
on the other hand, combine basic traditional Medicare coverage with the added
security of having supplemental insurance. Many of the available plans also
provide prescription drug coverage and offer other services, such as vision and
dental care, which are not part of traditional Medicare.
The key to financial survival on a fixed
income is controlling costs. Unfortunately, the usual scenario is the
government giveth, and the government taketh away. Seniors and individuals with
disabilities have seen their Medicare Part B premiums double over the last
eight years, from $45.50 in 2000 to $96.40 in 2008. So some portion of the COLA
increase will be consumed by an anticipated rise in premiums for Medicare
beneficiaries. 
For recipients of benefits that are
finding it hard to make ends meet, the government-sponsored financial
assistance programs available to low income individuals include:
-- Help
paying heat, electricity, telephone and water bills
-- Support for
energyefficient home upgrades
-- Reduced public transportation fares
--
Property tax credits -- Food stamps
-- Free meals for children attending
school, including summer months
-- Food pantries offering free monthly food
packages. Did beneficiaries get a raise above the national rate? Perhaps -- but
only if you ignore the bigger picture of the inflationary pressures facing
older Americans.
The price index is a broad measure of
inflation based on a survey of consumer prices paid by a big chunk of the U.S.
population. Retirees are affected disproportionately by a set of prices that
tend to rise quicker than inflation in the broader economy: health care, energy
and transportation.
A study by the Senior Citizens League of
15 key expenditures found that people older than 65 have lost 51 percent of
their buying power since 2000. Advocates have for years called for a new
formula to determine the COLA. But so far, the idea has not caught on.
Social Security keeps an estimated 40
percent of Americans out of poverty and accounts for up to 80 percent of
retirement income for people in low economic brackets. Even wealthier Americans
rely on the program for about 50 percent of retirement income.
-- Compiled from various
sources |
