Great Party thanks to all our retires!!
Retirement Party
.
in the Knight of Columbus
Hall
All New and Older retired members are welcome
Please tell your friends.
Hope to see you there!!
e-mail Robin McGregor for more information
uwualocal105@gmail.cOM
Celebration Meeting September 13, 2008 at 6:30pm
Retirement Income
Understanding Social Security
Social Security will be the foundation of your retirement income. That's because:
You won't outlive your Social Security retirement benefit. It will be there for you for the rest of your life.
Your Social Security benefit won't lose its value. From time to time, Social Security benefits are adjusted so they always keep pace with inflation.
What You Should Know
How Social Security Works
When you work, you pay taxes into the Social Security system. Then, when you retire or become disabled, you can apply for the benefits you've earned.
The amount of your Social Security retirement benefit is based on several things:
How much time you spent in the workforce.
How much money you made.
Your age when you start receiving benefits.
To qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, you must have worked and earned at least 40 Social Security credits in a job covered by Social Security. The longer you work, and the more money you make, the higher your Social Security benefit will be. You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits at age 62. If you wait until you're older to start receiving your benefits, you'll get more money each month.
Do you qualify for retirement or disability benefits? If the answer is yes, then your spouse and dependent children can also receive monthly checks. Your survivors can collect benefits if you die.
Applying for Benefits
Social Security benefits are not paid automatically. You must apply for them using special forms. You may also have to provide several documents, including your Social Security card, birth certificate, and proof of U.S. citizenship, if you weren't born in this country. You may need to present other documents, depending on what type of benefits you're seeking.
You can fill out a Social Security application online. You can also call 1-800-772-1213 to apply for benefits, or visit your local Social Security office.
Checking on Your Benefit Amount
Most Americans receive a Social Security statement every year. You receive this statement about 3 months before your birthday, if you are over the age of 25. This statement lists the amount of money you have contributed each year to Social Security.
Read your statement carefully. Make sure you're getting full credit for all the years you worked. If you think a figure is wrong, check your own employment records or contact your former employer for information. It's important to correct any mistakes, so you will receive all your benefits.
Look at the amount of the benefit you will receive at age 62, and at your full retirement age. (The full retirement age will be higher than 65 for people born after 1937.) Consider these figures when you decide the age at which you would like to retire.
Remember: The amount of your Social Security projection is only an estimate. It is based on your work and earnings records up until the date of the statement. Your benefit amount could change, based on your future work and earnings. It could also change based on Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs).
For More Information
Social Security Administration
Visit the Social Security Administration Web site for publications and online resources to help you understand your Social Security benefits, how to apply for benefits, and the history of the Social Security program. You can also apply for benefits online.
URL: http://www.ssa.gov
"Social Security Retirement Benefits" is a brochure that outlines everything you need to know about retirement and family benefits. To get a copy of the booklet, call 1-800-772-1213 and ask for Publication No. 05-10035. Or, view the booklet online at the SSA Web site.
URL: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10035.html
AARPSocialSecurityCenter
AARP maintains a special Social Security Center on its Web site. Visit the center to test your knowledge and find answers to some commonly asked questions about Social Security. You can also learn about issues and challenges facing Social Security, and you can tell your elected officials what you think about Social Security.
URL: http://www.aarp.org/socialsecurity/
How Seniors Benefit from the New Health Care Law
Reduces drug costs by phasing out doughnut hole – Provides a $250 rebate in 2010 for seniors who fall in the doughnut hole. Beginning in 2011 seniors will receive a 50% percent discount on their prescription drugs when they fall in the doughnut hole and by 2020 the doughnut hole will be completely eliminated.
Covers Preventive Services – In 2011, seniors in Medicare will receive free annual check-ups. In addition, the law eliminates co-payments or cost-sharing for mammograms, colonoscopies and other preventive screenings.
Supports Early Retiree Coverage – Provides financial assistance to employer health plans that cover early retirees, bringing down health costs and premiums by as much as $1,200 per family, per year for some plans.
Encourages Doctors to coordinate care and improve quality – Creates incentives for providers to work together to better serve patients and reduce wasteful care like repeated tests.
Removes Obstacles to Changing Part D Plan – Allows Part D enrollees to make a mid-year change in their enrollment if their current plan unexpectedly makes a change that result in higher cost for a drug they take.
Significantly Lowers Cost for Struggling Seniors –Expands the Medicare Part D low-income subsidy, which will dramatically help struggling seniors afford their health care costs.
Enacts CLASS Act creating a new option for long-term assistance for seniors and the disabled – Creates a new, voluntary, self-insured insurance program to help families pay for the costs of long-term supports and services if a loved one develops a disability. Also, creates new options for states to provide home and community based services in Medicaid, enabling more people with disabilities to access long-term services in the setting they choose.
Enacts the Elder Justice Act – Authorizes new criminal background checks on long-term care workers who have access to residents or patients and requires greater transparency of nursing homes, including public disclosure of the entities that own, govern, operate and profit from nursing homes. The law also requires better information about the quality of nursing care and improves complaint process.
Brings Savings to Medicare - By eliminating wasteful overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans and by creating new incentives for coordinated, high quality care across the health care spectrum, the law extends the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by 9 years and improves Medicare for generations to come.
[March 2010]
Provisions Effective Date
$250 Medicare Rebate for
Individuals in Doughnut Hole 2010
Subsidies to Employers who
Provide Coverage to Early
Retirees (55 to 64) 2010
50 % Part D Drug Discount
for those in Doughnut Hole 2011
Annual Free Checkups 2011
No Co-payments for
Preventive Screenings 2011
Increases Medicaid Payments
for Primary Care Physicians 2013
Doughnut Hole Eliminated 2020
.