A large majority of voters favor a Social Security benefits credit for taking time off to care for a loved one, according to our new poll.
See more posts like this on Tumblr
#politics #working class #social security #caregivers #caregiving #healthcare #seniors #elderly #retirees #retirement crisis #retirement #entitlements #entitlement reform #older americans #social insuranceMore you might like
Max Richtman, President and CEO of the Washington, DC-based National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, gives his take on the Census Bureau’s 2017 statistical projections, too.
“Despite how cataclysmic this may sound, the rising number of older people due to the aging of baby boomers is no surprise and has been predicted for many years. This is why the Social Security system was changed in 1983 to prepare for this eventuality. Under current law, full benefits will continue to be paid through 2034 and we are confident that Congress will make the necessary changes, such as raising the wage cap, to ensure that full benefits continue to be made well into the future,” says Richtman.
Richtman calls informal caregiving “a critical part of a care plan” that enhances an older person’s well-being. “While there currently are programs such as the Medicaid Waiver that will pay family members who provide caregiving support more can be done to incentivize caregiving so that loss of personal income and Social Security work credits are not barriers to enlisting the help of younger individuals to provide informal support services,” he says.
Adds Richtman, the Medicare and Medicaid benefits which reimburse for the home-based services and skilled nursing care “will be unduly strained ”as the diagnosed cases of Alzheimer’s disease skyrockets with the growing boomer population. He calls on Congress to “immediately provide adequate research funding to the National Institutes of Health to accelerate finding a cure in order to save these programs and lower the burdens on family caregivers and the healthcare system. “
via Go Local Prov.
Stay on top of issues like caregiving by signing up for our free newsletter, Your Morning Read, by clicking here.
Rick is one of 15 million Americans caring for a family member with dementia. That thought may conjure images of boomers caring for elderly parents, but if early-onset dementia is in play, it’s a completely different equation. A spouse often becomes the round-the-clock caregiver.
via NPR.
Related Reading:
- Providing Social Security Credits for Caregivers.
- We recommend that, in computing the Social Security retirement or disability benefit that imputed earnings for up to five family service years would be granted to a worker who leaves or reduces his/her participation in the work force to provide care to children under the age of six or to elderly family members.
Provide Social Security credits for caregivers. When computing the Social Security benefit, grant up to five family service years to workers who leave paid employment to provide care to children under the age of 6 or to elderly or disabled family members. This will provide greater parity for women’s benefits which are typically less than men’s due to interruptions to paid employment caused by family caregiving needs.
via Entitled to Know.
Elderly Americans’ well-being is at risk unless the U.S. does much more to help millions of family caregivers who sacrifice their own health, finances and personal lives to look out for loved ones, reported a study released Tuesday.
via Kaiser Health News.
Related Reading:
- Providing Social Security Credits for Caregivers.
- We
recommend that, in computing the Social Security retirement or
disability benefit that imputed earnings for up to five family service
years would be granted to a worker who leaves or reduces his/her
participation in the work force to provide care to children under the
age of six or to elderly family members.
AARP estimates about 41 million Americans care for their adult family members, a number that has increased as life expectancy has grown. About 4 in 10 such caregivers say they have plans in place for their own future care, according to the organization’s 2015 Caregiving in the U.S. survey.
Often, people who are relatively young and healthy don’t spend much time contemplating what life will look like when they get old and frail — until they see it reflected in the life of a loved one.
via Washington Post.
Stay updated on similar issues like this by signing up for our free newsletter, Your Morning Read, by clicking here.
The National Committee’s President and CEO, Max Richtman, recently was a
guest on Politics Tonight, a program broadcast on WGN-TV
and CLTV, Chicagoland’s 24 hour news channel. Max discussed the
importance of boosting Social Security benefits for women and all
retirees. Max also discussed his work to insert language into the
Democratic platform seeking improvements in Social Security and Medicare
benefits for seniors.
But they also call for switching COLAs to the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly or CPI-E, designed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI-E would boost Social Security payments without worsening the system’s deficit.
via The Social Security Fix That Could Help the Poorest Retirees.
Related Reading:
Why Seniors Need a CPI-E.
But if the CPI-E determined the Social Security COLA, the expected average COLA would increase about 0.2 percentage points per year.
First, they confirmed past studies showing that the typical mom earns about $2,760 per month – or 28 percent less than a childless woman earns. Having two children translates to nearly 32 percent less income, and three children, to 35 percent less.
via Earnings Gap Hits Mom’s Social Security.
Related Reading:
Women and Retirement Savings Gap.
- Women are also more likely to spend time out of the workforce entirely to raise their children or provide care to elderly parents.
Millions of current and future retirees were no doubt hoping that President Trump would use last night’s speech to Congress to reaffirm his promises not to touch Social Security and Medicare. Instead, the President ducked and covered. He did not even utter the words “Social Security” or “Medicare” in his entire hour-long address. As for Medicaid – which millions of American seniors rely upon for skilled nursing care – the President only touched on it once, with a veiled reference to converting guaranteed benefits into block grants, which would hurt beneficiaries.
via Entitled to Know.
Investment in home and community-based care is popular and must be included in #infrastructure. Now it’s up to Congress to get it done. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/04/opinion/elder-care-congress.html #HCBS @nytimes