HEALTH CARE

Boomers fear health costs will overwhelm them in retirement..

The cost of health care in retirement is substantial, and many boomers feel they aren't prepared to meet those costs, a report released by the Insured Retirement Institute found. Almost two-thirds of boomers aren't confident they have enough saved to cover the cost of health care after they retire. Younger boomers are especially concerned; 72 percent of those between ages 50 and 54 say they are worried about being able to cover costs.

PAYROLL TAX-CUT

NARFE is urging members to send a message to their members of Congress opposing a House-passed bill that would cut the pay and benefits of federal employees to finance the yearlong payroll tax holiday. A House-Senate conference committee will consider that bill and one passed by the Senate, which does not contain any cuts for feds.

The House bill "asks fewer than 2 percent of America's middle-class workers to pay for almost two-thirds of the entire payroll tax-cut extension.

YOUR 1099R

January 24, 2012 NARFE NewsWatch When will I get my 1099R? Question: I am retired, and I want to file my taxes soon. When will I receive my 1099R from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)? Answer: OPM will send your 1099R after January 31. You should expect to receive it in the mail during the first or second week of February.

SEVEN BIGGEST ECONOMIC LIES

By Robert Reich, Robert Reich's blog

12 October 11

The president's jobs bill doesn't have a chance in Congress - and the occupiers on Wall Street and elsewhere can't become a national movement for a more equitable society - unless more Americans know the truth about the economy.

Here's a short (2 minute 30 second) effort to rebut the seven biggest whoppers now being told by those who want to take America backwards. The major points:

The Seven Biggest Economic Lies

1. Tax cuts for the rich trickle down to everyone else. Baloney. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush both sliced taxes on the rich and what happened? Most Americans' wages (measured by the real median wage) began flattening under Reagan and has dropped since George W. Bush. Trickle-down economics is a cruel joke.
   
   
2. Higher taxes on the rich would hurt the economy and slow job growth. False. From the end of World War II until 1981, the richest Americans faced a top marginal tax rate of 70 percent or above. Under Dwight Eisenhower it was 91 percent. Even after all deductions and credits, the top taxes on the very rich were far higher than they've been since. Yet the economy grew faster during those years than it has since. (Don't believe small businesses would be hurt by a higher marginal tax; fewer than 2 percent of small business owners are in the highest tax bracket.)
   
   
3. Shrinking government generates more jobs. Wrong again. It means fewer government workers - everyone from teachers, fire fighters, police officers, and social workers at the state and local levels to safety inspectors and military personnel at the federal. And fewer government contractors, who would employ fewer private-sector workers. According to Moody's economist Mark Zandi (a campaign advisor to John McCain), the $61 billion in spending cuts proposed by the House GOP will cost the economy 700,000 jobs this year and next.
   
   
4. Cutting the budget deficit now is more important than boosting the economy. Untrue. With so many Americans out of work, budget cuts now will shrink the economy. They'll increase unemployment and reduce tax revenues. That will worsen the ratio of the debt to the total economy. The first priority must be getting jobs and growth back by boosting the economy. Only then, when jobs and growth are returning vigorously, should we turn to cutting the deficit.
   
   
5. Medicare and Medicaid are the major drivers of budget deficits. Wrong. Medicare and Medicaid spending is rising quickly, to be sure. But that's because the nation's health-care costs are rising so fast. One of the best ways of slowing these costs is to use Medicare and Medicaid's bargaining power over drug companies and hospitals to reduce costs, and to move from a fee-for-service system to a fee-for-healthy outcomes system. And since Medicare has far lower administrative costs than private health insurers, we should make Medicare available to everyone.
   
   
6. Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. Don't believe it. Social Security is solvent for the next 26 years. It could be solvent for the next century if we raised the ceiling on income subject to the Social Security payroll tax. That ceiling is now $106,800.
   
   
7. It's unfair that lower-income Americans don't pay income tax. Wrong. There's nothing unfair about it. Lower-income Americans pay out a larger share of their paychecks in payroll taxes, sales taxes, user fees, and tolls than everyone else.

Demagogues through history have known that big lies, repeated often enough, start being believed - unless they're rebutted. These seven economic whoppers are just plain wrong. Make sure you know the truth - and spread it on.

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Robert Reich is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. He has written thirteen books, including "The Work of Nations," "Locked in the Cabinet," "Supercapitalism" and his latest book, "AFTERSHOCK: The Next Economy and America's Future." His 'Marketplace' commentaries can be found on publicradio.com and iTunes.

Chain COLA

Chain COLA is a new system to measure and set inflation-triggered cost of living adjustments for retirees.

Currently those January COLA adjustments are tied to the consumer price index (CPI). Although retirees have not had a COLA in two years, critics say the CPI system overestimates inflation. They argue that using a different yardstick would take into account spending adjustments people make in hard times (like now) and produce a truer estimate of costs. Bottom line, going to the chained COLA would reduce, by some estimates, future inflation-adjustments by half a percentage point, or more. Net effect would be smaller raises in future for federal, military retirees and people who get Social Security benefits. Reducing Social Security increases even a small amount each year would rack up billions of dollars in future savings. Estimated saving over 20 years is $100 billion.

KOPY KATS MUSICAL REVIEW

The 2011 KOPY KATS MUSICAL REVIEW is slated for performances November 4th, 5th and 6th. A blockbuster of song and dance from Broadway stage and screen, the show was a big hit last year, and everyone had a terrific time! Insiders tell us this show is going to be terrific, with nationally accredited choreographer and director Jerome DeVito’s professional hand at the helm again.

As a much sought-after judge for National Dance Competitions all over the country, and a consistent producer of award winning shows at South Beach Dance Academy, Mr DeVito has taken Kopy Katters’ performances to exciting new levels that will delight local audiences.

Featured dancers are; Ms Kelly Lynch, ex Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and USO Tour dancer, and Ms Jeannie Nichols, professional stage dancer, singer, and comedienne.

Seats for this show go quickly, so don’t wait to buy them!

Tickets are $15.

Kopy Kats Musical Revue

Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center

399 N US1

Fri. Nov 4th at 7:30

Sat Nov 5th at 2:30 and 7:30

Sun Nov 6 at 2:30

Box Office 386-676-3375

2012 COLA

August 19, 2011

by Mike Causey

Although federal workers face at least one more year without a pay raise, government retirees are cautiously looking forward to a cost of living adjustment of around 3.3 percent in their January checks. That COLA, if it holds up, would be the first inflation-catchup federal, military and Social Security retirees have had since they got a 5.8 percent increase in 2009.( SORRY BUT I NEVER RECEIVED A 5.8 COLA)

The actual amount of the 2012 COLA won't be known until mid-September. The raise could be higher if inflation creeps up this month and in September. It would be less if living costs drop between now and the end of September.

By law, retirees are supposed to get COLAs to match the rise in inflation as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statics Consumer Price Index. But for the past few years, inflation has been flat and there were actually months when living costs dropped. Result: No retiree COLA in 2010 or 2011. That(No retiree COLA) despite the fact that health insurance premiums for retirees (and workers) have been going up. And up.

In recent months, there has been back-and-forth inflation. The January COLAs for retirees are based on the rise (if any) of the CPI from the third quarter of the previous year to its level for the current year. The third quarter measuring period is July, August and September. So that means there are still two months (August and September) left in the countdown.

Courtesy of Lorraine Rumore, Research Chair.