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Medicare - SeniorArk Main Page
Social Security -
SeniorArk Main
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 Some Part D enrollment tips
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On this page you will find:
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-2009
Social Security COLA Estimated
*
-2009
Medicare "B" Premium Announced
*
-2008 Social
Security Cola "Increase" *
-2008 Medicare
Part B Premium Increase *
-More Part B
Premium Information*
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SPECIAL NOTE TO
SENIORS:
Welcome to
SeniorArk! Thousands of you are finding this page
while searching for COLA and Part B information.
After reviewing those
items, please take a couple minutes to have a look
around our site. We are not-for-profit, and a SENIOR
resource site like nothing you have ever seen.
Enjoy!
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Volunteers
www.SeniorArk.com
"Seniors
helping Seniors meet the challenges in retirement"
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security cola 2009" and we come up as the # 1 result, ahead of
the Social Security Administration! On Google we are # 2.
We give you the very latest--always!!
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Updated:
October 11, 2008
* 2009 Social Security COLA (cost of living adjustment)
The 3rd quarter will tell the tale
(July-August-September)
In late January
2008, the Congressional Budget Office published a
little-noticed
estimate that forecasts
seniors would receive just a
2.8 percent increase
in their Social Security checks beginning in January, 2009.
SeniorArk observes
that this figure is too low, based on the monthly
trends of the CPI-W increases through August, 2008. The
critical months to watch for gauging increases in the Social
Security COLA are in the third quarter: July-August-September.
The actual increase will be based on the
increase in the
CPI-W from the third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of
2008. The official COLA for 2009 should be announced in
mid-October, 2008. (Read:
Explanation of exactly how the COLA is figured)
Check
this page regularly
for updates to the 2009 COLA.
We should be able to publish, in this space, the final number
on the
morning of October 16, 2008.
SeniorArk.com
"Seniors helping Seniors
meet the challenges in retirement"
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2009 COLA WATCH
Bureau of Labor Statistics COLA-Related News Releases
(4 entries thru October 11, 2008)
September
16, 2008,
and
October 3, 2008
On a seasonally adjusted
basis, the CPI-W decreased 0.2percent (2/10 of one
percent) in August, following a 0.9 percent
increase in July.
(I didn't notice it
going down, did you?)
With one more month
(September) to feed into the equation, if we have
no inflation or deflation in September, this
should translate to a COLA adjustment in 2009
Social Security checks of just about 6.0%.
The report for September, the final month for
determining our COLA, will be reported on October
16, 2008. Stay tuned to this space for the latest.
All morning on October 3,
2008 we searched the web for ANY hint of a
suspected trend for inflation in September, and
thus the third quarter. Precious few economists
seem willing to speculate. We did find a video
that was produced by briefing.com on September 8.
On that video they say the inflation rate will
drop for both August and September. We now
they were correct for August, and we are still
awaiting September. If they are correct, the
Social Security COLA will likely drop below the 6%
level. If you want to be tortured by this dry,
technical video,
here it is:
August 14, 2008
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest Consumer Price Index news release
(http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf)
was issued today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Highlights are below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index
for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.8 percent in
July, following a 1.1 percent increase in June.
The index for all items less food and energy increased
0.3 percent, the second straight such increase.
August 14, 2008
(CPI-W is used for S.S. Cola)
CPI for Urban Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers (CPI-W)
On a seasonally adjusted
basis, the CPI-W for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers increased 0.9 percent in July.
August and September are
the 2 other months critical to determining the 2009
COLA. Stay posted. The actual increase will be based on
the increase in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2007
to the third quarter of 2008. The official COLA for 2009
should be announced in mid-October, 2008.
SeniorArk.com
"Seniors
helping Seniors meet the challenges in retirement" |
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We are not
economists at SeniorArk. Rather, we scour the web and pass on
valuable information.
On August 11,
2008 we found this article on dallasnews.com:
Retirees may
see a big boost in benefits
09:22 AM CDT on Monday,
August 11, 2008
Senior citizens can
look forward to a major increase in Social
Security benefits next year. Unless there is a
sudden rush of deflation in the current quarter,
the increase will be the largest in 25 years.
That's right: the
largest in 25 years. Last year, the increase was a
very pinched 2.3 percent. Indeed, there hasn't
been an increase over 5 percent since 1990.
Just how big will
the increase be?
Try 6 percent.
To be more precise,
it will be 5.7 percent if the summer holds no
inflation. That means if the Consumer Price Index
doesn't budge for July, August and September. The
benefit increase will be 6.1 percent if inflation
runs at the 0.2 percent "core" rate for the same
period. And it will be more if inflation is higher
than the core rate. The last time there was a
larger increase was 1982, when it clocked in at
7.4 percent.
The 6 percent figure
was not found in my personal crystal ball.
Anyone can make a
very good estimate of future benefit increases
simply by reading how the annual benefit increase
is calculated by the Social Security
Administration and then plugging in the Consumer
Price Index figures as they are released.
Here's how it's
done...
Read complete article
Also read
COLA UPDATE an
important article by Mike Causey published by
NARFE and Federal News Radio on
August 17, 2008.
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Despite a small increase, at least five
million people aged 65 and over will remain in poverty, since
senior costs are rising significantly faster than the annual
Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).
See:
What
is the CPI, how is it figured, and why the heck do I
care??
and:
Does the CPI reflect what
Seniors must actually spend?
and:
Explanation of exactly how the
2008 COLA was figured
and:
He supports
fair Social Security
Increases to
Reflect Seniors' Higher Costs of
Living
and:
A simple explanation of inflation
and CPI
SeniorArk.com
"Seniors helping Seniors
meet the challenges in retirement"
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*Medicare
Part "B" Premium: No increase for 2009!!!
September 20, 2008
For the first time since 2000, the standard monthly premium
for Medicare will not increase next year, the federal
government announced Friday.
Premiums for Part B coverage,
which pays for physician and outpatient care, some home
health services and medical equipment, will remain $96.40 a
month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
said. Medicare insures the nation's elderly and disabled.
The decision to hold premiums
steady results in part from increased reserves in the
Medicare trust fund. The Part B trust fund was reimbursed
$9.3 billion earlier this year after officials discovered
money had been inadvertently drawn to cover hospice benefits
that should have come from the separate Part A hospital
fund.
"In the future, we're going to
have to go back to raising the premiums to match the
increase in expenditures," warned Richard Foster, chief
actuary at CMS.
The standard rate applies to
individuals with income below $85,000 a year.
The whole thing is
explained in a fact
sheet the feds put out this morning.
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The 2009 Part B monthly premium rates
to be paid by beneficiaries who file an individual tax
return (including those who are single, head of
household, qualifying widow[er] with dependent child,
or married filing separately who lived apart from
their spouse for the entire taxable year), or who file
a joint tax return are:
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Beneficiaries who file an individual tax return
with income: |
Beneficiaries who file a joint tax return with
income: |
Income-related
monthly adjustment amount |
Total monthly
premium amount |
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Less than or equal to $85,000 |
Less than or equal to $170,000 |
$0.00 |
$96.40 |
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Greater than $85,000 and less than or equal to
$107,000 |
Greater than $170,000 and less than or equal to
$214,000 |
$38.50 |
$134.90 |
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Greater than $107,000 and less than or equal to
$160,000 |
Greater than $214,000 and less than or equal to
$320,000 |
$96.30 |
$192.70 |
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Greater than $160,000 and less than or equal to
$213,000 |
Greater than $320,000 and less than or equal to
$426,000 |
$154.10 |
$250.50 |
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Greater than $213,000 |
Greater than $426,000 |
$211.90 |
$308.30 |
In addition, the monthly premium
rates to be paid by beneficiaries who are married, but
file a separate return from their spouse and lived
with their spouse at any time during the taxable year
are:
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Beneficiaries who are married but file a
separate tax return from their spouse: |
Income-related
monthly adjustment amount |
Total monthly
premium amount |
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Less than or equal to $85,000 |
$0.00 |
$96.40 |
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Greater than $85,000 and less than or equal to
$128,000 |
$154.10 |
$250.50 |
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Greater than $128,000 |
$211.90 |
$308.30 |
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*
2008 Social Security COLA (cost-of-living-adjustment)
(This is what you have
been receiving throughout 2008)
The Labor Department
has announced a year-to-year CPI increase of 2.8%, and a core
rate (minus energy and food) of 2.1%. They have also announced
a Social Security COLA of 2.3% for 2008.
This number floats on a monthly basis, based on the CPI
(consumer price index). As of the end of July that adjustment
amount stood at 2.3%. After a .2%
drop in August (did you feel the drop?) the number stood at
2.1%.
September was announced October 17 at 8:30 AM EDT, and
SeniorArk understands the final COLA adjustment for next year
to be 2.3%. A meager adjustment considering the
rising cost of Medicare premiums, not to mention gasoline,
utilities, food, and on and on. At 2.3%, this would mean only
about
a $24 per month increase for the average recipient, and less
for many. Where are they getting these CPI numbers? They must
not shop where we do.
*
2008
Medicare Part B Premium
(click for details)
Part
B premiums are rising almost five
times faster than the annual
Social Security Cost of Living
Adjustment (COLA) seniors receive
each year, which is intended to
help them keep up with rising
costs. While Medicare Part B
premiums will have soared by more
than 93 percent from 2001 - 2008,
the COLA will have crept up by
just 19 percent during the same
period.
As
of
Saturday October 11, 2008, the 2009 Part B
Premium has not been announced by
Medicare. Check regularly back to
this space for the latest
developments.
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What Social Security giveth,
Medicare taketh |
* MORE PART B PREMIUM
INFO
SENIORARK READERS: On October 2, 2007, Medicare
announced a much lower increase in the Part B Premium than was
expected. However, if you
read the SeniorArk article dated October 2, 2007, titled
"Part B Premium up 3.1%"
, you will notice that the
smaller than anticipated increase is merely a slight-of-hand.
The pain is being put off for the near future. One wonders how
much the upcoming election has affected the announced
increase. Pardon our cynicism, but we have seen many examples
of government manipulation of figures to serve another
purpose. SeniorArk believes that the significance of the
article below remains, albeit for the years following the
election campaign.
Barbara B
Kennelly, President and CEO of the
National Committee to
Preserve Social Security and Medicare states:
"While a 3.1 percent
Part B premium hike may not sound like much, for seniors
already facing higher co-payments, out of pocket costs, rising
prescription drug fees and doughnut holes this premium news is
just one small part of the story. Privatized Medicare and Part
D drug coverage continue to leave seniors with healthcare
costs which far outpace their cost of living adjustments."...
“Private insurers promised they
could provide health coverage for seniors cheaper and more
efficiently. Where are those savings? Instead, seniors
are paying higher premiums, co-payments and out of pocket fees
thanks to the privatization of Medicare and unchecked national
healthcare costs."
______________________________________________________________________
See:
Part D Fiasco - Congress Can Do Better,
Part
D In Chart Form,
All about Part D and Medicare,
Survive a Fall into the Doughnut Hole
Medicare Twilight Zone
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