All Posts in "Month: June 2019"

Social Security’s trust funds appear to be holding steady or gaining years in their long-term financial status, although the program isn’t expected to completely cover benefit payouts in the years ahead.

The Social Security Board of Trustees, in its annual report in April, said the combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASI and DI) trust funds are expected to be depleted in 2035, one year later than was projected last year, with 80 percent of benefits payable at that time.

The OASI fund is projected to be exhausted in 2034, the same estimate as a year ago, with 77 percent of benefits payable at that time. And the DI fund is likely to be depleted in 2052, 20 years longer than last year’s estimate of 2032, with 91 percent of benefits still payable.

In their forecast of Social Security’s future, the trustees further announced that the reserves of the combined OASI and DI trust funds increased by $3 billion in 2018 to a total of $2.8 trillion. In 2020, for the first time since 1982, the total annual cost of the program is projected to exceed total annual income, causing reserves to decline next year. Social Security’s cost has exceeded its non-interest income since 2010.

The year when the combined trust fund reserves are projected to become depleted, if Congress doesn’t act before then, is 2035. At that time, there would be sufficient income to pay 80 percent of scheduled benefits.

“The trustees recommend that lawmakers address the projected shortfalls in a timely way in order to phase in necessary changes gradually and give workers and beneficiaries time to adjust to them,” said Nancy Berryhill, who is one of the trustees in her role as acting commissioner of Social Security.

Berryhill said the change in the reserve depletion date for the disability insurance fund is due to disability applications declining since 2010, “and the number of disabled-worker beneficiaries receiving payments has been falling since 2014.”

The Trump administration has proposed spending less money on Social Security over the next 10 years. Proposals facing Congress in an effort to strengthen Social Security include a higher payroll tax, raising the minimum retirement age, and changing formulas for determining benefits.

According to AARP, running out of cash reserves by 2034 wouldn’t leave Social Security bankrupt and unable to pay benefits. The older-adults advocacy organization says that even if Congress does nothing to shore up the system by 2034, Social Security will be able to pay out 79 percent of promised benefits until 2090.

AARP noted the last time Social Security nearly depleted its reserves was in the early 1980s, when Congress increased the full retirement age from 65 to 67 and started to tax benefits based on income levels.

Lawmakers routinely pledge to keep Social Security solvent.

“It is a promise that if you work hard, you will have some security when you retire or if you become disabled,” said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington. “It is a safety net to keep seniors out of financial poverty. Social Security must remain available not only for current beneficiaries but for generations to come.”

srmedia by — June 10, 2019 in News

Washington ranks 14th among states in the 2019 America’s Health Rankings Senior Report by the United Health Foundation, moving up two spots from its place in the 2018 rankings. Contributing to the improvement is a decrease in the number of 65-plus adults who smoke. The news isn’t all good. The report also finds a major challenge facing seniors’ health in Washington is depression, with the percentage of depressed 65-plus adults increasing from 12 percent to 19 percent in the past six years.

srmedia by — June 10, 2019 in Health & Fitness
BOOKS: The life and times of ‘Juliet’

Olivia Hussey, who was immortalized as Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s “Romeo and Juliet,” offers a look at her experiences in the timeless role and her life in “The Girl on the Balcony” (Kensington Books).

The book’s release was timed with the 50th anniversary of the movie, which premiered in the United States on Oct. 8, 1968. Hussey describes her tryout as a teenager for the role (she was late, and Zeffirelli threw paper balls in her face during the balcony scene) and writes candidly of the tensions of her life and her performance of Shakespeare’s century-old words. The “after” of Hussey’s life includes movies, husbands, children, flirty exchanges with David Niven on the set of Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile,” her secret crush on Paul McCartney, a friendship with Elizabeth Taylor, and making an impromptu dinner for The Bee Gees.

Also featured in the Books feature of the June print edition of Senior Scene: “Home is Everywhere: The Unbelievably True Story of One Man’s Journey to Map America” (Disruption Books). It chronicles the work of Charles Novak, a former surveyor with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey who documented the last unmapped parts of a nation. His family that accompanied him through 22 states includes the book’s author, son David Novak, the co-founder of Yum! Brands (a fortune 500 corporation with brands such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut).

srmedia by — June 10, 2019 in Lifestyles

A new report provides evidence that consistent volunteering can improve the health and well-being of people age 55 and older.

The report, released in February by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency responsible for the nation’s volunteer and service efforts, examined the positive impacts on Senior Corps volunteers in the Senior Companion and Foster Grandparent programs who help home-bound seniors maintain independence and tutor and mentor at-risk youth, respectively. According to the research:

• After two years of service in Senior Corps, 84 percent of older adults reported improved or stable health.

• 32 percent of Senior Corps volunteers who reported good health at the beginning of the study reported improved health at the two-year followup.

• Of those who reported five or more symptoms of depression at the beginning of the study, 78 percent felt less depressed two years later. 

• 88 percent of Senior Corps volunteers who first described a lack of companionship reported a decrease in feelings of isolation after two years.

• Among those who initially reported a lack of companionship, 71 percent reported an improvement in their companionship status.

The volunteers found their service satisfying and meaningful through opportunities for personal growth, a sense of accomplishment, and friendship all factors associated with improved health and emotional well-being, officials said.

Information on Senior Corps programs is available at seniorcorps.gov/healthyvolunteers.

srmedia by — June 6, 2019 in Lifestyles