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Friday Alert
Friday, February 22, 2008
(Alliance for Retired Americans)
Seniors
Must File Federal Tax Returns in Order to
Receive Stimulus Checks
In 2008, up
to 20 million Americans who rely primarily on
Social Security income will qualify for an
economic stimulus check from the federal
government. Generally, people need more
than $3,000 in 2007 income to qualify for the
rebate. Even seniors who do not earn
income through current employment can qualify,
if their Social Security benefits, Veterans
Affairs (VA) benefits, and railroad retirement
benefits add up to at least $3,000
annually. In most cases, seniors will
receive an economic stimulus check ranging from
$300 to $600, with payments increasing by $300
for families with dependent children under the
age of 17. The IRS encourages filing a
return by the regular April 15 deadline to get
the rebate check in May of this year.
Those filing later than April 15, with or
without a tax-filing extension, may delay
receipt of the rebate. Those who qualify
for a stimulus check will receive one by the
end of 2008 if they file by October 15,
2008. However, no rebate checks will be
issued after 2008. “Seniors need to
file a 2007 federal tax return, either the IRS
Form 1040 or the 1040A-short-form, to receive
their stimulus checks. This is true even
if their income had been low enough that they
were not required to file in previous years,”
said George J.
Kourpias, President of the
Alliance. For more information, including
where to get help with tax forms, go to www.retiredamericans.org.
President Pulls 45% Trigger, Increases
Prescription Drug Premiums for
Millions
Last Friday, President
Bush pulled the 45% trigger, responding
to a law requiring him to propose legislation
that reduces Medicare spending when the program
is expected to be more than 45% funded by
general government revenue for two years.
The President’s plan forces even higher costs
on retirees by linking beneficiaries’ Part D
premium levels to their income, while
maintaining overpayments to private insurance
companies. The means-test will increase
monthly premiums for 1.5 million seniors in
2009. Approximately 8% of Medicare Part D
recipients, 3.7 million seniors, will be
affected by 2018, since the income thresholds
for increased premiums are not scheduled to
rise with inflation. Additionally, the
Office of the Actuary estimates that more than
800,000 beneficiaries will immediately drop
their Medicare drug benefits if the legislation
is approved, potentially raising costs for
lower- and middle-income seniors. The
proposal made no cuts to insurance industry
programs like Medicare Advantage, which costs
taxpayers an additional 12-19% more than
traditional Medicare each year. Congress
would have to act before the changes could
become law. “If the goal is to reduce
Medicare spending, eliminating Medicare
Advantage overpayments is a much better place
to start than increasing the premiums of
seniors who rely on these programs,” said
Edward
Coyle, Executive Director of the
Alliance.
Supreme Court Allows Employees to Sue
Over 401(k) Misconduct
The U.S.
Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Wednesday
that individual participants in the most common
type of retirement plan can sue under a pension
protection law to recover their losses.
According to The New York Times, the
unanimous decision has implications for 50
million workers with $2.7 trillion invested in
401(k) retirement plans. James LaRue
of Southlake, Texas, said the value of his
stock market holdings plunged $150,000 when
administrators at his retirement plan failed to
follow his instructions to switch to safer
investments. The issue in his case was
whether the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act (ERISA) permits an individual account
holder to sue plan administrators for breaching
their fiduciary duties. The language of
the law refers to recovering money for the
''plan'' rather than for an individual, raising
the question of whether a participant can sue
solely for himself. The court ruled that
such lawsuits are allowed, overturning a
judgment by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. “The
Supreme Court got this one right,” said Ruben Burks,
Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.
“Seniors whose 401(k) plans are grossly
mismanaged should certainly be able to have
their grievances heard in court.”
Participants in 401(k) plans do not know how
much money they will receive in retirement,
since the amount they get back depends on how
well their chosen investments have
performed. The term 401(k) refers to a
section of the Internal Revenue
Code.
More Families Reaching Lifetime
Insurance Caps
An increasing number
of American families are finding themselves
paying hundreds of thousands of dollars or more
in medical bills, despite having health
insurance. According to a recent Washington
Post article, costs for chronic
illnesses or organ transplants can quickly
surpass the lifetime benefit limits that are
standard in many insurance policies.
Fifty-five percent of American workers who
received health insurance through their
employers in 2007 had such a cap, with 23%
facing a limit of less than $2 million.
Some who are pushing Congress to require
insurance companies to increase the caps note
that the ceilings for some plans have not
increased in decades. Almost all have risen
below the pace of health care costs, meaning
more people will reach these limits over the
next several years.
Speaker Announced
for National Alliance’s Western Regional
Conference
U.S. Rep. Shelley
Berkley (NV-01) will address Alliance
members from across the west at the national
Alliance’s first regional conference of 2008,
March 24-26 in Las Vegas, NV. The Western
Regional Conference will also provide a forum
for activists to work together and prepare for
November’s Presidential election.
Locations and dates for later conferences
are: Northeastern Regional Conference,
April 17-18, 2008 in Philadelphia, PA;
Midwestern Regional Conference, April 28-29,
2008 in St. Louis, MO; and Southern Regional
Conference, June 4-5, 2008 in Orlando,
FL. For copies of the official
registration form for any of the four regional
conferences, call 1-888-373-6497, email Joni Jones at
jjones@retiredamericans.org,
or visit our website at www.retiredamericans.org.
Did You
Know…
Of the 24 states that held
contests on Super Tuesday, only eight
facilitated voting in long-term care settings,
either by setting up public polling locations
on the premises, sending election officials
into the home to assist seniors, or helping
nursing home administrators obtain absentee
ballots in advance (Senior Journal).
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