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Friday Alert February 22, 2008
Alliance for Retired Americans
888 16th Street, N.W. - Washington DC, 20006 - (202)
974-8222 - www.retiredamericans.or
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).
Become part of a progressive grassroots movement!
Join the Alliance
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Alliance for Retired Americans 815 16th
St, NW Washington, DC 20006 www.retiredamericans.org
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