New Federal Budget Will Affect Social Security and Medicare

Posted on December 23, 2015

The new budget that President Obama just signed into law will have a significant impact on Social Security and Medicare. While many of these changes will benefit recipients of Social Security and Medicare, some may limit filing options. Here are a few of the changes that could affect your benefits:

Social Security benefits will not change. There was a chance that everyone’;s Social Security Disability benefits would be reduced by 19 percent next year. The new budget shifts payroll tax revenue from the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund to the Disability Insurance Trust Fund, so that the benefits won’;t get reduced.
Many Medicare beneficiaries were expecting a 52 percent increase in their Medicare Part B insurance premiums. But, thanks to the new budget, 70 percent of Medicare beneficiaries will continue to pay the same premiums they paid in 2015.
By May 1, 2016, you will no longer have the option to file for benefits and then immediately suspend those benefits so that your spouse can file for spousal benefits.
Under the new law, people born after January 1, 1954 will automatically get the larger of two options between their spousal benefit based on their spouses’; record, or a retirement benefit based on their own work record. Before this change, they had the option to choose which benefits they would receive.

If you are nearing retirement age, or if you are currently receiving Social Security Disability benefits, you probably have many questions about how the changes will affect you and your family.

Don’;t hesitate to reach out to an experienced Florida Social Security Disability attorney who can review your financial situation and guide you in the right direction. Farah & Farah can help.