Could Social Security Beneficiaries see an extra payment in 2017? This article is from Disability Scoop...
Top Senate Democrats want Congress to approve a one-time $581 emergency payment for the more than 65 million retirees, veterans and Americans with disabilities who receive Social Security payments.
The payments would help those who were denied a cost-of-living adjustment in 2016 and who are set to receive an average raise of $5 a month- or 0.3 percent- in 2017. It would increase the average monthly payment from $1,355 to $1,360 per month.
Those receiving Supplemental Security Income are set to gain even less- the maximum federal benefit for individuals will rise just $2 to $735 per month.
Lawmakers said this amount is "woefully inadequate for seniors to keep up with the ever-increasing costs of everyday life", and that Congress needs to help "make up for their lost dollars."
Senate Democrats pushed the plan, called the Seniors and Veterans Emergency (SAVE) Benefits Act, last year without luck.
Now it's part of the post-election agenda that Democratic leaders will pursue if they win enough seats Nov. 8 to take control of the Senate next year.
The $581 payment would represent a 3.9 percent increase for Social Security recipients, equal to the same percentage raise that most business executives received the previous year. It has been proposed that the payments be made as refundable tax credits.
Democrats want to pay for the legislation by changing a law that allows corporations to write off executive bonuses as a business expense for performance pay.
Congress approved a one-time $250 payment for Social Security recipients in 2009 to help them get through the recession.
The extra $581 would be equal to three months of groceries for most seniors, veterans and people with disabilities and that the emergency payment could also help them pay for out-of-pocket expenses for the prescription drugs they receive under medicare.
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