Congressional Republicans' proposed changes to Social Security have advocates for Massachusetts beneficiaries concerned about the future of the key safety net program.

A recent GOP budget proposal suggested raising the benefit eligible retirement age to 69, "to account for increases in life expectancy."

Nancy Altman, president of the advocacy group Social Security Works, said it essentially amounts to more than $1.5 trillion in benefit cuts.

"You never catch up, even if you work till age 70," Altman pointed out. "Your benefit's going to be about 7% lower than it is under current law."

Social Security does face financial headwinds a decade from now. The White House wants to raise payroll taxes on the wealthy to keep the program fully funded but skeptics argued it would not be enough.

Altman thinks it is a good first step. The GOP framework also calls for reducing benefits for higher earners. No income threshold was provided, but Altman suspects it would still hurt a lot of people who do not retire wealthy.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass, said it includes more than 100,000 beneficiaries in her district alone, many of whom, she said, have paid into the program their entire working lives.

"Social Security is a promise to workers, to our elders, to the disabled," Pressley emphasized. "A promise to all people, who seek to age with dignity."

Republicans insist their proposed changes would not cut or delay benefits for any senior currently in or near retirement but Pressley noted many of her constituents already struggle to survive on fixed incomes. She is co-sponsoring legislation which would increase benefits for the first time in more than fifty years by 2%.


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Congress faces increasing pressure to adopt changes to keep Social Security on firm financial ground in the years to come.

North Dakota retirees are sharing their thoughts about key challenges facing the program. It is not losing money as fast as once thought but a recent federal report predicted Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits a decade from now if moves are not made ahead of time.

Eddie Johs, a retiree from Fargo and an AARP volunteer, receives Social Security benefits in addition to a pension. He feels he is one of the lucky ones who does not rely solely on monthly payments from the safety net.

"I realize many people don't have a pension," Johs noted. "Social Security is just a lifeline for those people."

He said some self-employed individuals and those receiving lower wages face barriers in securing larger nest eggs. Johs will attend a Social Security Summit hosted by AARP next Tuesday at the Fargodome from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He hopes fellow retirees listen in to what elected officials and others have to say about potential solutions and the program's impact.

Congress has long been at odds over how to address the solvency issue. Democrats often push for higher earners to be taxed on more of their income, while some Republicans have floated raising the retirement age. Johs suggested a variety of changes are likely needed but he is skeptical about asking people to work longer for the benefits they've earned.

"People that work construction or work outside, city employees, that'd be tough to work at age 65 and up when you do outdoor physical work," Johs stressed.

Currently, the full benefit retirement age is 66 for those born in 1955, and it will gradually rise to 67 for those born in later years. In the U.S. House, the Republican Study Committee has called for what it describes as "modest adjustments" to the retirement age to account for increases in life expectancy.

As advocacy groups take a victory lap for moving lawmakers to finally allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices for 10 widely-used medicines, a new report detailed how the makers of those drugs have gouged billions of taxpayer and consumer dollars.

Kyle Herrig, senior adviser for the group Accountable.US, said drugmakers have exploited U.S. patent laws to control prices for decades.

"These kinds of tactics keep prices high for the consumers," Herrig pointed out. "And often lead to patients skipping doses, disproportionately impacting lower-income Black and Latin American communities."

Drugmakers have routinely paid competitors to delay the introduction of cheaper generic versions of popular drugs. They have also kept prices high by resetting patent protections by slightly altering a drug to secure a second patent. Drug companies have long argued high prices are necessary to finance the development of new lifesaving medicines.

Even though U.S. taxpayers invested nearly $12 billion in the research and development of the drugs negotiated by Medicare, Herrig said pharmaceutical makers have also flooded the courts to keep prices high.

"Despite taking billions of taxpayer dollars for drug development, these big pharma companies unleashed an army of patent attorneys to keep lifesaving medication exclusive and more expensive for seniors and other patients," Herrig contended.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., worked with groups including AARP to push Congress to allow Medicare to use its purchasing power to bring down drug prices. She said medications do not work if you cannot afford them.

"It is fine to make profits, but not to the extent that you're actually hurting Americans' health," Klobuchar asserted. "In the United States of America, no one should be forced to choose between filling their prescriptions or filling their grocery carts."

Oregon has more than 270,000 veterans. Many of them may not know they're eligible for home modification grants through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. An AARP survey found 60% of veterans aged 45 and older weren't aware of grants available through the VA.

Juanita Jimenez-Soto, AARP national veterans and military families manager, said her organization analyzed five grants from the VA and developed a guide to help veterans navigate through them.

"They allow you to buy, build or modify a home to meet their long term needs. Now these grants provide eligible veterans with a disability rating of one all the way to 100% up to $117,000 to pay for renovations," she explained.

Jimenez-Soto noted financial aid for home modifications are free for people who qualify. The VA offers more than $150 million through these grant programs each year.

AARP's survey also found that nearly a quarter of veterans say they would need financial aid to stay in their current home. Jimenez-Soto added that it's important for people to think not just about their current needs but also what they might need in the future.

"We find that a lot of times veterans may not need that modification - that handrail in the bathroom or that ramp - but as you age your body will change sometimes," she continued.

Jimenez-Soto said veterans need to remember they earned these benefits.

"Sometimes a veteran may not think that they are deserving of those benefits. Maybe someone else who's also served, they think, 'Well they could need it more.' The thing is, there is enough money out there in these programs to apply for them and get them," she said.