Social Security Payments
to Increase 5.8% in 2009
Written By: Attorney
Jeffrey A. Marshall
, CELA*
The Social Security
Administration has announced that monthly Social Security
and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 55
million Americans will increase 5.8 percent in 2009. The 5.8
percent increase is the largest since 1982.
Social
Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits increase
automatically each year based on the rise in the Bureau of
Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). This year's
increase in the CPI-W was 5.8 percent. This means that
the average Social Security benefit that will be payable in
2009 to all retired workers is estimated at $1,153 per
month. The
5.8 percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) increase will
apply to benefits that are paid to over 50 million Social
Security beneficiaries beginning in January 2009.
Increased
payments to more than 7 million Supplemental Security Income
beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2008.
The SSI Federal Payment Standard for 2009 will rise
to $674 per month for an individual (up from $637) and
$1,011 per month for a couple (up from $956).
The Social
Security COLA serves as a factor in determining financial
eligibility for the PDA 60+ Waiver program, the LIFE
program, and a number of Medicaid home-and community-based
waiver programs which are operated in
Pennsylvania
. For these
programs
Pennsylvania
uses a special income rule option that sets the income
standard at 300 percent of the federal benefit (SSI) rate.
As a result of the COLA, the maximum income figure will
increase from $1,911 per month in 2008 to $2,022 in 2009.
Thus, in 2009, an applicant for PDA Waiver or LIFE Program
services who has monthly gross income of $2,022 or less will
meet this Medicaid eligibility requirement.
Some other
changes that take effect in January of each year are also
based on the Social Security increase. In 2009 the
maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security
tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $106,800 from
$102,000. Of the estimated 164 million workers who
will pay Social Security taxes in 2009, about 11 million
will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase in the
taxable maximum.
Attorney
Marshall can be contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com
or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about Attorney
Marshall is available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html
Bailout Law Includes More
Than Rescue Plan
Written By: Attorney
Jeffrey A. Marshall
, CELA*
The
recently enacted Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (more commonly called
the “Bailout Bill”)
contains a lot more than just the financial bailout
measures. Over $150 billion in separate tax goodies are
included, along with $44 billion in “offsets” (also
known as “tax increases.”)
Some of the following provisions may be of significance to seniors:
FDIC
Coverage Increase. Section 136 of the new law
provides for a temporary increase in Federal Deposit
Insurance Coverage. This raises the FDIC and the National
Credit Union Share Insurance Fund deposit insurance limits
from $100,000 per account to $250,000 until
December 31, 2009. See the related article in this issue
of the Elder
Care Law Alert
Additional
Standard Deduction for Real Property Taxes. In 2008,
Congress authorized a maximum $500 additional deduction for
tax filers who take the standard deduction ($1,000 for joint
filers). This
added deduction was originally available only for the 2008
tax year. The new law extends this standard deduction
addition for real property taxes for non-itemizers through
2009. This increases the standard deduction by $1,000 (to
$11,900) for non-itemizing joint filers, by $500 (to $5,950)
for non-itemizing individuals and to $8,500 for
non-itemizing heads of household.
Tax-Free
Distributions from IRAs for Charitable Purposes. The
new law permits taxpayers who are over age 70 ½ to make
tax-free distributions from IRAs for charitable purposes
through December 31, 2009. This charitable contribution
option had previously existed but expired January 1, 2008.
The maximum contribution limit for 2008 and again for 2009
is $100,000.
State
and Local Sales Tax Deduction The American Jobs
Creation Act of 2004 allowed individuals to deduct state
and local general sales taxes in lieu of state and local
income taxes. This deduction expired at the end of 2007. The
new law makes the deduction retroactive for 2008 and extends
it for two years through December 31, 2009.
Energy
The new law
extends a host of energy tax incentives for consumers,
producers and manufacturers. It expands the definition of
renewable energy sources that are eligible for tax
incentives, extends some credits for as long as eight years,
and ends or modifies the caps on others. For example, the
30% solar electricity credit currently has a $2,000 cap.
This limitation is removed, effective for solar electric
property placed in service after December 31, 2008. That
means that a qualifying installation of a $25,000
residential solar system would allow a homeowner to take
$7,500 off his taxes.
A credit of up to $500 is available
under IRC Sec. 25C credit for the purchase of residential
energy property improvements such as insulation materials,
exterior windows, including skylights and exterior doors.
AMT
Patch
Congress included an Alternative
Minimum Tax (AMT) patch in the new law. Under the new
law’s patch for the 2008 tax year, the AMT exemption
amounts are $69,950 for married couples filing jointly and
surviving spouses, $46,200 for single taxpayers and heads of
household, and $34,975 for married couples filing
separately. The
patch only applies to 2008. Without the change for 2008, the
exemptions would have reverted to $45,000 for couples and
$33,750 for individuals.
Click here for the full text of the
law: http://financialservices.house.gov/ESSABill.pdf
Attorney
Marshall can be contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com
or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about Attorney
Marshall is available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html
FDIC
Deposit Insurance Coverage Increased
Written By: Attorney
Jeffrey A. Marshall
, CELA*
As
a result of the recent economic crisis, the Federal
Government has expanded federal deposit insurance coverage
for many Bank and Credit Union deposit accounts.
Here is a brief summary of changes with links to
further information.
Non-Interest Bearing Accounts
All non-interest bearing transaction deposit accounts at
an FDIC-insured institution, including all personal and
business checking deposit accounts that do not earn
interest, are fully insured for the entire amount in the
deposit account. This unlimited insurance coverage is
temporary and will remain in effect for participating
institutions until December 31, 2009.
For more information visit: http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2008/pr08100.html
Insurance Increase to $250,000
All other deposit accounts at FDIC-insured institutions
are insured up to at least $250,000 per depositor until
December 31, 2009. On January 1, 2010, FDIC deposit
insurance for all deposit accounts—except for certain
retirement accounts—will return to at least $100,000 per
depositor. Insurance coverage for certain retirement
accounts, which include all IRA deposit accounts, will
remain at $250,000 per depositor.
For more information visit: http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2008/pr08093.html
Trust Accounts
The FDIC has simplified its rules for the insurance
coverage of revocable trust accounts. The new rules provide
at least as much coverage as the former rules, and
expiration dates are removed.
Read more about this change at: http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2008/fil08099.html.
Attorney Marshall can be
contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com
or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about Attorney
Marshall is available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html
Heating
Assistance
Written
By: Planning Specialist Karen Griswold
As
we enter this year’s heating season, we should all take a
moment to spread the word about The Pennsylvania Low Income Home
Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
We should not assume that our family, friends and
neighbors are aware of this program.
The LIHEAP season opens November 3, 2008 and helps
low-income families pay their heating bills.
Resources are excluded in determining LIHEAP
eligibility and the applicant can choose whether the time
period to be used in determining gross annual income is 30
days, 90 days, or 12 months prior to the date of
application. This
allows the applicant to use the income time period that is
most advantageous to them.
The
2008/2009 Income Guidelines are:
Household Size
Maximum Income
1
$23,110
2
$30,221
3
$37,332
4
$44,443
5
$51,554
You can apply online at www.compass.state.pa.us,
by completing a mail-in application, or by contacting your
local County Assistance Office or the LIHEAP hotline at
1-866-857-7095. Applicants
who received benefits last year will automatically receive a
mail-in application.
Karen can
be contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com
or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about Karen is
available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html
Annual Gift Tax Exclusion
Increases to $13,000
Written
By: Attorney Jeffrey A. Marshall, CELA*
Each year the dollar amounts
of a number of tax provisions are revised to keep pace with
inflation. The IRS has announced that key changes affecting
2009 returns, which will be filed by most taxpayers in early
2010, will include the following:
·
The annual gift tax exclusion will increase
from $12,000 to $13,000 effective January 1, 2009. The gift
tax exclusion is the amount the IRS allows a taxpayer to
gift to another individual without reporting the gift or
using any of their lifetime gift tax exclusion.
·
The value of each personal and dependency
exemption, available to most taxpayers, will be $3,650, up
$150 from 2008.
·
The new standard deduction will rise to
$11,400 for married couples filing a joint return (up $500),
$5,700 for singles and married individuals filing separately
(up $250) and $8,350 for heads of household (up $350).
Nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard
deduction, rather than itemizing deductions, such as
mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and
local taxes.
·
Tax-bracket thresholds increase for each
filing status. For a married couple filing a joint return,
for example, the taxable-income threshold separating the
15-percent bracket from the 25-percent bracket will be
$67,900, up from $65,100 in 2008.
·
The maximum earned income tax credit for low
and moderate income workers and working families with two or
more children will be $5,028, up from $4,824. The income
limit for the credit for joint return filers with two or
more children is $43,415, up from $41,646.
The IRS news
release announcing these inflation-adjusted tax figures for
2009 is available online at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=187825,00.html
Attorney
Marshall can be contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com
or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about Attorney
Marshall is available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html
Assisted Living
Regulations Update
Written
By: Attorney Jeffrey A. Marshall, CELA*
Act
56 of 2007 created a new class of assisted living providers.
Regulations will permit them to serve residents with higher
care needs including some who would qualify for
Medicaid-funded nursing home care.
Unlike personal care homes, this new Assisted Living
Residence (ALR) provider class will be able to deliver some
health care services to their residents.
The Legislature directed the Department of Public
Welfare to develop regulations to implement the intent of
Act 56.
On
August 9, 2008, the Department of Public Welfare (DPW)
published proposed Assisted Living Regulations #14-514.
The proposed regulations are available online at http://tinyurl.com/6y7yml.
In accordance with Pennsylvania law, interested
parties were permitted to submit comments.
Comments, which were filed by industry and consumer
representatives as well as legislators, are available at http://tinyurl.com/6x6rex.
On
October 15th, the Independent Regulatory Review
Commission issued its comments to DPW.
Those comments are available at http://tinyurl.com/3ky6sr
. The
Independent Regulatory Review Commission reviews state
agency regulations to ensure that they are in the public
interest. Its
comments suggest that DPW’s proposed regulations need a
lot more work. Chief among the concerns raised by the IRRC
is the confusion over the term “assisted living
DPW
is now in the process of reviewing and addressing the
comments and preparing final regulations.
While the Department intends to move the process
along as expeditiously as possible, it is not clear how soon
that will be. DPW
will not issue final regulations until next year, and it is
unlikely that they will be implemented before July 1, 2009
at the earliest.
A
Pittsburgh Post Gazette story on the comments to the
regulations and DPW’s response is available online at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08296/921716-85.stm
Attorney
Marshall can be contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com
or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about
Attorney Marshall is available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html
Amendments
to the Americans with
Disabilities Act
Written By: Attorney Jeffrey A.
Marshall, CELA*
On September 25, 2008 the
President signed Amendments to the Americans with
Disabilities Act into law.
The new law corrects a series of Supreme Court
decisions that limited the scope of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) which took effect in 1990. In cases
heard in 1999 and 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that
individuals who could compensate for their disabilities with
medications, medical devices or prosthetics did not qualify
for protection under ADA.
Because of the rulings, some disabled people, like
those with epilepsy or diabetes, were forced to choose
between treating their conditions and forfeiting their
protections under the 1990 law.
The new Act
expands the definition of "disabled" which is set
out in the ADA. It states that the Supreme Court erred by
"eliminating protection for many individuals whom
Congress intended to protect" under the ADA. In
addition, the legislation states that courts should not
consider the effects of "mitigating measures" --
such as medications, hearing aids, and artificial limbs --
in the determination of a disability, and that "an
impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability
if it would substantially limit a major life activity when
active."
The law
includes a number of clarifications of aspects of the ADA
and states that disability should be construed in favor of
broad coverage of individuals under the ADA.
The text of the new law is available
online at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN03406:@@@L&summ2=m&
Attorney
Marshall can be contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com
or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about Attorney
Marshall is available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html
New
PA Legislation Enacted
Written
By: Attorney Jeffrey A. Marshall, CELA*
On October 8th and 9th, Governor Rendell signed a
number of bills into law.
Act 102
[House Bill 834 (HB 834)] commonly known as the “Mandatory
Overtime” law, establishes the “Prohibition of
Excessive Overtime in Health Care Act” which provides
that, except in certain circumstances, a health care
facility cannot require an employee to work in excess of an
agreed to, predetermined and regularly scheduled shift.
Overtime can be mandated when an unforeseeable emergent
circumstance occurs and the assignment of additional hours
is a last resort; the employer has exhausted reasonable
efforts to obtain other staffing; and the employer gives the
employee an hour to arrange for child or elder care or care
of a disabled family member.
Act 102 is intended to restrict the use of mandatory overtime for direct
patient caregivers such as nurses and nursing assistants.
Its purported goal is to improve patient safety.
This new legislative ban will affect a wide range of
Pennsylvania health care providers including hospitals,
hospices, ambulatory surgical centers, long-term care
facilities, and mental retardation facilities
Health care facilities can no longer require an employee to work hours
beyond an agreed-to, predetermined, regularly-scheduled
daily work shift; facilities also may not retaliate against
workers who refuse to work extra hours.
The law does not bar employees from working voluntary
overtime and mandatory overtime is to be permitted in
certain emergency situations as noted above.
The Act represents a big political victory for labor organizations
including The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and
Allied Professionals, and SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, the
Commonwealth’s largest health care workers’ union.
Act 108
(House Bill 1177) amends Title 40 (Insurance) to provide that professional health service
plans must directly pay for services provided by social
workers, occupational therapists, marriage and family
therapists and professional counselors.
Act 114
(House Bill 2034) allows a pharmacist employed by, or a
pharmacy under contract with, a long-term care facility to
repackage, re-label and dispense a dose of a drug acquired
by a Veteran’s Administration hospital to a veteran who is
a patient of the long-term care facility.
Act 120
(House Bill 2629) amends the Health Care Facilities Act to require that the Department of
Health promulgate regulations for the licensure and
operation of small residential hospices with 22 or fewer
beds.
Act
118 (House Bill 2499) enacts the Massage
Therapy Law and establishes an 11-member State Board
of Massage Therapy. The board’s charge is to approve
qualifications and fitness of applicants for a license to
practice massage therapy; promulgate necessary regulations;
revoke, deny, approve, renew or suspend licenses; and submit
an annual report.
Act 91
(Senate Bill 1023) amends the Acupuncture Registration Law to require that acupuncturists be
licensed by the commonwealth. Current law requires them to
be registered.
Copies of
these new laws and other enacted legislation are available
online at the website of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, HERE
Attorney
Marshall can be contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com
or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about Attorney
Marshall is available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html
New Secretary of Aging
Written
By: Attorney Jeffrey A. Marshall, CELA*
Pennsylvania’s
Secretary of Aging has resigned effective October 31.
Nora Dowd Eisenhower has served as Pennsylvania’s
Secretary of Aging since the start of the Rendell
Administration.
She will be replaced on an acting basis
by John Michael Hall. Hall
currently heads Pennsylvania’s Office of Long Term Living
which operates under and coordinates the work of the
departments of Aging and Public Welfare.
As secretary of Aging, Hall will
oversee the provision of Lottery-funded services and
benefits to older Pennsylvanians, which include the PACE/PACENET
prescription programs, family caregiving, transportation,
home and community based services, Alzheimer’s programs,
health and wellness education, senior community centers and
nutrition programs, adult day services and protective
services for older people at risk of abuse or neglect. Many
of the services are provided through the state’s 52 Area
Agencies on Aging.
Before joining the Rendell
administration, Hall served as deputy commissioner for
health, integrated access and strategy in the Maine
Department of Health and Human Services. Hall also held a
number of executive-level positions in the Vermont Agency of
Human Services and Vermont’s Department of Aging and
Disabilities. A
lawyer, Hall worked at Vermont Legal Aid Inc. from 1982 to
1996, serving as state ombudsman, and director of the
Elderly Law Unit.
More information about the Pennsylvania
Department of Aging is available online at
www.aging.state.pa.us.
Attorney
Marshall can be contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com
or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about Attorney
Marshall is available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html
Be
In the Pink
Written
By: Planning Specialist Josephine Reviello
October
is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Since the inception of The National Breast Cancer
Awareness Month organization (NBCAM) more than 20 years ago,
there has been an increased awareness of breast cancer
issues, including treatments, updated information,
resources, and providing access to screening services for
early detection. NBCAM is comprised of several national
public service organizations, professional medical
associations, and government agencies all focusing on
encouraging women to take charge of their own breast health.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer
in women, aside from skin cancer.
Breast cancer is cancer that forms in the tissues of
the breast, usually the ducts and lobules or glands that
make milk. New
cases of breast cancer in the United States are estimated to
be 178,480 (female); 2,030 (male).
The disease is 100 times more common in women than
men. Among the
risk factors, besides being female, are increased age,
genetics, early start of menstruation and use of hormone
replacement therapy (for additional information on risk
factors, to the NBCAM website www.nbcam.com
or the American Cancer Society Website www.cancer.org).
The basic treatment choices for breast
cancer are surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormonal
therapy, which may or may not be included in the treatment
regimen, depending on hormonal involvement in the growth of
the tumor. However, early detection is key. Mammograghy or
mammogram screening remains the best available method to
detect breast cancer early and is usually recommended on a
regular basis for women around 40 or so, depending on your
personal and family history and your doctor. A regular
Breast Self-Exam (BSE) is important early detection practice
as well. For more information on BSE and other screening
methods, visit Susan G. Komen for the Cure: Early Detection
& Screeing (www.komen.org).
You can visit the NBCAM website to find
local breast cancer awareness events. Besides wearing
something pink, find out how you can participate in these
events or spread awareness on the job or in your
neighborhood to promote your support in raising awareness
and funds in the fight against breast cancer.
Josephine
can be contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com
or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about Josephine is
available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html
Learn How To Protect Your Family from
Long Term Care Costs
at our FREE Consumer Workshop
Saturday,
November 1, 2008 from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM at Durrwachter
Alumni Conference Center on the campus of Lock Haven
University
More
information available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/workshops.html
