The decrease in 2011 according to The Senior Citizens League represents two-thirds of the 37 million seniors who receive Social Security benefits.

The estimate is based on the group’s recent survey of more than 2,400 seniors. Half of them said they received lower Social Security benefits after Medicare premium deductions this year, due to the lack of a COLA for the first time in 35 years.

The same situation is expected next year, because the Social Security Trustees and Congressional Budget Office have predicted that inflation will again remain too low to pay a COLA. Medicare premiums, on the other hand, are expected to increase.

Another year of no COLA will put Social Security benefits through the wringer said an expert. After paying their Medicare health insurance premiums, seniors will have even less to spend on other essentials. This will force many of them to fall below the poverty line.

Forty-seven percent of those surveyed said their annual Social Security benefits were reduced by at least $132 in 2010; about ten percent reported that their benefits dropped by more than $840.

The Senior Citizens League strongly supports legislation that would provide an emergency COLA or guarantee a minimum average COLA to prevent the erosion in Social Security benefits.

This is simply more proof that aging Americans must plan for their own future including retirement savings plans and long term insurance protection states Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  For more information and a free on reducing the cost of insurance, visit the organization’s website.

The study assumes no employer-provided retiree health care coverage and life expectancies of 17 years for men and 20 years for women. 

The annual health care costs estimate revealed that almost half (47%) are paying more each month for insurance premiums and out-of-pocket health care costs than they had anticipated in retirement. Only three out of 10 of these retirees saved specifically for health care needs in retirement during their working years. 

Among those surveyed, 11 percent said their health care costs are $1,000 a month or higher. Average health care costs ranked second to the largest expense, food, which averaged $659 a month and slightly higher than housing-related costs, which averaged $494.

“Too few people have even planned for long-term care one of the most costly expenses,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  “Planning needs to begin in your 50s because few are able to health qualify for protection once they reach retirement age.” 

When asked to identify their single biggest financial concern today, three out of 10 retirees said paying for today’s health care costs and long-term health care expenses such as a nursing home are among their biggest worries. 

Other financial concerns included paying for daily living expenses such as food, transportation and utilities (17%), assisting grown children and grandchildren with their financial needs (10%) and paying for housing (7%). A little more than a third (35%) of retirees said they have no financial worries.

According to the study, over half (51%) are paying out-of-pocket for health care costs not covered by Medicare and four out of 10 (45%) have bought supplemental insurance to cover the gap. Only a small percentage of retirees indicated using other measures, such as tapping retirement funds earlier than anticipated (2%), credit cards (2%) or relying on family (1%). 

However, more than four in 10 of those surveyed (44%) said health care expenses have had a negative effect on their retirement budget.

The complete list of the newly recognized medical conditions that clearly qualify patients for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability benefits – Compassionate Allowance conditions – can be found  below. 

“The addition of these new conditions expands the scope of Compassionate Allowances to a broader subgroup of conditions like early-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” Commissioner Astrue said.  “The expansion we are announcing today means tens of thousands of Americans with devastating disabilities will now get approved for benefits in a matter of days rather than months and years.” 

The quick identification of these conditions allows the agency to electronically target and make speedy decisions for the most obviously disabled individuals.  

In developing the expanded list of conditions, Social Security held public hearings and worked closely with the National Institutes of Health, the Alzheimer’s Association, the National Organization for Rare Disorders, and other groups reports the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. 

For more information about the agency’s Compassionate Allowances initiative, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances.

New Compassionate Allowance Conditions

1.                  Alstrom Syndrome

2.                  Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia

3.                  Ataxia Spinocerebellar

4.                  Ataxia Telangiectasia

5.                  Batten Disease

6.                  Bilateral Retinoblastoma

7.                  Cri du Chat Syndrome

8.                  Degos Disease

9.                  Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease

10.              Edwards Syndrome

11.              Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva

12.              Fukuyama Congenital Muscular Dystrophy

13.              Glutaric Acidemia Type II

14.              Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), Familial Type

15.              Hurler Syndrome, Type IH

16.              Hunter Syndrome, Type II

17.              Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

18.              Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa, Lethal Type

19.              Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses

20.              Leigh’s Disease

21.              Maple Syrup Urine Disease

22.              Merosin Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy

23.              Mixed Dementia

24.              Mucosal Malignant Melanoma

25.              Neonatal Adrenoleukodystrophy

26.              Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses, Infantile Type

27.              Niemann-Pick Type C

28.              Patau Syndrome

29.              Primary Progressive Aphasia

30.              Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy

31.              Sanfilippo Syndrome

32.              Subacute Sclerosis Panencephalitis

33.              Tay Sachs Disease

34.              Thanatophoric Dysplasia, Type 1

35.              Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy

36.              Walker Warburg Syndrome

37.              Wolman Disease

38.              Zellweger Syndrome

Along with increased life expectancy, the report notes the death rate has dropped to an all-time low of 760.3 deaths per 100,000 people, continuing a long-term trend.  “It is increasingly likely that Americans will live a long life into their 80s, 90s and even past 100,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.  “But few are prepared for the consequences of living that long.”

The death rate has been decreasing in the United States since the 1960s with fewer deaths from heart disease, stroke and cancer are driving the trend, he said.   The report is based on data from nearly 90 percent of U.S. death certificates. 

According to the report, life expectancy in 2007 increased to 77.9 years (77 years and 11 months) up from 77.7 years in 2006. Since 2000, life expectancy has increased 1.4 years.

The five leading causes of death, accounting for 64 percent of all deaths, are heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases and accidents. 

Death rates in the United States vary by region and state, with the Southeast leading the nation. The researchers report that white women have the longest life expectancy (80.7 years) followed by black women (77 years).   At age 65, life expectancy was 18.6 years in 2007, an increase of 6 percent since 2000. 

Experts note that living longer will also have unforeseen effects on the country.  “People living 20 years or more than their predecessors will have to rethink retirement planning,” Slome said.  “The nation will see a significant drain on Social Security and Medicare benefits as these programs were designed to support people for only five to 10 years after retiring.”