Tips to Help Stay Healthy While Going out in Public

Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown restrictions are beginning to ease around the U.S. But whether the shops around you are open or closed, the risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 will not completely go away until we achieve herd immunity or access to a vaccine. There are currently more than 3.3 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus around the world, and over 1 million of those are in the U.S.

Fortunately, there are measures we can take when leaving the house and coming in contact with people outside the household. Since this new strain of coronavirus is highly contagious and can be passed along by those who appear asymptomatic, it is important to stay alert.

• Wear a face mask in public places – Six weeks ago, wearing a face mask when going out in public was purely voluntary. In many places, it still is, though the CDC now encourages it as a voluntary health measurein areas with high transmission rates, and in places where people can’t maintain social distancing of six feet. The recommendation applies to face masks and coverings you make at home or buy.
• Don’t make shopping trips a source of entertainment – The point of shelter in place and stay at home efforts is to keep you from transmitting the virus to others or acquiring it yourself. Yes, that can be boring, but the list of COVID-19 symptoms is long and frightening for people who have it, even if they do recover, which can take weeks.
• Use other body parts instead of finger tips – Any time you have to open a door, push a button, pull a lever or digitally sign for something, use a different body part instead. You can usually flip on a light switch or sink faucet with your elbow or wrist, and you can wrap the sleeve of your sweater or jacket around the handle of any doors you have to physically pull open. It’s easy enough to toss your clothing into the wash later rather than expose your skin now, especially if the chances you’ll use your hands to touch food items or your face is high.
• Distance, distance, distance – Social distancing can mean anything from hunkering down at home and refraining from seeing outside friends and family in person to keeping a boundary between you and others when you do go out. The practice of keeping six feet away from those outside your home group extends to waiting in line at the grocery store, going on walks (you can momentarily walk in the bike lane if you’re careful about looking out for street traffic) and picking up food to go.
• Engage in no-contact delivery – Keeping your distance means that you’ll need to get comfortable speaking through closed doors and hanging back rather than rushing forward to help the person delivering you packages, mail and food. For example, if you happen to be outside, it’s not rude to let the mail carrier walk all the way up to the front door and place the mail in the box rather than take it directly — it’s appropriately cautious for the times, and helps protect you and them by keeping your distance. Equally, if a food delivery person or neighbor drops something off, give a warm thank you through the closed door and wait for them to recede six feet before opening to door to thank them again and wave. They’ll appreciate your consideration and seriousness.
• Continue washing your hands – Along with social distancing, washing your hands thoroughly is one of your best defenses against acquiring coronavirus. Give your hands a thorough scrub each time you get back. 20 seconds is the going recommendation, which may seem like ages, but if you wash slowly, it’s easy to do.
• Stop handling cash – While it’s believed that the highest risk of acquiring coronavirus comes from person-to-person transmission, we do know that shared surfaces can harbor the virus. Play it safe by setting the cash aside for now and relying more on contactless payments such as Google or Apple Pay, Venmo, Paypal, or credit/debit cards.

We hope that these tips will help you stay safe and healthy as the country begins to reopen! You can also see more tips here: https://www.cnet.com/health/coronavirus-tips-16-practical-ways-to-help-stay-healthy-when-going-out-in-public/

Contact our office today if you or anyone you know would like to learn more about qualifying for Social Security Disability benefits.

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC®

May 5 is the Deadline to Receive Additional $500 Stimulus for Dependents

The IRS has announced a fast-approaching deadline for people who normally don’t file a tax return but receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Veterans Affairs benefits.

By Tuesday, May 5, anyone who gets these federal benefits, didn’t file a tax return in the last two years, and has dependent children under age 17 must use the non-filers tool on the IRS website to qualify for the additional $500 per child stimulus payment.

“We want to ‘Plus $500’ these recipients with children so they can get their maximum Economic Impact Payment of $1,200 plus $500 for each eligible child as quickly as possible,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a news release. If you don’t make the deadline but qualify for an additional payment, you won’t get the money until next tax season.

Keep in mind that stimulus checks don’t affect federal benefits or tax refunds, and they’re not taxed as income.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries who are not claimed as dependents themselves will be getting $1,200 stimulus payments the same way they normally receive benefits, whether through direct bank deposit or mailed to their home address. These payments are automatic and are expected to begin going out in early May.

Under the CARES Act, anyone who is eligible for a stimulus payment and has a dependent aged 16 and under is eligible for an additional $500 per child. Because federal benefits recipients who don’t file a tax return are getting paid automatically, the IRS is asking them to take this extra step to get their maximum payment.

Contact our office today if you or anyone you know would like to learn more about qualifying for Social Security Disability benefits.

Enter your non-filer info in the IRS tool here: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/federal-benefit-recipients-stimulus-checks-dependents-children-deadline-2020-4

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC®

Social Security Trustee Report Shows Signs of Improvement – With One Major Caveat

Social Security is fully funded for the next 15 years, and it’s mostly covered for the next 25 and 50 years too, according to the program’s trustees report released on Wednesday.

The Social Security Board of Trustees issue a report every year on the financial health of the program’s two trust funds that support benefits to retired, survivor and disabled beneficiaries. Last year, the trustees expected the reserves in those two funds would run out by 2035, a one-year delay from the year before. The report on Wednesday shows that expectation remains the same. (Social Security is supported by two trust funds — when they run out of money, the program will rely mainly on revenue from payroll taxes).

The program will be 91% funded for the next 25 years, 85% funded for the next 50 years and 82% funded for the next 75 years, according to the report. The figures are based on the two trust funds combined, although each is earmarked for specific purposes: one for the Old-Age & Survivors Insurance and one for Disability Insurance. Individually, the trustees project the reserves for OASI funds will be depleted in 2034 and the DI funds will be depleted in 2065.

Medicare’s trust fund for hospital care will be fully funded until 2026, an estimate that remains unchanged from the year before.

But there’s one major caveat in the 2020 report: it won’t account for the impact COVID-19 will have on the program.

In the near term, the agency has run business as usual. The coronavirus hasn’t deterred the Social Security Administration from sending out payments to current beneficiaries. The agency is still distributing benefits via direct deposit and mail during the pandemic, the Social Security Administration’s commissioner said in a statement earlier this year. Americans who claim Supplemental Security Income payments will also continue to receive their checks.

But the health crisis may negatively affect the program’s future stability. The long-term actuarial status of the trust funds depends on numerous factors, including fertility and mortality rates, immigration and disability, as well as the consumer-price index and wages. The coronavirus has the potential to jolt all of these factors.

The good news: Although COVID-19 may hurt Social Security, it won’t destroy it — the effects of the virus may not even make a huge dent in the projections. The estimate for the depletion of the trust funds may come sooner, but likely only by a year or so, said Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, which advocates for the expansion of the program. The shortfall in money needed versus had to pay out benefits might worsen, but only slightly, she added. “Even with what’s going on in the economy now, with such a large reserve the benefits will keep being paid and continued through the 2030s,” she said.

The trustees report gathers data over the last year, which means we won’t see the impact of the coronavirus on the program’s health until the report in 2021, said Dan Adcock, director of government relations and policy at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

Contact our office today if you or anyone you know would like to learn more about qualifying for Social Security Disability benefits.

Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-new-social-security-trustee-report-may-show-signs-of-improvement-with-one-major-caveat-2020-04-22

View trustee reports here: https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC®