Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 54 million Americans will increase 2.3 percent in 2008, the Social Security Administration announced today.

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), from the third quarter of the prior year to the corresponding period of the current year. This year's increase in the CPI-W was 2.3 percent.

The 2.3 percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that nearly 50 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2008. Increased payments to more than 7 million Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries will begin on December 31.

Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $102,000 from $97,500. Of the estimated 164 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2008, nearly 12 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase in the taxable maximum.

Information about Medicare changes for 2008 can be found at www.cms.hhs.gov.

Discrimination is when you are not treated the same, or you do not treat others the same because there may be differences between you because of:

• Race (African American, White, Asian)
• Color (Black, White)
• National Origin (Mexican, Ethiopian, Guatemalan, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Somalian, Korean)
• Sex (male, female)
• Religion (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism)
• Familial Status (Families with children under 18 years old; pregnant women; families who are adopting or gaining custody of a child), or
• Disability (persons who must use a wheel chair, walker, or cane to move around; persons who are blind or deaf; persons with autisms or have Down’s syndrome)

Fair housing means families have the chance to choose where they want to live based on the family’s ability to pay the rent or mortgage.

This is the fair housing symbol. Landlords, real estate companies, and lending companies use this symbol to show that they will not discriminate against families looking for a home. You may see this symbol in:

• Advertisements for housing
• Rental Offices for housing (apartments and houses)
• Banks
• Construction site signs

Housing discrimination lawsuits can arise from virtually any violation of the Fair Housing Act, including non-compliance of occupancy standards, discrimination on the basis of race, religion, age, sex, sexual preference, national origin, familial status or disability.

Actions and suits can be brought by a tenant, former tenant, prospective tenant, guest of a tenant, groups representing tenants or HUD and similar regulatory agencies.

Owners of property that is publicly financed are subject to extensive compliance requirements that can expose them to enforcement actions, even for innocent acts or omissions.

These government actions can result in considerable legal defense costs for the property owner. Furthermore, an owner may be vicariously liable for the actions of an employee or property manager.

Most people will pay the standard monthly Part B premium of $96.40 in 2008. Some people will pay a higher premium based on their modified adjusted gross income.

Your monthly premium will be higher if you file an individual tax return and your annual income is more than $82,000, or if you are married (file a joint tax return) and your annual income is more than $164,000.

If you meet these criteria, Social Security will use the income reported two years ago on your IRS income tax return to determine your premium (if unavailable, SSA will use income from three years ago). For example, the income reported on your 2006 tax return will be used to determine your monthly Part B premium in 2008. If your income has decreased since 2006, you can ask that the income from a more recent tax year be used to determine your premium, but you must meet certain criteria.

At the end of each year, Social Security will send you a letter if your Part B premium will increase based on the level of your income and to tell you what you can do if you disagree. For more information about Part B premiums based on income, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. TTY users should call 1-800-325-0778.

When juggling the busy day-to-day activities of an affordable property, it’s often easy to take a few shortcuts when you need to complete a certification for a move-in or when an annual recertification date is looming for a resident. It can be helpful to stop, take a breath, and review the basic eligibility certification requirements. One of the key certification requirements is the verification of member information, income, assets, and deductions. Let’s take a closer look at the verification rules.

The rules for verifying income, assets, and other information can be found in Chapter 5 of the HUD Handbook 4350.3 Rev-1, Occupancy Requirements of Subsidized Multifamily Housing Programs. A list of acceptable verifications for different types of information can be found in Appendix 3 of the 4350.3.

The Basic Rules
Verification of applicant and resident information must be done for:

• initial move-ins,
• annual recertifications, and
• changes in incomes, allowances, or household statuses that are reported to management between annual certifications.

• Third party : Verifications from disinterested persons that have no vested interest in the eligibility of the household—such as employers, banks, or credit unions—are the most reliable and trustworthy verifications. Third-party verifications can be:
• Written – Ideally, all third-party verifications should be written. These verifications should be sent directly to the third party; the applicant or resident should not handle the verification form.
• Oral – Information can be verified over the telephone with reliable third-party sources. Oral verifications are used when responses to written verification requests are not received in time and must be documented in the file.
• Electronic – Written verifications can be completed by fax, e-mail, or through the Internet if the senders are valid third-party sources. Both fax and e-mail verifications should include information about the verification source (fax number, e-mail address, company name, etc). Internet-based information can also be used if it can be viewed or printed from a reliable source.
• Review of documents : Documents supplied by applicants or residents such as pay stubs and checking account statements can be used if the third-party verification is not received within a reasonable amount of time or if the verification source charges a fee for the verification. These documents should be originals and be current and complete. Your company should have a standard policy on the type and number of documents accepted for review and verification. Include a copy of the documents in the file if possible.
• Self-certification : Applicants and residents can provide notarized statements if information cannot be verified by third-party verifications or if a review of documents is not possible.