SUZANNE SMITH MANAGEMENT COMPANY
SOCIAL SECURITYSocial Security Announces 2.3 Percent Benefit Increase for 2008For Immediate ReleaseWednesday, October 17, 2007 Mark Lassiter, Press Officer press.office@ssa.gov 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. Fair Housing: It's Not An Option; It's the LawWhat is discrimination?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:
What is fair housing?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.
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Medicare Part B monthly premiums in 2008How much are the 2008 monthly premiums for Medicare Part B?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. OneSiteVerification BasicsBy Anne Smithen, CPO,Tax Credits Business Analyst Complete article 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
The standard types of verifications are (in order of importance):
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