Let me help you with that ...
"For example, in 2012 half of all Medicare beneficiaries had annual incomes below $22,500, with median income considerably lower among black and Hispanic beneficiaries ($15,250 and $13,800, respectively) than among white beneficiaries ($24,800). By 2030, median incomes for black and Hispanic beneficiaries will increase to $19,000 and $18,100, respectively, in inflation-adjusted 2012 dollars, while for white Medicare recipients median income is expected to be $32,800. The median income for beneficiaries is projected to be $28,600 in 2030.
Other factors will diminish income for future retirees, the report notes. They include the increase in Social Security’s full retirement age from 65 to 67, the continued shift among employers from defined-benefit pensions to defined-contribution pensions, and a decline in the number of employers offering retiree health benefits.
“I
f this trend continues, fewer future Medicare beneficiaries will have retiree health benefits and more will be responsible for paying Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket costs,” the report notes. “Furthermore, rising budget deficits will increase pressure to reduce spending, increase taxes, or both.”" Report Looks At Income Disparities For Seniors On Medicare – Capsules - The KHN Blog
Medicare rate increases continue to outpace the cost-of-living raises for Social Security/SSI ...
New Medicare premium rates come out each fall and take effect in January. Medicare beneficiaries as a group are required to pay one-fourth the cost of running Medicare, and annual premiums are set at a figure calculated to achieve that level of revenue. Although the annual premium rates aren't officially set until they are announced each fall, Medicare administrators track trends and anticipated changes and use them to formulate projections of Medicare premiums for the next several years. According to the most recent report of the system's trustees, issued in April 2012, those projected premiums (as listed on page 229) are:
2013: $109.10
2014: $112.10
2015: $117.00
2016: $122.00
2017: $128.20
2018: $135.50
2019: $143.60
2020: $151.90
2021: $161.20 Read more at
snopes.com: A Message from Blue Cross/Blue Shield
When you couple all this with the negative impact of the Obama-driven change in COLA computations by using the changed-CPI average, the seniors average home income continues to spiral downward, particularly when you consider that the new 'methodology' for determining the CPI does NOT include the cost of energy OR the cost of healthcare. As a result ....
"Cuts to the nation’s food stamp program hit 48 million Americans this week, including more than 9 million elderly and disabled people." despite recognition that only 30% of the seniors eligible for food stamps actually take advantage of the program.
Food stamp cuts hit 9 million elderly and disabled people
So, in answer to your question ... no, seniors are NOT better off than they were years ago.
Consider your challenge met, and turned away. You were NOT correct.