Medicare Part B premiums will increase by nearly $10 in 2024, with the standard monthly premium rising to $174.70. The increase is mainly due to projected increases in healthcare spending and proposed payments to hospitals serving disadvantaged patients. The annual Part B deductible will also rise to $240. This premium increase will result in retirees seeing a monthly bump of less than $50 in their Social Security benefits, which will have a 3.2% cost-of-living adjustment for 2024.
The official announcement of the increase in Social Security benefits for 2024 has not yet been published. The announcement is typically made in October once the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Workers and White-collar Workers (CPI-W) data for July, August, and September are available. The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is expected to go into effect in December and could be around 3% according to estimates from The Senior Citizens League.
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed two bills into law that provide billions in property, business, and income tax relief for Nebraska businesses, farmers, ranchers, and taxpayers. LB243 increases the amount of relief granted under the Property Tax Credit Act, establishes a 3 percent annual cap on how much school districts can increase property tax requests, eliminates the 5 percent cap on the school district tax credit’s allowable growth percentage under the Nebraska Property Tax Incentive Act, and provides state aid to community colleges. LB754 reduces the top individual and business income tax rates to 3.99% by tax year 2027, delivers full tax exemption for Social Security benefits a year early in 2024, and provides tax credits related to child care, for families and providers.
The only surviving child of Lori Vallow Daybell, who is charged with the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival, confronted her in an emotional phone call played for jurors. Colby Ryan accused his mother of murdering his siblings, Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and lying to him multiple times while they were missing. Prosecutors say Vallow Daybell and her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, espoused strange doomsday-focused beliefs involving demonic possession and “zombies” to further their alleged plan to kill the kids and his previous wife Tammy Daybell. They are also accused of collecting life insurance money and nearly $6,000 a month from the kids’ social security and survivor benefits due to the deaths of their fathers.
