Members of the Senate indicated that they want to reduce estate taxes without eliminating estate taxes.  Senators delivered that message through votes on a series of amendments to a non-binding budget resolution.

Senators voted 99-1 for a proposal introduced by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, to set the estate tax at the 2009 level—with a $3.5 million individual exemption and a 45% maximum tax rate for estates that must pay the tax—and index the exemption for inflation.

A second proposal, to create a reserve fund that would permit the government to increase the individual estate tax exemption to $5 million and cut the maximum tax rate to 35%, lost on a 38-62 vote.  Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., introduced that proposal.

Several senators, including Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., say they prefer the Salazar proposal. Those senators contend that freezing the estate tax exemption and maximum tax rate at the 2009 level would not do enough to protect small businesses and family farms.

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., introduced a proposal that would have set the estate tax exemption at $5 million with a maximum tax rate of 35%.  The Kyl proposal lost on a 50-50 vote.  Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., voted with the Republicans.  Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, voted with the Democrats.

The vice president can break ties in the Senate, but he was not present at the time of the vote.

Another proposal, introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that also would have set the exemption at $5 million and the maximum tax rate at 35% failed 47-52.

Lawmakers considered the proposals on the Senate floor, while working on the fiscal year 2009 federal budget resolution.  The budget resolution has no direct effect on the federal budget, but it will help shape how easily certain types of bills can get to the floor of the Senate.

The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 calls for the federal government to phase out the estate tax and eliminate it completely in 2010. If, however, Congress fails to act, the estate tax will spring back to 2001 levels – with an individual exemption of $1 million and a 55% maximum tax rate – in 2011.

Under current law, the 2009 individual exemption is set to be $3.5 million, and the maximum tax rate would be 45%.  Historically, opponents of the estate tax, who call it the “death tax,” have favored eliminating the estate tax.

Many life insurers profit from selling products aimed at helping customers reduce or pay their estate taxes, and life groups have supported the idea of reducing the number of taxpayers affected by the estate tax rather than the idea of eliminating the tax.

Larry Raymond, president of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting, Falls Church, Va., welcomed the Senate votes.  “It is clear from events this week that, even with a large number of competing priorities, the Senate continues to focus time on estate tax reform,” Raymond says. “We know a number of key Senators are very interested in seeing this issue resolved” before 2010.

The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on estate taxes in mid-April, but the AALU does not expect to see action on the issue until 2009, at the earliest.

Millions spend golden years making green

Cecil Lawrence’s friends tease him that he’s crazy to work at his age. The 90-year-old glass salesman just laughs and suggests that they’re even crazier to sit at home and watch soap operas. “I guess they’re content to be old folks,” he said.

Like Mr. Lawrence, about 2.7 million Americans are skipping retirement and working into their 70s, 80s and even 90s.  Most remain on the job, retirement experts say, not for the money but for the personal satisfaction.  The lifelong workers still account for only 10 percent of their generation, but the proportion of over-70 Americans who have “retired retirement” has edged up since the 1990s as people live longer, enjoy better health and hold less physically demanding jobs.  And the number will only increase with the baby boomers. Seventeen percent say they expect to work indefinitely, though financial necessity will be a bigger reason for their passing up Golden Pond, according to the MetLife Mature Market Institute.

Policy analysts who fear an “entitlement crisis” with the retirement of 78 million boomers welcome the trend toward longer working lives, saying it offers financial benefits for older individuals and the economy as a whole.

Postponing retirement by just five years would boost the average worker’s annual retirement income by 56 percent and add $1 trillion a year to tax coffers by 2045, enough to erase Social Security’s deficit, says the Urban Institute’s Retirement Policy Center.

Older workers bear the burden of convincing businesses that they can remain productive, said William Zinke, a human resources executive who’s created a nonprofit group, the Center for Productive Longevity, to change employer attitudes.

“Although age discrimination is illegal, it exists far more than we’d like to think,” he said.  Many employers view older workers as particularly expensive, either because they demand higher salaries or incur more health care costs than younger workers, said Gordon Mermin, a policy analyst with the Urban Institute.  But by the time workers reach their 70s, many aren’t looking for traditional health benefits, because they’re covered by Medicare.

Only 15 percent have employer-provided health insurance, and 14 percent have pension coverage, the institute says. Only 27 percent work full-time, while 38 percent put in fewer than 20 hours a week.

Many businesses also worry that older workers are harder to train and will retire too soon for the investment in them to pay off. But older employees’ loyalty, sound judgment and even temperament can make them good role models for younger workers, Mr. Mermin said.

“The key is an understanding employer who’s willing to make some accommodations,” said Cynthia Metzler, president and chief executive of Experience Works, a national group that provides training and employment services to older workers.

Tax, pension and age anti-discrimination laws have discouraged employers from establishing formal “phased retirement” programs that allow workers to reduce their hours but stay on the payroll, Mr. Zinke said. But some employers do it informally. And plenty of older workers don’t need a boss’s approval. Among workers 70 and older, 42 percent are in business for themselves, the Urban Institute says.

KNOW THE TAX LAWS BEFORE YOU WORK

Some seniors complain that income tax laws discourage them from working.  Once you’re past your full retirement age, you won’t lose any of your Social Security benefits just because you’re working.  But a portion of your Social Security benefits may become taxable.

To determine whether you owe any federal income taxes on your benefits, the Internal Revenue Service looks at your “combined income.” That consists of your adjusted gross income (including wages from your job, pension payments and withdrawals from a 401(k) or IRA), any nontaxable interest income, plus half of your Social Security benefits.  If this combined income is between $25,000 and $34,000 (or between $32,000 and $44,000 for a couple filing jointly), you may have to pay income taxes on 50 percent of your Social Security benefits. That doesn’t mean you’ll pay half of your benefits in taxes. What it does mean is that 50 percent of your Social Security benefits must be added as income when filing your tax form.
 
If your combined income exceeds $34,000 (or $44,000 for a couple filing jointly), you may owe income taxes on up to 85 percent of your Social Security benefits. A tax adviser may be able to help you avoid this maddening situation: Say that on Dec. 31, the final dollar of annual income you earn from your job triggers taxes on your Social Security benefits.  That last dollar not only would be taxed as income, it also would prompt the taxation of a lot more income.

No matter how much you enjoy working in your golden years, you may wish you had stayed home that day.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced it will provide nearly $4.7 million for “caregiver assistance pilot programs” to expand and improve health care education and provide needed training and resources for caregivers who assist disabled and aging veterans in their homes.

“This funding will enhance support and training for the family members and other caregivers who sacrifice to care for disabled and aging veterans,” said Acting VA Secretary Gordon H. Mansfield.  “At VA, we’re committed to looking after caregivers who dedicate their own time and well-being to take care of loved ones who are veterans.”

The pilot programs will support eight caregiver projects across the country.  In addition, VA provides support and assistance through a variety of programs such as care management, social work service, care coordination, geriatrics and extended care, and through its nationwide volunteer programs.

Among the key services provided to caregivers are transportation, respite care, case management and service coordination, assistance with personal care (bathing and grooming), social and emotional support, and home safety evaluations.

Education programs teach caregivers how to obtain community resources such as legal assistance, financial support, housing assistance, home delivered meals and spiritual support.  In addition, caregivers are taught skills such as time management techniques, medication management, communication skills with the medical staff and the veteran, and ways to take better care of themselves.

Many of the projects use technology, including computers, Web-based training, video conferencing and teleconferencing to support the needs of caregivers who often cannot leave their homes to participate in support activities. 
 
The VA pilot programs include:

• At the Memphis (Tenn.) and Palo Alto (Calif.) VA medical centers, a project will provide education, support and skills-building to help caregivers manage both patient behaviors and their own stress.  This intervention will be provided in 14 Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) programs across the country and also to caregivers in non-HBPC settings at the Palo Alto VAMC.
• At the VA medical center in Gainesville, Fla., caregivers will take part in a Transition Assistance Program to provide skills training, education and supportive problem solving using videophone technology.
• At the VA Healthcare System of Ohio, headquartered in Cincinnati, caregiver advocates will be available around the clock to coordinate between VA and community services.
• At the VA Desert Pacific Network and the VA Sierra Nevada Healthcare System, VA will work with a community coalition to provide education, skills training and resources for caregivers of veterans with traumatic brain injury using computer-based telehealth, including Web, telephone and videoconferencing.
• At the VA medical center in Albany, N.Y., a pilot project will convert a three-hour workshop developed by the National Family Caregivers Association called “Communicating Effectively with Health Care Professionals” into a cost-effective multimedia format.
• At the Atlanta VA Medical Center, use of computer-based technology will provide instrumental help and emotional support to caregivers who live in remote areas or to those who cannot leave a patient alone.
• The Tampa VA Medical Center and the Miami VA Healthcare System are working on a collaborative project.  In the Tampa area, the current program will be expanded to provide 24-hour in-home respite care to temporarily relieve caregivers up to 14 days a year.  In Miami, the program will coordinate comprehensive community-based care services, including respite, home companions, adult day care and use of emergency response system.
• The VA Pacific Islands Health Care System will use the “medical foster home” model of care, in which caregivers in the community take veterans into their homes and provide 24-hour supervision.  This program will take place on the islands of Kauai, Hawaii, Maui and rural areas of Oahu.

There are numerous federal and state laws that protect “whistleblowers” who report unfair or illegal practices of their employers, of which New Jersey’s CEPA law is just one.  CEPA provides that employers may not retaliate against workers who disclose (or threaten to disclose) practices of the employer that they believe are violations of the law.  CEPA also protects employees who refuse to participate in unlawful or fraudulent activities or those that may harm the health, safety or welfare of the public.  Employees must be careful in asserting their rights under CEPA, as certain steps are necessary to ensure protection under the law.  If your employer asks you to do an act you feel is illegal or against public policy, it is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees and job applicants against discrimination on the basis of sex (including pregnancy), race, color, national origin or religion.  Title VII also prohibits employment decisions based on stereotypes and assumptions about abilities, traits, or the performance of individuals on the basis of prohibited characteristics.  Title VII covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments.  To learn more about the types of discrimination prohibited by Title VII, visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission here.

The FLSA requires that employers pay employees a certain minimum wage and pay certain “non-exempt” employees overtime at the rate of one-and-one-half-times their regular rate of pay.  Employers regularly violate this rule by classifying employees who should be non-exempt as exempt to avoid paying them overtime wages.  Other employers violate the FLSA when they offer employees “comp time” instead of paying the required overtime.  To learn more about employee rights and employer obligations under the FLSA, visit the Department of Labor’s page on the topic here.  Also keep in mind that many states have minimum wages laws higher than the federal minimum.  For instance, while the federal minimum wage is currently $5.15 per hour, New Jersey and New York require employers to pay $7.15 per hour.  If you are not being paid the minimum wage or work more than 40 hours per week without receiving overtime pay, you should contact an attorney to discuss your rights.  Click here to contact me.

The ADA prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. The ADA covers employers with 15 or more employees. To learn more about what constitutes a disability and what accommodations employers are required to provide to workers with disabilities, check out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s ADA page here.  To get an idea of the full scope of ADA protections beyond the employment context, visit the ADA information page here.

There are numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations that protect employees from unfair and discriminatory practices in the workplace.  Some of them are listed in this section.  Please note that there are many other laws and state common law doctrines that may be relevant to your situation.  To discuss your individual situation and the claims you might have, please contact me.

Most Employers with 50 or more employees must provide eligible employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

• For the birth and care of a newborn child of the employee;
• When an employee adopts a child;
• To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
• When an employee suffers from a serious health condition, rendering that employee unable to work.

Employers cannot terminate or retaliate against employees for taking Family Medical Leave.  Employees must be reinstated to their previous position or an equivalent position upon returning from Family Medical Leave.  There are some circumstances when an employee can take intermittent Family Medical Leave, which means taking leave in blocks of time or working less during the normal work week.  
 
The Family Medical Leave Act is a complicated law. If you believe that your rights under this Act may have been violated, you should contact an experienced employment lawyer.

Additionally, some state laws provide much broader protection for employees regarding similar types of requested leave.

Many different federal laws protect employees who complain, testify, or otherwise assist in having proceedings initiated for violations occurring in the workplace.  Some of these laws include, the:

• Occupational Safety & Health Act
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act 
• Surface Transportation Assistance  Act
• Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act
• International Safety Container Act of 1974
• Energy Reorganization Act of 1974
• Clean Air Act
• Safe Drinking Water Act
• Federal Water Pollution Control Act
• Toxic Substances Control Act
• Solid Waste Disposal Act
• Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act
• Pipeline Safety Improvement Act

Many states have enacted laws that provide additional protection to employees, such as New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA).  If you believe that you may have been unlawfully terminated, it is essential that you contact an attorney immediately (if you are considering legal action).  This is because many of the federal laws that protect you require the initiation of legal/administrative proceedings within 30 days to 180 days, depending on the statute at issue.