By Emily Brandon

Social Security. Social Security recipients will receive 1.7 percent bigger payments in 2015, due to the annual cost-of-living adjustment. Most workers will continue to pay 6.2 percent of their earnings into the Social Security system, but the maximum taxable earnings amount will increase next year from $117,000 in 2014 to $118,500 in 2015. The Social Security administration will also mail Social Security statements to workers turning ages 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 in 2015 who have not created an online account.

Medicare. The standard Medicare Part B premium will remain $104.90 monthly in 2015, although high-income beneficiaries pay more, and the deductible is unchanged at $147 per year. The Medicare Part A hospital inpatient deductible will increase from $1,216 in 2014 to $1,260 in 2015. Medicare Part D premiums vary by plan and are expected to increase by 4 percent to an average $38.83 in 2015, assuming retirees stick with their current plan, according to an analysis of Part D plans by researchers at Georgetown University, the University of Chicago and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The maximum possible Part D deductible will be $320 in 2015, but some plans may charge smaller deductibles or no deductible. “Some plans, including many of the most popular plans, are increasing their premiums next year,” says Juliette Cubanski, a policy analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “The open enrollment period is a good time to look to see whether the plan will continue to be offered next year and, if so, look to see how that plan might be changing in terms of the premiums you pay every month to be enrolled as well as the costs you pay for coverage, including the annual deductible and the costs that you pay for your prescription medications.” Beneficiaries have an opportunity to switch Part D plans each year during open enrollment.

401(k)s. The 401(k) contribution limit will increase by $500 to $18,000 in 2015. The catch-up contribution limit for workers age 50 and older will also grow by $500 to $6,000 in 2015. “There’s a considerable amount of tax deferral you can get on those savings,” says Kevin Brosious, a certified financial planner and president of Wealth Management Inc. in Allentown, Pennsylvania. A worker under age 50 who is in the 25 percent tax bracket and contributes the maximum amount to a traditional 401(k) in 2015 will save $4,500 on his federal income tax bill, compared with a tax break of $4,375 for maxing out in 2014.

IRAs. The IRA contribution limit will remain $5,500 in 2015, and savers age 50 and older can contribute an additional $1,000 as a catch-up contribution. Workers who have a retirement account at work can claim a tax deduction for making a traditional IRA contribution until their modified adjusted gross income is between $61,000 and $71,000 for individuals and $98,000 to $118,000 for couples in 2015, up $1,000 and $2,000, respectively, from 2014. Spouses without a workplace retirement plan who are married to someone with a 401(k) can claim the IRA contribution tax deduction until their income is between $183,000 and $193,000 in 2015. The Roth IRA income limits will also increase by $2,000 in 2015 to between $116,000 and $131,000 for individuals and $183,000 to $193,000 for married couples. However, investors who earn more than these limits may be able to convert traditional IRA assets to a Roth IRA. “High-income employees typically aren’t eligible for Roth IRAs, but they can add after-tax dollars and then roll that directly into their Roth IRA,” says Michael Hollars, a certified financial planner for Client First Finance in Sunnyvale, California.

Saver’s credit. Workers who save in a 401(k) or IRA may be eligible for the saver’s credit if their AGI is less than $30,500 for singles, $45,750 for heads of household and $61,000 for married couples in 2015. These limits are between $500 and $1,000 higher than in 2014. This valuable tax credit is worth 50 percent, 20 percent or 10 percent of your 401(k) or IRA contributions up to $2,000 ($4,000 for couples), with the biggest credit going to savers with the lowest incomes. The maximum possible saver’s credit is worth $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for couples.

New retirement account. The Treasury is expected to offer a new type of retirement account, the myRA. These Roth accounts with be funded with after-tax dollars via payroll deduction, but they are not tied to your job and are guaranteed by the government to never lose value. The myRA will be available to workers with an annual income of less than $129,000 for individuals and $191,000 for couples, and they can use the account for up to 30 years or until their account balance hits $15,000, after which the balance will transfer to a private-sector retirement account.

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By CAP Action War Room

CAP Action Releases 89-Page Report Analyzing The Health Of State Democracies

Too often, a citizen’s ability to have their voice heard in the democratic process depends on where they live. From access to voting rights, to representation in government, or the outsized influence of money in our political system, our opportunity to interact with and participate in democracy varies widely. There are, however, many factors that make up a healthy democracy that should be evaluated in sum, not in silos, if solutions are going to have an overall effect. A new report and accompanying interactive website from CAP Action identifies 22 factors in three categories—accessibility of the ballot, representation in state government, and influence in the political system—to rank and grade states based on their democratic health. You can explore the different factors and share how your state did by visiting healthofstatedemocracies.org and using the hashtag #HealthyDemocracy.

Overall, the results show there is room for improvement in every state. Along with grades for each factor and overall ranks, the report offers concrete policy solutions states should implement in order to improve its residents’ democratic experience. Here’s a rundown of the report’s other key findings:

• Every state has room for improvement. Maine, the top-ranked state in this report, still scored poorly on factors such as Motor Voter implementation and online voter registration. Alabama, in the bottom slot, performs well in certain aspects, including having a two-year revolving door ban.

• States previously covered by Voting Rights Act preclearance requirements perform poorly in accessibility of the ballot measures. While several of these states may perform well in other categories, each of the nine states previously fully covered by pre-clearance requirements perform poorly in accessibility of the ballot: all nine of these states rank in the bottom half of state scores for this category, with none receiving a grade higher than D+.

• States have a great deal of room to improve to ensure that elected leaders reflect state demographics as a whole. There is no state in which women are over-represented in office, and only two – Vermont and Mississippi – in which people of color are represented in elective offices at or above their share of the population at large.

• The strength of laws related to influence in the political system are a particular weak spot for states. Just one state received an “A-” grade in this category, fewer than any other category. Four states received an “A” or “A-” grade in representation in state government, and five received an “A” or “A-” in accessibility of the ballot.

There are many steps states can take to better the health of their democracies. CAP Action’s report suggests providing online voter registration, creating fair district maps, and strengthening disclosure laws as some of the many steps states can take to improve access to the democratic process.

For a more in-depth look at the report’s policy recommendations, and to explore the interactive maps of state performance for yourself, head over to healthofstatedemocracies.org.

BOTTOM LINE: In America, too many things are determined by zip code. CAP Action’s new report found that there are recurring and sometimes growing issues which plague our democratic system as a whole, including poor representation of communities of color and women, and the influence of money in politics. And any effort to effectively address the health of state democracies must adequately tackle these issues.

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