Senator Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. recently unveiled a plan to protect senior citizens whose STAR property tax savings are being whittled away as a result of modest hikes in their retirement income.

Fuschillo's plan automatically adjusts income eligibility levels for the "Enhanced STAR" property tax savings program based on annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security. That way, seniors won't face the possibility of being squeezed out of the STAR program because of relatively modest increases in their income.

According to Fuschillo, as many as 13,000 New York senior citizens face the loss of some of their STAR school property tax savings this year as a result of income "creep" that is pushing them outside the Enhanced STAR program. On average, those seniors would pay $770 more in property taxes this year is Fuschillo's plan is not enacted.

"The STAR property tax savings program has reduced and even eliminated school property taxes for millions of senior citizens, yet many of these same seniors can lose some of their STAR benefit merely because of modest increases paid by Social Security," Fuschillo said. "My plan is designed to eliminate that unintended consequence of Social Security COLAs and ensure the original goal of STAR - protecting senior citizens' right to remain in their homes after retirement."

Since 1973, the federal government has provided annual cost-of-living increases to Social Security recipients, based on hikes in the Consumer Price Index and other factors, ranging from 1.4 percent to 14.3 percent. The most recent adjustment was 3.5 percent in January.

Enhanced STAR provides property tax savings of a median priced home of at least 45 percent of seniors aged 65 and above who earn less than $60,000. Those with higher incomes, and property owners under age 65, are eligible for basic STAR tax savings of at least 27 percent of their annual school tax bills.

Fuschillo's plan would immediately raise the income limit for Enhanced STAR to $62,100, and then automatically adjust the income cap each year based on federal adjustments to Social Security retirement benefits.

Governor Pataki has included a similar plan in his Executive Budget, but that plan wouldn't take effect until 2002. Fuschillo's plan would affect tax bills this year.

Since its creation in 1997, the Enhanced STAR program has saved senior New Yorkers millions of dollars by reducing homeowners' school property taxes. In Nassau County, an average senior homeowner eligible for Enhanced STAR savings is $1,470 (based on median home price of $211,100). In Suffolk County, the above average savings would be $1,310 (based on median home price of $161,500). If Pataki's proposed county tax savings proposal is enacted, seniors will save an additional $170 in Nassau and $270 in Suffolk.