Posts Tagged ‘Social Security’
Many Americans Count On Social Security As Their Main Post-Retirement Income
There has been warning after warning about the looming shortfall between what people have saved and what they will need in order to maintain their lifestyle in retirement. Most Americans are counting on Social Security as their primary source of retirement income, with everything else being additional income. The main reason for this is that…
Read MoreAre the Days of Social Security Numbers Numbered?
Your social security number is essentially your identity, as it essentially acts as your password for everything from loans to taxes. Having this one number may seem convenient, but if it’s easy for you to use, then it’s easy for fraudsters as well. Social Security numbers were first issued nearly 80 years ago, but at…
Read MoreProposed 2015 Budget Aims to Eliminate Certain Social Security Strategies
There is a major change to Social Security regulations in the proposed 2015 budget by President Obama, which, if enacted, would eliminate popular Social Security claiming strategies that have significantly increased the size of people’s benefits.Although it does not mention the strategies by name, it does say it is aimed at “duplicative or excessive benefit…
Read MoreDisabled Veterans To Receive Expedited Claim Benefits
The Social Security Administration announced that it would be processing applications for veterans with a rating of 100% Permanent and Total disability much faster. This is great news for the many disabled veterans who have had trouble getting their disability payments. Social Security plans on treating these veteran’s application as high priority, and swiftly making…
Read More“Cabinets Filled with IOUs”: What Remains of the Social Security Trust
With all the talk about budgets and deficits, the inclusion of Social Security in these debates confuses quite a few people, since it’s thought to be a “stand alone “ program that pays for itself. This perspective, however, is quite wrong. Social Security started off as a “pay-as-you-go” system, in which current workers paid for…
Read MoreTreasury Secretary Questioned About Impending Bankruptcy of the SSDIP
This week, during a hearing of the Ways and Means Committee on the President’s Fiscal Year 2015, Tom Reed questioned the Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on the insolvency and impending bankruptcy of the Social Security Disability Insurance Program (SSDIP). Reed was concerned Secretary Lew did not address or mention the forthcoming insolvency of the SSDIP,…
Read MoreFour Ways to Make The Most of Your Social Security Benefits
Without Social Security benefits, many seniors would be living well below the poverty level. Although it was never meant to be a main source of income, more than 90% of people over 65 receive Social Security benefits, and nearly one in five married retirees and one in two unmarried retirees rely on it for the…
Read MoreDemocrats Urge Against Budget Cuts In Letter to Obama
Sixteen Democratic senators wrote to President Obama telling him that they don’t want to see budget cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid in his annual budget. In last year’s budget, Obama proposed changing the way the government calculates inflation. This would have reduced retirement benefits as well as increased some taxes. The budget had…
Read MoreOpinion Piece: Jon Hall on Social Security
Federal finance consists of the federal government “lending” itself money and then paying itself interest on those “loans”. An example of this can be seen by the surpluses generated by the Social Security portion of the payroll tax that are then “lent’ to the general fund. The interest rate paid by the federal government in…
Read MoreWas Social Security Created to Encourage People To Quit Working?
Last week, the Congressional Budget Office released a report predicting that Obama’s healthcare law would lead people to work less, because it claims that the law will kill more than 2 million jobs. Obama supporters suggested that the ability to buy health insurance outside of the workforce would give more flexibility to workers who felt…
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