Headlines
A Backtracked Social Security Decision
President Trump signed an executive order in May to convert all paper check payments from the government into digital form. However, following a meeting between Senator Elizabeth Warren and Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, it has been announced that these…
Recent survey results shows Seniors have opinions on how to reform Social Security
With the Social Security trust fund currently on track to reach insolvency by the mid 2030’s, there are many ideas about how to reform Social Security to make it last for generations. A recent survey shows that older Americans have…
Frustrated with Social Security Taxes? Why are they taken out of my paycheck?
Workers who earn (and their employers) must contribute to Social Security via payroll taxes to fund the program. When the program first started, certain employees and their employers were required to each contribute 1% of the employee’s first $3000 of…
Myths – Part II: The Social Security Myth that Simply Refuses to Die!
Here at the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Service we deal with misconceptions about Social Security nearly every day. These largely include simple misunderstandings about how Social Security works – for example, rules on how benefits are calculated, including retirement…
Social Security Myths and Misunderstandings
Social Security Myths are Pervasive In my efforts to explain Social Security to those who ask questions, it is often necessary to provide information contrary to the questioner’s understanding of how Social Security works. Some folks who write us possess…
The Role of Life Expectancy in Retirement Decisions
When contemplating your retirement it is crucial to focus on an important question – “When should I take my Social Security benefits?” While there are a number of factors to consider when making that decision, don’t overlook the role of…
Demystifying the Federal Payroll Tax
Nearly all workers pay it, but very few understand it – the Federal Payroll Tax. With few exceptions,[1] everyone who works and earns pays the federal payroll tax from their earnings – that’s about 175 million American workers. The tax, first…
Social Security: Once upon a time – and Today
Once upon a time, there was no real social security in the United States of America. Oh, there were a few early 19th century attempts at public programs to limit poverty, especially for the elderly. However, all of these early…
Definition Time: “Wage Indexing” and How it Works
Yesterday’s headline post on this site discussed a paper by AEI senior fellow Andy Biggs identifying “wage indexing” as a key culprit in Social Security’s long-term funding problem. As our post pointed out, wage indexing is the process of using…
Focusing on the Insolvency Problem: A Look at One of the Fundamental Drivers
In this first part of a two-part study, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) senior fellow Andrew G. Biggs challenges one of the basic narratives associated with Social Security’s steadily eroding financial picture. Specifically, his article addresses the issue of wage indexing…