Headlines
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…
Innovative Thinking for Social Security Reform
Last week, Senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Tim Kaine of Virginia went public with additional details on their bipartisan proposal to create a separate wealth-generating fund to address Social Security’s long-term funding problem. Their announcement led with this claim: …
Social Security Insolvency and the Math Behnd It
A few weeks ago, the Social Security Board of Trustees issued its annual report on the program’s financial status at the end of 2024. As expected, it wasn’t good news. It signaled the loss of another year before the program’s…
Social Security Representative Payee vs. Power of Attorney
One rumor our Social Security Advisory Service encounters is that there’s no need for a Representative Payee designation if you have Power of Attorney (POA) for a beneficiary. This rumor causes confusion when a relative or close family friend steps…
Will your Social Security check be cut?
Improper payments, generally overpayments, were made by the Social Security Administration between 2015 and 2022, totaling $72 billion. There are various reasons why overpayments occur; the most common error is failure to report changes involving income. By law, the Social…