Headlines
The Retirement Withdrawal Fear
Maurie Backman tells the story here about one man’s worry over taking anything from his nest egg, a fear more common than many realize. Social Security will replace just 40% of pre-retirement income, and so savings from a lifetime of…
A Novel Idea to Address The Looming Retirement Crisis
You can only contribute a quarter of what your neighbor can for retirement because of where you work. Is that fair? Well, it’s reality for the more than 57 million U.S. workers who don’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement account. Eric…
Ron DeSantis on Social Security
“Talking about making changes for people in their 30s or their 40s so that the program is viable, that’s a much different thing, and that’s something that I think there’s going to need to be discussions on. We got to…
Time to Ready Your Financial Plan for an Increase in Retirement Age?
David Weinstock starts by noting a number of countries are raising retirement ages out of necessity to keep their social insurance programs solvent. The concept rarely polls well with the public, though experts think it critical for keeping programs whole.…
That “Final” Benefit Check—A Source of Some Confusion
A Social Security beneficiary’s passing is generally a traumatic time for all concerned, and a variety of details and things that need to be addressed often create stress and concern on the part of the survivors. One of them is…
Retired and still working? What happens to your Social Security benefits?
The U.S. Department of Labor reported recently that labor force participation by those in the 65 to 74 age group stood at 17% in 1994 and was projected to increase 73% by 2024. While that’s a significant indicator of what’s…
The Often Misunderstood Subject of Spousal Benefits–Some Clarifying Comments
Questions about benefits available to spouses fall into the most active category we deal with at the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Service. For example, in 2022 the topics of spousal benefits and survivor benefits accounted for nearly a quarter…
Social Security’s Peculiar “Entitlement” Dilemma
“What a curious power words have.” The subheading, attributed to Polish journalist and Auschwitz concentration camp survivor Tadeusz Borowski, puts a fine point on one of the most misunderstood terms used in political and cultural commentary regarding Social Security. To…
Will Anticipated Voter Turnout Dictate the Future of Social Security Reform?
In analyzing the Social Security reform positions taken by President Biden and former President Donald Trump, Frank Gunter (professor of economics at Lehigh University) speculates that their priorities for resolution of the steadily progressing deterioration of the program’s finances would sacrifice…
Tax Fairness Cited as Rallying Cry in Efforts to Address Social Security
Senate Budget Committee deliberations this week focused on, among other key points, the revenue side of the Social Security funding dilemma, with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) presenting a case for bilateral attention to be applied to achieving “tax fairness between…