Headlines
“Political Malpractice” – Not Reforming Social Security & Medicare!
If you watch the news at all these days, you’ve witnessed most Democrats and some Republicans opining – even vowing – that Social Security and Medicare reform is “off the table.” The almost humorous antics on that topic during this…
A Look-ahead at Next Year’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment…It Won’t be Pretty!
Social Security beneficiaries are still catching their breath from last year’s big run-up in inflation, using the extraordinary 8.7% COLA to fill some of the holes in their monthly expenses. The 2023 COLA was the largest in four decades, providing…
Social Security: Planning for What Could Happen
The airwaves seem to be alive with new concerns about Social Security’s impending funding crisis, with the March 31 publication of the annual Trustees Report suggesting that the date for full depletion of the program’s cash reserve could occur a…
The Social Security Solvency Dilemma – Part 2
Social Security: The Projected Depletion of Reserves The most recent Social Security Trustees Report projects that the Old Age and Survivors (OASI) Trust Fund will be fully depleted by 2033. When combined with the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund reserves,…
The Social Security Solvency Dilemma – Part 1
The most recent edition of the Social Security Trustees Report moved the projected date for full depletion of the program’s trust fund reserves forward a year. While that’s not good news, certainly, it does have the effect of shining a…
An Analysis of the 2023 Trustees Report
The Social Security Administration’s Research, Statistics & Policy Analysis arm yesterday presented a summary review of the Social Security trust funds. The review follows the Friday publication of the detailed reports on the financial outlook for Social Security’s Old-Age, Survivors, and…
2023 Trustees Report Issued
The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASI and DI) Trust Funds are…
Trustees Report to be Released Imminently
The Social Security Administration is expected to release its annual analysis of both the Social Security and Medicare programs by April 1. The former’s two trust funds, dedicated to its retirement and disability benefits, are facing insolvency. Automatic cuts of…
Payroll tax or retirement age hikes? Debate continues.
Lorie Konish summarizes the state of Social Security reform as of this moment. The debate between raising payroll taxes, either by percentages or the amount of wages that are taxable, and raising the retirement age over time splits the two…
A Different Path to Social Security Reform
Chris Pope, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, has an interesting piece on Social Security here that goes beyond the usual demographic and insolvency explanations and solutions. Pope notes the program costs twice as much as like schemes in…