Headlines
Should the government make you save for your retirement?
When pensions started giving way to 401(k) plans in the 1980s, baby boomers started saving for their own retirement. But younger workers aren’t following through with the same verve. In the past decade, their participation in 401(k)s and other retirement…
Rally decries Social Security benefit cuts
It was a spirited demonstration over an arcane issue that drew a small audience to an incongruous place, but it had a certain Vermont-style gravitas about it: Both of the state’s U.S. senators showed up to voice their support. The issue…
5 misconceptions about Social Security
Social Security gradually is becoming a regular part of financial advisers’ arsenals, but misconceptions abound as they try to wrap their arms around how the benefits work. With the help of Seth B. Stewart, president of Plan My Benefit, a…
REFILE-Stern Advice – A grain of salt for those retirement projections
Only cave dwellers have missed the boom in retirement-planning studies: what seems like a daily barrage of industry-funded surveys and white papers pointing to an aging population so woefully unprepared they will have work until they are 90, brown-bagging cat-food…
Winning your financial independence
Time to break out the sunscreen and fire up the barbecue because July 4 is just around the corner. Celebrating our nation’s achieving its independence got me to thinking that it might also be a good time to assess your…
It Is Not Just Retirees Who Should Be Worried about the Chained CPI for the Social Security COLA
Chances are if you are under 50, you probably don’t even know what the chained CPI is, but you really need to know all about it and be afraid, be very afraid! Read more… Notice: The “Read more…” link provided…
Federal marriage benefits? Not for everyone
Like other married couples, same-sex couples are about to learn that federal benefits for being married might not be all they’re cracked up to be. Social Security benefits for spouses can be generous, but only for couples with big disparities in…
History Suggests Social Security Insolvency Is Coming Sooner Than Projected
This year’s Social Security trustees report was released with little fanfare, as the projected date of Social Security’s financial insolvency held steady at 2033.[1] Many analysts and lawmakers have pointed to 20 years of alleged solvency as an excuse to…
Good News on the Budget Deficit?
If you’re a big spender, there’s good news in Washington. The deficit is down. The budget crisis is over. So Uncle Sam can go back to his wastrel ways! Indeed, the usual suspects insist, it’s time to spend more. The federal government…
Social Security Implications: Senate Passes Historic Border Security Plan
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted Monday 66-25 to approve an amendment that will funnel another $30 billion to border enforcement, place several obstacles along the path to legalization, prohibit the Social Security Administration from counting taxes paid by unauthorized…