Headlines
The “Stealth Tax” on Social Security Benefits
Taxation of Social Security benefits first became law in 1983. At that time, single filers whose income from all sources (including half of SS benefits received) exceeded $25,000, and married filers whose total income exceeded $32,000, were required to pay…
Social Security Reform: A Worldwide Dilemma
For all of the rhetoric in Washington D.C. about potential “cuts” to Social Security, the discussions never seem to include a sobering fact: American demographics have changed dramatically over the years to the point that the current Social Security model…
The Urgency of Medicare Reform
All the talk in Washington, D.C., starting with the President’s State of the Union message, has been by politicians on both sides of the aisle claiming that Medicare reform is “off the table” in the current negotiations over the national…
About Raising Social Security’s Full Retirement Age
Fear of being labeled as trying to “cut” Social Security benefits (thus “throwing grandma off the cliff” as some on the left would say), means many in Congress don’t even want to talk about Social Security reform. Case in point:…
Next Year’s COLA? Likely to Disappoint
The media were all agog when the 2023 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) was announced last fall. After all, the 8.7% COLA increase was historic – an increase at a level not seen in over 4 decades. Of course, the…
Warshawsky on the Social Security Expansion Act
American Enterprise Institute Searle Fellow Mark J. Warshawsky, in an OpEd piece published on thehill.com, dissects the Social Security Expansion Act bill (S. 393) proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) and endorsed by nine fellow Democrats, calling it a flawed proposal that…
A Political Assessment of Social Security Reform’s Headwinds
It’s been a long time coming, and now we’re within a decade of the catastrophe known as Social Security insolvency. And just to head the rumor off fast, that doesn’t mean bankruptcy for one of America’s most successful social programs…
An Argument for Uncapping the Maximum Taxable Earnings
Social Security’s looming solvency problem is, as expected, creating a groundswell of attention publicly these days, as well as an increasing focus in the 118th Congress. As a result of this heightened interest, we’re seeing a growing number of articles…
Bipartisan Group Advocates for Language to Encourage Deferred Filing
In a letter to the Social Security Administration (SSA), a group of U.S. Senators is recommending several terminology changes aimed at promoting the advantages of waiting to claim retirement benefits. Specifically, the group is advocating for more descriptive labeling for…
Social Security and the Federal Debt: An Editorial Opinion
Much has been written about Social Security’s trajectory toward insolvency, along with many accounts of pathways to be explored to head off the catastrophe awaiting America’s seniors. Unfortunately, many of the news accounts have complicated the overall issue by insinuating…