Headlines
Social Security’s Problems Should be Above Politics and Pandering
A plethora of bills are routinely introduced in each Congress, mostly by Democrats, promising higher benefits, whether in the form of cost of living adjustments, one-time payments, or permanent minimum benefit increases. The problem with nearly all, which are intentionally…
Social Security to Enter the 21st Century
It might seem odd that business by phone and electronic signatures is not standard practice for the Social Security Administration (SSA) in the year 2022, when such is commonplace at so many entities in the private sector. Dave Kovaleski of…
Is Medicare Free? Not Really
Contrary to a popular belief, Medicare is not free. Well, not totally free anyway, especially for those with a higher income. Many think that because they pay a Medicare tax via FICA withheld from their paycheck, that all Medicare services…
About Social Security’s Customer Service Levels
The stories are almost legendary – calling the Social Security Administration for assistance, only to wait on hold for what seems like an eternity, and then have your call dropped. If you’re lucky, your call may be eventually answered by…
Fixing Social Security’s Finances
In this MarketWatch opinion article by Brenton Smith, the author sardonically describes how Congress has failed for decades, and continues to fail, to enact legislation which resolves Social Security’s looming financial dilemma. As Congress neglects solving a problem which has…
Your Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) – Good News, or Not?
Much fanfare accompanied the government’s announcement last fall that the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2022 would be 5.9%. That means that, among others, Social Security beneficiaries this year will have a Social Security check higher than it was…
An Argument for Indexing Social Security’s Full Retirement Age
Most of the rhetoric on Social Security’s looming solvency problem focuses on the program’s Trust Fund reserves and their systematic depletion, emphasizing the likely across-the-board reduction in benefits when the Trust Funds reach zero (most recently forecast to happen in…
COLA’s 2022 Reality
As we reported several months ago, Social Security beneficiaries were optimistically looking forward to January and the added 5.9-percent cost of living adjustment (COLA) in their monthly payments. It was an uncommonly large increase, since annual COLA adjustments during the…
U.S. Workers Weigh In On Social Security Concerns
The 21st Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey published a few weeks ago put a spotlight on the concerns that a large segment of the American workforce harbors about the future of our Social Security program. In a recent report published by…
The “New” FRA, and What It Means to New Filers
Those reaching age 62 in 2022 will now be subject to a full retirement age (FRA) of 67, and along with that slight adjustment comes a bit of math that new filers need to understand. Specifically, it means that the…