Headlines
A Break from Reporting the News
On this Memorial Day Weekend, we’re departing momentarily from channeling Social Security and retirement news, instead sharing with you a moving version of Lee Greewood’s signature piece, “God Bess the U.S.A.” First recorded in 1984, the song has captured the…
“Kicking the Can” Would Lead to a Missed Opportunity for Social Security Modernization
Social Security’s trajectory toward insolvency has been a known fact for decades. Since the 1990s, the program trustees’ annual report to Congress has cited the impending depletion of program reserves, with each report projecting the expected year of full depletion…
Default Effects: Oldest and Poorest Social Security Beneficiaries in the Crosshairs
As the negotiations grind relentlessly toward a June 1 deadline, anxiety is building in the senior community regarding just what will happen should the U.S. Treasury enter default status. Amid conflicting commentary on whether or not an agreement can be…
Social Security 2100 Back in Focus
Calling Social Security “the number one anti-poverty program for the elderly, for children, and a disability plan that more veterans rely on than the VA,” House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson (CT-01) yesterday reintroduced Social…
Sen. Cassidy Calls Out Leading Presidential Contenders on Social Security Positions
Expressing extreme displeasure with the stance President Joe Biden and presidential challenger Donald Trump have taken on Social Security reform, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) cited the importance of having presidential candidates who can meet the financial challenges facing the massive…
An Assessment of Potential Social Security Solvency Solutions
As we’ve been noting for some time, the emphasis on reforming America’s Social Security program in the face of the rapidly approaching solvency crisis is beginning to draw attention in the early months of the 118th Congress. Many credible sources…
Report: Social Security’s Buying Power Eroding Under President Biden
Senior advocates have said for many years that Social Security COLAs simply do not keep pace with rising prices over time. Khaleda Rahman of Newsweek explains the current COLA formula and calculation plus the 3.1% COLA experts predict for 2024…
Pence: Social Security & Medicare drive “runaway government spending”
Rare is the politician who speaks the true part out loud when it comes to federal entitlements. Ken Tran of USA Today focuses in on the former Vice President increasingly invoking his three grandchildren when he describes the financial issues…
Spotlight Getting Brighter on Reforming Social Security & Medicare
If there’s one positive thing the debt ceiling crisis is doing, it’s shining the light on how two large entitlement programs need big reforms. Lorie Konish of CNBC notes that rather than waiting for a big overhaul, more incremental changes…
Op-ed: Misery All Around
Rae Hartley Beck worked for the Social Security Administration (SSA) for six years and currently writes on finance matters. Writing in Forbes here, she shares conversations with current SSA employees who believe a “big mess” will ensue if the U.S.…