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The Road To A Tax-Free Retirement
Am I paying too much in taxes? Can I afford to retire? These are the questions Joe Franklin, a certified financial planner in Hixson, Tennessee, hears every day. One of his favorite solutions for clients in their 50s and 60s…
How Your Social Security Benefit Is Calculated
If you’ve checked your annual Social Security statement lately, you probably know the size of the benefit you’re projected to receive in retirement. But do you know how that number is calculated? Social Security determines your initial benefit at full retirement…
The Federal Budget: When a Number is Just a (Meaningless) Number
Accounting is dull by nature, and the only thing that makes the craft less appealing is when it deals with the finances of government. I will do my best to make it interesting because the way our country accounts for…
Spring into a stress-free retirement
As we say “goodbye” to winter weather hardships and “hello” to gardens budding with vibrant color, we welcome the season by celebrating Stress Awareness Month. Did you know that stress, also called the “silent killer,” could cause heart disease and high…
All Women, Including LGBT Women, Need Economic Security and Equal Opportunity Now
Low wages, unequal pay, lack of access to paid leave and affordable child care, unpredictable and inflexible schedules, workplace discrimination and harassment — these issues and more face all low-wage and low-income women in the workforce. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and…
Disability Beneficiaries Exceed 10.9 Million 2 Straight Years
The number of disability beneficiaries has exceeded 10,900,000 for two straight years, according to data from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The number of beneficiaries first exceeded 10.9 million in February 2013 and has remained above that level for 25 months…
Medicare to Start Paying Doctors Who Coordinate Needs of Chronically Ill Patients
In a policy change, the Obama administration is planning to pay doctors to coordinate the care of Medicare beneficiaries, amid growing evidence that patients with chronic illnesses suffer from disjointed, fragmented care. Although doctors have often performed such work between…
7 Priorities for the 2016 Congressional Budget Resolution
The new 114th Congress has a responsibility to address growing spending and debt. This is especially true following the post-election pledge made by House Speaker John Boehner (R–OH) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R–KY) to address “a national debt…
Social Security Should Step Up Fraud Detection
CNS News reports the Social Security Administration’s inspector general discovered the SSA database has 6.5 million people on the roll that are currently at least 112 years old. This explains a number of modern day annoyances: Motorists who park in the…
I can get my Social Security abroad, so why not my Medicare?
Medicare rules and private insurance plans can affect people differently depending on where they live. To make sure the answers here are as accurate as possible, Phil is working with the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). It is funded…