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Aging With Care: Tax Season and Social Security
It’s tax season again. Seniors face some tax issues related to their age. First, many seniors are working beyond traditional retirement age while also collecting Social Security. It’s easy to forget that Social Security benefits are taxable income (based on income…
Survey: Americans Are Getting Better At Saving For Retirement
Americans have been doing a better job lately stockpiling money for retirement, according to an annual survey by a consortium of consumer groups. he overall improvements, compared with a year ago, were small but nonetheless important, said Stephen Brobeck, executive director…
Congress Should Fix Disability
Congress created Social Security in 1935 to provide a financial safety net to retired Americans. The pay-as-you-go program uses payroll taxes on current workers to fund benefits for current seniors. For many, this is their only source of income to buy…
Retirement crisis for elderly is here
State Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, has introduced Senate Bill 5826 to help small businesses offer Individual Retirement Account (IRA) savings plans. This is, as they say in the Legislature, “a good little bill,” but it is dwarfed by the size…
Is growing income inequity hurting Social Security?
He point[s] out that critics leave the impression that rich people are getting something for free from Social Security, which is not the case. “The implication in the CAP report is that a person who reaches the cap in February…
Take steps to protect against identity theft
Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs on Feb. 18 reminded New Jerseyans who believe they were affected by the recently reported cyberattack against Anthem, Inc., or any other recently reported data breach,…
U.S. proposes 0.9 percent cut in 2016 Medicare Advantage payments
The U.S. government on Friday proposed a 0.9 percent cut in payments to health insurers for 2016 Medicare Advantage plans, which provide health benefits to more than 16 million elderly or disabled people. When combined with other factors such as medical…
New disability papers from the Social Science Research Network
The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program faces imminent insolvency. Annual expenditures totaled $143 billion in 2013, but program receipts amounted to $111 billion — a shortfall that is projected to continue indefinitely. According to the Social Security Trustees, the…
Retirement insecurity
The “silver tsunami” predicted for Maryland, where more than 1 million workers have no retirement savings, is one that will sweep the rest of the country, too. As a matter of fact, the Employee Benefit Research Institute says the percentage…
If The Typical American Wants a Secure Retirement, They’ll Have to Overcome This Hurdle
According to the Federal Reserve, 31% of non-retired Americans have to put money away in retirement accounts for their golden years. Since financial advisors typically recommend that retirees will need roughly 70% of their pre-retirement income to support their lifestyles in retirement, the…