Latest News
Social Security Judges Allowance Rates Are Falling
Recent reports by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, examined decisions issued by Social Security Judges with high dispositions and high allowance rates and also those with low allowance rates. These reports have provided the media and Congress…
Eight Reasons We Shouldn’t Raise the Cap on Social Security Taxes
The Center for American Progress has a new study arguing for raising the maximum earnings on which workers pay Social Security taxes. The limit is currently $118,500, and raising it would garner some substantial revenue to shore up Social Security. But there…
Social Security Disability Video Hearings Set to Grow to Nearly 1 in 3 in 2015, Allsup Reports
Many people who apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits often wonder if they should agree to a video hearing with an administrative law judge (ALJ), according to Allsup, the nation’s premier disability representation company. People seeking their SSDI benefits…
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…