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The Secret Social Security Spousal Benefit
Social Security benefits increase every year that they are delayed from age 62 to age 70. In other words, the longer you wait to claim your benefits, the bigger your Social Security check. Despite the fact that this basic idea…
Social Security to Expand Field Office Hours
Social Security has announced as a result of Congress’ approval of the fiscal year 2015 budget, the agency will expand its hours nationwide and offices will be open to the public for an additional hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and…
A Better Alternative to Social Security?
Two weeks ago I explained how and why the Amish opted out of the Social Security program. Some people basically wrote back, “Great for them, how do I do the same thing?” Other readers said anyone who doesn’t participate in Social Security…
6 Key Facts About Social Security
Here’s a key number: 567. That’s the number of possible ways to claim Social Security benefits, says Joshua Melberg, president of J.D. Melberg Financial in Tucson, Arizona. That 567 figure applies to couples — singles have it a bit simpler —…
Social Security Disability Insurance Confrontation
The new Republican-controlled Congress has adopted a rule that prohibits the transfer of money from the Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OAS) Trust Fund to the Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund unless Congress takes steps to improve…
To Beat the Coming Disability Insurance Disaster, Stay Healthy
For years Social Security’s trustees (of which I am one) have warned that lawmakers must act to address the troubled finances of the program’s disability insurance (DI) trust fund. Congress has nearly run out of time to do so. Legislation will…
Social Security: A New Way to Get Your Replacement SSA-1099 Online
Now that tax season is here, you may be joining the millions of taxpayers who are gathering the forms they need to file their federal, state, and local tax returns. If you receive Social Security benefits, one of the forms…
How to Reduce Taxes on Your Social Security Payments
Your Social Security payments in retirement might be taxable, depending on how much you earn and the sources the money comes from. About 40 percent of Social Security beneficiaries pay taxes on their benefits. Here’s how to minimize the taxes…
Supply-side Costs of the Great Recession
The long drawn-out recovery from the 2008-09 financial crisis is now perceived as largely complete. The unemployment rate, currently at 5.6 percent, is well below the average of the last half-century and is projected to decline below the 5½ percent…
In our opinion: Proposed U.S. budget needs not ‘mindless austerity’ but mindful austerity
An underlying premise in President Barack Obama’s proposed $4 trillion budget, unveiled recently, is that the economy has improved to the point where the austerity of sequestration no longer is necessary. The word “sequestration” describes a set of automatic spending…