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Action Line: How to handle an estate when a relative dies
I recently learned my brother has terminal cancer. He is in no condition to deal with business matters. He is not married and has no children, so everything is left to me. I don’t know how to take care of…
Obama’s $4 trillion budget includes higher taxes on rich and big banks, public works program
The $4 trillion budget that President Barack Obama sends Congress on Monday proposes higher taxes on wealthier Americans and corporations, and an ambitious $478 billion public works program for highway, bridge and transit upgrades. The grab-bag of proposals, many recycled…
Obama’s Budget: Why won’t president fix what needs fixing (hint: Social Security, Medicare)?
The president’s budget proposal, to be released Monday, presents an opportunity to tackle the long-term fiscal crisis facing the nation. Unfortunately, the White House seems positioned to waste the opportunity. The responsible thing to do would be to propose a…
The White House Promises Exciting Medicare Reforms, But There’s A Devil In The Details
This week the Obama administration announced a dramatic plan to accelerate payment reform under Medicare, by moving away from the fee-for-service model toward something akin to pay-for-performance. The administration pledges to tie 50 percent of payments to quality by 2016.…
The Nasty Four-Letter Word We Never Taught Our Children
D-E-B-T This four-letter word has caused so much grief for Baby Boomers; why have we kept it a secret from our kids? Money issues and debt, in many cases, are still a family’s deep dark secret. How did this happen?…
Social Security: The Truth Behind Why the Government Wants to Pay You More to Wait
Social Security is an integral part of how retirees make ends meet, and most Americans simply can’t wait to claim their benefits. Almost all retired workers begin receiving benefits before full retirement age, and nearly half claim them as soon…
Social Security Isn’t Going Away — But It Is Going to Get Worse
Seventy-five years ago, Ida Mae Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont received the first American Social Security check. Ida, who lived to be 100, ultimately collected $22,888 in benefits. Because she had paid only $24.75 in Social Security taxes, the national retirement…
Legislative Updates: 114th Congress
Today, Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-21) sent a letter to Marilyn Tavenner, the outgoing Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, urging that she make a plan for removing Social Security numbers from Medicare beneficiary cards a priority before…
Five Facts You May Not Know About Retirement Income… But Should
As retirement gets closer, many people begin to worry about how they will find the funds they need to replace their paychecks after they’ve stopped working. What will serve as their income? Will they have enough to live on day-to-day?…
Fact Check: Viral email cashing in on fear when it comes to Social Security
Social Security retirement payments are called “federal benefit payments,” but that’s certainly not new. As Snopes.com and TruthOrFiction.com note, the word “benefits” has been applied to Social Security retirement payments since the program was enacted in the 1930s. Read more… Notice:…