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Millennial Workers Expect No Social Security Benefit
The bad news: millennials — who were born 1979 and 1996 — have little faith that Social Security will help them in retirement. The good news: because they don’t expect much if any outside help, millennials as a group are off to…
Does the Medicare Data Dump Do More Harm Than Good?
In an effort to make the U.S. health care system more transparent, affordable and accountable, in April the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an unprecedented amount of privacy-protected data on services and procedures provided to Medicare beneficiaries…
5 Key Social Security Strategies Everyone Should Know
No one ever said you could live like royalty on Social Security. The program was always intended to provide a foundation for retirement but not to completely replace one’s working income. Having said that, it is wrong to ignore the…
CBO: US deficit levels unsustainable
Congress’s nonpartisan budget watchdog warned Tuesday that U.S. entitlement programs would drive the country’s debt to unsustainable levels in the coming years. The federal debt is now 74 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)…
VA says it rushed to cut big backlog of claims for disability benefits
| In a rush to cut a huge backlog of claims for disability benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs is making payments to tens of thousands of veterans without adequate medical evidence that they deserve the benefits, the department’s inspector…
Disability funds squeezed by budget impasse
Another partisan battle is brewing on Capitol Hill as Social Security in general, and disability insurance in particular, nears a budget squeeze. “Any of us could suffer an accident or illness we’re not expecting,” said Rebecca Vallas, associate director of the…
Skimping on Human Interaction Won’t Save Money for the SSA
In the past five years the Social Security Administration has completed the largest field office reduction in its history by terminating 533 temporary mobile offices and closing 64 of its field offices. In Maine, those actions resulted in the closure…
Saving for retirement? How to soothe fears of not having enough money.
In a recent survey, 55 percent of Americans said they fear not having enough money to last through their retirement. The Bank of America’s Merrill Edge survey, reported in USA Today, polled 1,000 people called the emerging affluent — those…
BILL Would Shine Light On Neglected Needs Of Minorities With Disabilities
Communities of color have less access to healthcare, but they also have higher rates of certain disabilities. That combination presents serious challenges to minorities that are suffering from these disabilities. Yet little attention has been given to the problem, which…
House panel to examine VA’s progress with backlog of disability claims
A House panel on Monday is scheduled to examine the Obama administration’s efforts to eliminate a longstanding backlog of disability claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The hearing, held by the House Veterans Affairs Committee, comes less than two months after federal investigators found…