Latest News
The Fix For Social Security’s Finances Would Affect Just 5.6 Percent Of Workers
One way to fix Social Security’s long-term financing is to stop exempting high-earning workers from Social Security taxes on the majority of their income. Thanks to new research from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), we now know…
Women often face many more financial challenges than men
Women face many more financial challenges then men. There are a number of social and economic reasons for this. It is well documented that there is a difference in pay between the genders, although today about 26 percent of women earn more…
Why Disability Insurance Is Critical
Most people understand why having life insurance is a good idea: Nobody wants to leave their survivors in a financial lurch if they were to die suddenly. But what if you suffer an accident or illness and don’t die, but…
The Problem With Wanting It All
“I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now.” The 1989 song “I Want It All” by English rock legend Queen, does as good of a job as any at getting to the root cause…
How Social Security Works in 2014
Social Security touches the life of almost every worker in America, yet few know how the program works. In practice, Social Security uses complex benefit formulas and detailed rules that make it difficult for people to understand the program’s scope,…
Medicare Patients Are First Casualty In Emerging Healthcare Revenue Battles
Whatever else you may need financially after age 65 ‒ as a patient, you will likely need a special Medicare calculator that includes a timer. Turns out that how patients are technically admitted to a hospital ‒ and how many “midnights”…
Resources will be needed to support nation
Recently, I received duplicate mailings from Zero Population Growth, an organization that is anxious about running out of resources to support a rapidly multiplying world population. In several countries, the majority of people barely have enough for one good meal a day,…
How Congress Is Actually Holding Down Medicare Spending
Sustainable Growth Rate formula. That’s the formula created by Congress to govern the amount that Medicare pays to physicians for various treatments. It is supposed to adjust payments to meet an overall spending target tied to economic growth. But it hardly…
SAMUELSON: Retirees likely better off than many believe
Can America afford to retire? As millions of baby boomers pass their mid-60s, the specter of widespread under-saving has taken hold. Huge numbers of present and future retirees will exhaust their savings before they die. Mass hardship looms. It’s a…
Social Security Benefit Calculator
My wife and I are each 54, and I used the government social security benefit calculator and it provided estimates for commencing benefits at ages 62, 67, and 70. I understand once benefits commence they are adjusted for cost of living. My…