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Disability Benefits on a Fast Track
It used to be that some people with serious disabilities would die before the Social Security Administration finally got around to reviewing their applications for disability benefits. Today, applicants with one of 225 of the severest medical conditions can win…
Pondering the complexity of the tax code on Tax Day
As you finalize this year’s tax returns, I hope you realize you are not the only one feeling frustrated. In fact, Albert Einstein once quipped that “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” Interestingly, this…
86 Million Full-Time Workers Sustain 148 Million Takers
Buried deep on the website of the U.S. Census Bureau is a number every American citizen, and especially those entrusted with public office, should know. It is 86,429,000. That is the number of Americans who in 2012 got up every morning…
How You Can Use Your Social Security Benefits as an Interest-Free Loan
One little-known Social Security retirement benefits rule is the so-called “do-over rule.” Under this rule, an individual 62 years or older can start collecting benefits but stop the benefits within 12 months of the start, repay the benefits collected, and…
Proposal to add photos to Social Security cards meets resistance
While President Obama says the right to vote, “is threatened today in a way that it has not been since the Voting Rights Act became law,”it doesn’t mean he’s on board with a proposal coming from the left to add…
VFW says 55,000 veterans are the victims of a security breach
A Milwaukee veteran receives a startling letter. It is from the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), and says hackers were able to get his name and social security number. The letter says on March 4th, the VFW became aware of a…
Social Security Halts Collection of Kin’s Old Debt
The Social Security Administration announced Monday that it will no longer try to collect taxpayer debt to the government if the liability is more than 10 years old. The news comes after reports that the SSA was seizing tax refunds from about…
Time to raise – or scrap – the Social Security payroll tax cap
It’s Tax Day, and a small number of wealthy Americans have something to celebrate: They are done paying Social Security taxes for the year. The payroll tax that funds Social Security is levied only on a certain amount of income. This…
New Scout badges include camping, gardening, media and disability
Scouts will be able to adorn their uniforms with new badges recognizing their achievements in pursuits such as media relations and disability awareness along with traditional activities such as camping. The Scout Association today launched a range of new activity badges…
Planning for Retirement Can Lead Americans Toward a Financially Secure Future
Studies show that Americans are not saving nearly enough for retirement. If that isn’t enough, during the course of their working years a unique set of challenges has emerged, including changes in employee benefits, longer life spans, uncertainty with Social Security and Medicare,…