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Social Security: Ring in the new year with a COLA
Many people ring in the new year with Champagne. People who receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) get to ring it in with a COLA. This year, more than 60 million Americans are receiving a 1.5 percent cost…
Tiny military pension cut is a good move
That didn’t take long: President Obama’s signature on a hard-won House-Senate budget deal was barely dry before members of Congress from both parties began falling all over themselves to undo one of its provisions.We refer to the 1 percentage-point reduction in…
Raising the Bar: Applying for Social Security disability
If you’re thinking about applying for Social Security disability benefits or have already done so, here are a few things to consider. As a general rule, if you are younger than 50 years of age you must show that you not…
Why Social Security must be strengthened
Let’s say neither the 2008 crash nor Chinese slave labor got your job. Or you’re a Maryland public employee whose Democratic legislature and governor are committed to saving the economy by saving jobs. (In Republican-run states, those geniuses think the…
Government attempts to rein in disability fraud
Facing backlash from scandals and the specter of running out of money, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is making changes in 2014 to curb fraud in its disability programs. Today, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has roughly 11 million beneficiaries receiving $140…
Wealthiest Americans exempted from paying 2014 Social Security past Jan. 2
Nearly all working Americans will continue to pay the social security tax through the duration of 2014. The 900 wealthiest, however, have fulfilled their responsibility for the whole year on Thursday by earning $117,000 – the maximum total social security…
Obama to pressure GOP to extend unemployment benefits
WASHINGTON – President Obama will meet on Tuesday in Washington with some long-term unemployed Americans, as the White House ramps up pressure on Congress to extend unemployment insurance benefits that expired for 1.3 million Americans last week. The White House’s announcement…
Report: 2012 Grads Have Highest-Ever Student Debt
The Institute for College Access & Success, an independent nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California, recently released its eighth annular report on average student loan debt in the United States, and its findings are dire. College graduates who borrowed for…
Chained CPI Could Cut Social Security Benefits
“Chained CPI” is a phrase floating around the Social Security debate that is important to current and future Social Security beneficiaries. Chained CPI would change the way cost of living adjustments (COLA) for Social Security and other other government programs are…
Republicans not in sync with most people on some issues, poll shows
All the pushing by conservatives for cuts in so-called entitlement programs in order to reduce the federal deficit apparently lacks popular support — by a wide margin A national survey by the Pew Research Center showed a surprising — to me…