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Medicaid gap leaves 5 million without coverage
About 5 million people will be without health care next year that they would have gotten if they lived somewhere else in America. They make up a coverage gap in President Barack Obama’s health care law created by the domino effects…
Retirement unlikely for some Americans
Tom Edwards grew up in a family that’s been cutting trees and hauling timber in the Pacific Northwest for more than a century. The Spanaway, Wash., resident says he has worked as a logger since he was a kid —…
Younger military veterans are angered by budget cuts to their …
After 25 years of service, including combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, Lt. Col. Stephen Preston retired from the Army and began collecting a pension of nearly $55,000 a year. The money made it possible for Preston to go back…
Congress letting 55 tax breaks expire at year end
In an almost annual ritual, Congress is letting a package of 55 popular tax breaks expire at the end of the year, creating uncertainty — once again — for millions of individuals and businesses.Lawmakers let these tax breaks lapse almost…
Retiring? Understand Social Security first
No matter how far away you are from retirement, it’s important to understand your Social Security benefits – and there’s a particularly good reason to do it now. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is bringing back annual paper benefits statements for…
IRS issues Pub. 15 and 15-B; 2014 withholding tables
The IRS has issued IRS Pub. 15 (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide and IRS Pub. 15-B, Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits. Among, other things, Pub. 15 contains all of the withholding tables for wages paid on and after January…
Social Security: The Social Contract’s Comeback Year?
What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, a president and a party who had just won an election with progressive rhetoric were quickly pivoting toward a “Grand Bargain” which would cut Social Security and Medicare. Leaders…
Editorial: New year will start rough for 213793 Californians
The new year isn’t starting well for 213,793 Californians; their unemployment benefits expired on Saturday, owing to inaction by House Republicans. Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee released a state by state count of American workers who lost their benefits. California is one…
Entitlements gobbling up federal government’s revenue
One party refuses to raise taxes. The other party refuses to restrain the growth in Social Security and federal health programs. During the next decade, the federal government is projected to continue piling up hundreds of billions of dollars of debt,…
Social Security wage base update
Social Security’s Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program limits the amount of earnings subject to taxation for a given year. The same annual limit also applies when those earnings are used in a benefit computation. This limit changes each…