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Medicare patients will get a financial break in 2014
Medicare beneficiaries got some good news this fall, when government officials announced that the Part B monthly premium and annual deductible would remain flat for 2014. The cost picture is more complicated when it comes to other parts of Medicare, however,…
Six things you need to know about Social Security in 2014
Here are six things you need to know about Social Security for 2014. For clarity’s sake, here is a rundown of what is changing next year, and what isn’t. Social Security recipients are getting a raise — but not much of one.…
Warren is MoveOn.org’s ‘Progressive Champ’ for Her Expand-Social-Security Agenda
In a message to its members, MoveOn.org, a liberal advocacy group, hailed the Social Security “expansion movement” launched by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). In a speech on the Senate floor, and in television interviews, Warren recently declared, “The era of fighting…
VA benefits set to slightly increase in 2014
When veterans and their families, who receive disability compensation and retirement benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department, receive their annual cost-of-living increase next month, for the first time ever, it won’t be rounded down to the nearest dollar. Overall, the COLA…
You Can’t Fix Income Inequality Without Fixing Unemployment
President Obama’s speech today on income inequality was long and eloquent, but if I could boil it down to a one-sentence summary, it would be this: Large-scale efforts to protect the economy’s neediest have a triumphant history in America. Jump back…
Millennials may not be able to afford retirement essentials
While many Americans are falling short on savings, millennials are most at risk of being unable to afford essential retirement expenses — such as food, shelter and medical care, according to a Fidelity Investments survey released Wednesday. Fidelity found that about…
LA Times: Explaining the ‘mystery’ of where all the disabled are
The apparent explosion in Social Security disability claimants in recent years has provided endless fodder for critics of the program. Their favored explanation is that the growth in the ranks of the disabled, from 250,000 new claimants a year in…
10,982,920: The Number of Americans Receiving Disability …
The Number of American citizens who receive disability benefits reached a record high in November. According to newly released data from the Social Security Administration, there are now 10,982,920 disability beneficiaries. If all of these individuals lived in a single state, it…
Retirement: Appealing a Medicare claim
There are steps you can take before going through the task of appealing the denial of a Medicare claim. First, talk with the doctor, hospital and Medicare to see if you can spot the problem and get the claim resubmitted.…
New GOP Plan Would Save Military From Sequestration
A pair of House Republicans have a new bill that would spare the military from sequestration by cutting the Social Security benefits of many Americans who already experience painful federal budget cuts. Reps. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) and Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) are…