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Senators: Strengthen Social Security, Expand Benefits
In an effort to strengthen Social Security, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is taking a leadership role by co-sponsoring a bill that will extend the life of the Social Security Trust Fund while increasing benefits for average Americans. Brown announced…
Retirement Taxes: Know the Rules
We’ve all heard it. There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and change. For retirees, there are two realties, which are change is inevitable and you’ll still have to pay taxes, even though you are no longer working. Taxes…
Is the Time Right for a Permanent Fix to Medicare’s Formula for Physician Payment?
The annual panic affecting the nation’s physicians is in full swing. “Medicare docs face 24% pay cut… again,” reported CNN Money this month. But after almost a decade of kicking the can down the road, Congress is closer than ever to solving…
A Plan to Keep Social Security Solvent Forever
My modest goal in this post is to set forth a plan that keeps Social Security able to pay promised benefits forever, that does not require any “compromise” with the GOP and so can be passed simply with democratic majorities…
7 little-known Social Security benefits
In the first season of “Friends,” Rachel Green looks at her first paycheck as a waitress and asks, “Who’s this FICA guy, and why is he getting all my money?” That’s one hard lesson about Social Security. Another is that…
Washington fiddles while the economy burns
The dust has settled for the time being on the government shutdown but there has been NOTHING done to address the United States debt crisis. We need a call to action to save our country. This includes every mom and…
Planning retirement? Don’t forget Medicare costs
The potential costs and benefits of Medicare have a huge impact on retirement planning. For most folks, health-care costs are among the largest they will face in their retirement years. And, contrary to what many believe, Medicare is not free. You do have to “pay…
Retire, then work — what boomers face in later years
There was a time when Tom Sadowski thought he’d stop working after turning 65 earlier this year. But he’s put off retirement for at least five years — and now anticipates continuing to work afterward. In an illuminating sign of changing…
New budget-cut options include military pay, veterans
Military members, retirees and veterans have a few more reasons to be wary of politicians who say their top priority is to cut federal spending. The Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday released a report of more than 100 options for reducing…
Social Security decisions after divorce
The average length of a marriage in the United States is about eight years, but longer-term marriages are not immune from breakups. For this latter group, divorce can have an even more profound impact on long-term financial plans as the…