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Democrats should start entitlement reform
Democrats were given a political gift by the Tea Party-led federal government shutdown. Whether Tea Party loyalists accept it or not, the shutdown damaged the Republican Party. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recalled an old Kentucky saying: “There is no education…
Fact-checkers Sputter And Flop Attempting To Explain How Social Security Works
A gaggle of fact-checkers recently attempted to bring clarity to the question of whether Social Security adds to the deficit. Much as they did during the campaign, the fact-checkers have instead confused what is in fact quite a simple issue. Social…
World Social Security Forum opens today
The World Social Security Forum (WSSF) Qatar 2013 will open today. The event will be attended by more than 1,000 social security professionals from around 120 countries to debate the future of social security systems worldwide. HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser…
Public-pension folks escape duty to subsidize the poor
I would like Ohio’s Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown, to know that, as a self-employed professional who already is paying 15 percent of my income in Social Security taxes, I was dismayed to read of his plan to remove the wage…
Traveling outside the US? Check in with Social Security
Americans today are traveling around the globe for vacations, and sometimes to relocate in another country. If you travel abroad and receive Social Security benefits, a special website is available: “Social Security Payments Outside the United States.” Here are answers to…
The Future of Social Security
An organization is fighting to make sure that Social Security is available for future generations. The Montana Organizing Project held a meeting today to talk about the concerns they have if the federal government were to cut Social Security benefits. The group…
Slashing pensions at the ballot is foolhardy
There’s good reason why cities and counties are not allowed to unilaterally cut retirement benefits for their existing public employees. Imagine a police officer putting his or her life on the line for 20 years and planning for an eventual retirement, who…
Three things lawmakers can do to keep Social Security net intact
The 2013 annual report of the Social Security trustees pegs the system’s 75-year deficit, or unfunded obligation, at $9.6 trillion — that’s with a t — in today’s dollars. Two demographic trends will drive that shortfall: retirees live longer than they used to, and…
How does the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act impact Medicare?
Income-related Medicare premiums: Some Medicare beneficiaries will pay an extra amount for Part D because of their yearly income. The extra amount is paid directly to Social Security (not the Medicare plan). The income level that drives the additional premium…
Social Security, Medicare not the cause of US financial problems
The Washington elite are returning to their obsession with the long-term budget crisis, which means extremists are once again calling for benefit cuts to Social Security and Medicare. As the government reopened following the shutdown, President Barack Obama called for cooler…