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Sanders Says Seniors and Disabled Veterans Deserve More Help
With senior poverty in the United States significantly increasing, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today expressed deep concern that Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees may receive only a 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment next year. The estimate the typical retiree…
Sequestration Re-Emerges As Budget Battle Issue
Automatic sequestration spending cuts have re-emerged as a central issue in efforts to end the partial government shutdown and avert a federal default. Many conservatives view the past seven months of lower spending as rare accomplishments in dealing with President Obama…
Seniors hope for heftier Social Security checks
Projections that Social Security will increase benefits by just 1.5 percent in 2013 are not going over well in Southwest Florida, a region with one of the largest concentrations of Social Security beneficiaries in the nation. Despite low inflation, local seniors…
The Challenge of Saving for Retirement
The current personal savings rate in the United States is not a number to inspire confidence. Yes, it has almost doubled in the past five years. However, the current rate remains only half what it was fifty years ago. Furthermore,…
Yes, the debt fight could delay Social Security checks. Here’s how.
There’s a theory pinging around that says no matter what happens with the debt ceiling, Social Security beneficiaries will keep getting their checks on time. Social Security is a trust fund that brings in more money than it pays out,…
What exactly is the ‘chained CPI?’
What is the “chained CPI?” Some proponents of entitlement reform say that to hold down Social Security costs, future benefit increases should be tied to something called the chained CPI. That could mean lower benefit increases would be more common in…
IMF chief warns against drastic US spending cuts
As debate rages over the US budget and borrowing limit, International Monetary Fund Director Christine Lagarde warned US spending cuts must not be too drastic or they could threaten global economic recovery. In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Lagarde said the United States…
Debt ceiling crisis could leave millions in lurch
If Congress fails to raise the borrowing cap, Treasury would likely run about a third short of the money it needs to pay everything between this coming Friday and November 15. In total, that’s more than $100 billion. One of the biggest-ticket items…
National Council on Aging Tells Congress to Protect Social Security, Medicare
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) joined the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) in strongly urging Congress to end the government shutdown and extend the debt limit to December 2014, without putting at risk the Social Security, Medicare, and…
Debt-ceiling breach would push economy into free fall, without a government safety net
The Obama administration will have to decide whether to delay — or possibly suspend — tens of billions of dollars in Social Security checks, food stamps and unemployment benefits if negotiations to raise the federal debt ceiling are not resolved…