Latest News
Ryan Budget Plans Ignored as Lawmakers Craft Debt-Limit Deal
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., wanted big policy changes to lift the U.S. debt ceiling: revamp Social Security and Medicare, a framework for tax-code changes and approval of the $5.3 billion Keystone XL pipeline. But lawmakers are struggling to agree on…
Social Security field office still open despite shutdown
Despite the partial federal government shutdown, the Cookville field office for the Social Security Administration is still open — but with limited services. There are also no changes in Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments or payment dates, but anyone…
Shutdown impact: Hundreds of thousands still furloughed in 3rd week
The partial shutdown continues into its third week, with dueling plans in the Senate and House to reopen the government and avert a U.S. debt default. Treasury says it will run out of money to pay its bills if Congress…
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…