Latest News
FTC Cracks Down On Bogus Medical Discount Scam Targeting Seniors
The Federal Trade Commission has shut down a medical discount scheme that scammed seniors across the country by offering phony discounts on prescription drugs and pretending to be affiliated with Medicare, Social Security, or medical insurance providers. In a complaint filed…
Guide to Social Security
After years of being told that Social Security is “going broke” or that it “won’t be enough”, or that you have to be “old” to collect, baby boomers are starting to realize that Social Security will be an important source…
Elder Care Benefits and Social Security
Seniors receive lots of elder care benefits and Social Security is among them. Social Security is among the long-term benefits the seniors receive in addition to Medicare insurance. Receiving benefits usually begins at 65 and continues before the dying of…
Taxing Medicare Benefits
In a recent post, I discussed the nontaxation of imputed rent – the income homeowners receive from themselves by virtue of being both landlord and renter – which, judging by the comments, many readers found bizarre. In my continuing series on tax expenditures,…
A timely reminder: Sign up for online Social Security account
I was pleased to receive an automatic e-mail alert from the Social Security Administration Monday urging me to review my Social Security statement online. Just like in the old days of paper statements when an annual benefits estimate would arrive in…
Senators highlight report on improper disability payments
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ranking Member Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), on Sept. 16, highlighted the report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled, “Disability Insurance:…
Danger ahead: Our disappearing pensions
Working Americans ask themselves this question — and angst about the answer — a great deal these days. And why not? For most Americans, retirement reality has turned chillingly stark: Either you have a robust set of investments in your…
For extra security, know finances well
Life can get chaotic, and logic and reason can be elusive during times of significant changes. Marriage and divorce are two such times when change comes quickly and resulting decisions are often made without careful thought to their long-term impacts. During…
Inside the world of disability claims
A congressional panel that earlier this year criticized judges for lavishly awarding Social Security disability benefits might have been talking about Tennessee. It depends how you crunch the numbers. Nearly two-thirds of administrative law judges in Tennessee grant benefits to more than…
Subsidizing Spouses
The federal tax code and Social Security both contain provisions that subsidize marriage if one spouse refrains from paid employment. Critics of such provisions have long noted that they discourage married women’s participation in the labor force. They may have a similar…