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5 Retirement Variables Outside Your Control
One reason it’s difficult to prepare for retirement is that there are so many things we simply can’t predict about it. We don’t know how long we will live, how much our investments will earn and how much of our…
Social Security’s Collapse, Explained in Plain English
The Social Security debate has its own private lexicon wherein words take on new meanings, which at times even contradict the meaning those words have in the English language. The consequence of the Social Security pseudo-code is a stalemate, because it is virtually impossible to build any consensus in…
Congress gets ready for a summer break
Like college students putting off their homework until it absolutely has to be done, the Congress will clock in for a few more days this week and then beat it out of town until September 9, far behind as usual…
SLOBODIEN: Beyond aching knees and backs
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a federal entitlement created in 1956 as an insurance plan for long-tenured workers with the misfortune of becoming disabled before retirement. Today, the program has ballooned into a $135 billion behemoth threatening to collapse under…
Will your congressman retire richer than you?
Members of Congress receive retirement benefits that are far more generous than those earned by the average worker, according to a recent Bankrate analysis. Not only do congressional representatives and senators earn the guarantee of a monthly pension check — a…
Online scam hijacks Social Security benefits
Once upon a time thieves stole Social Security checks from mailboxes. That was so 20th century. Now, thieves steal the checks online directly receiving the payment and eliminating the middleman. Identity thieves obtain the personal information of Social Security beneficiaries and then reroute…
Choose Medicare carefully
One of the most important decisions seniors will make is choosing the right Medicare coverage when they become eligible for the federal health insurance program. “Your first year of Medicare eligibility is one of the most critical times because of the…
White House Continues Playing “Let’s Make a Deal” With the GOP on Social Security and Medicare Benefit Cuts
Just two months ago, the Obama White House vowed it wouldn’t be sucked into debt ceiling negotiations with Republicans again. “Thank goodness” we all said, since that debacle ultimately led us to the ongoing budget mess and sequester which continues to hurt American families nationwide. Read…
Udall noncommittal on changing entitlement programs’ COLA formula
Sen. Mark Udall said Saturday that he remains undecided about a proposal to alter the cost-of-living index which dictates social programs nationwide. During a members-only forum at The Broadmoor, local AARP constituents met with the organization’s national president and Udall to…
Women face difficulties in retirement
With longer life expectancies than men, women tend to live longer in retirement and have a greater chance of outliving their retirement nest egg. Multiple factors play into this crisis. Women are more likely to suffer job interruptions and other income…