Latest News
Social Security Wage Base Projected at $115,500 for 2014
The Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of the Chief Actuary (OCA) has projected that the Social Security wage base will increase from $113,700 for 2013 to $115,500 for 2014. Actual annual increases to the wage base are announced in October of…
Rand Paul Introduces National ID Card Amendment To The Senate’s Immigration Reform Bill
As was reported by The Global Dispatch last month, the “Gang of Eight” drafted bill, 800 pages of the bipartisan legislation, includes language mandating the creation of the innocuously-named “photo tool,” a massive federal database administered by the Department of Homeland Security and containing names, ages, Social Security numbers and photographs of everyone…
The Chamber of Commerce’s war on Social Security
There are two things you need to know about the federal government’s current budget situation. First, if you’re concerned with deficits and federal debt, things are getting better. The combination of spending cuts, tax increases, and modest economic growth has significantly…
Seniors may get an even smaller Social Security raise than this year’s
South Floridians on Social Security may have to get used to another low cost of living raise. Retirees may get an even smaller raise in their Social Security checks in 2014 than they got this year. So far, the Consumer Price Index…
Low interest rates pose risk to those who don’t protect retirement income
Americans who do not protect their retirement income are at risk of having their retirement prospects eroded by prolonged periods of low interest rates, according to a new paper by Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU). The most recent update to The National Retirement…
Liberals should lead entitlement reform
If liberals succeed in blocking any serious entitlement reform during the Obama presidency, as seems increasingly likely, they will have handed conservatives a gift. One number explains why: 2.7 percent. That is the share of the national economy that, according to Congressional Budget…
Barney hasn’t lost his touch
There was a time when former Congressman Barney Frank said you couldn’t pay him enough for sitting on a panel with Karl Rove. As it turns out, he mused, “you can.” Frank is doing well on the speaking circuit but returned…
Is true retirement an outdated concept?
New research shows that investment savings and financial security, rather than age, now determine when near-retirees feel ready to retire. Despite improving economic conditions, Maritz Research’s recent Retirement Study marks $500,000 as the tipping point at which people feel comfortable to…
Chris Farrell: Economics Prof. Robert Fogel saw what’s wrong with our retirement system
Nobel laureate and University of Chicago Prof. Robert W. Fogel died last Tuesday at age 86. Fogel was a remarkable economic historian. In college I read excerpts from his two most famous and controversial books, “Time on the Cross’’ on…
Phoebe Venable: Saving for retirement takes effort, but it’s worth it
It’s no secret that the average American struggles to save adequate amounts for retirement. In 2010, the Federal Reserve did a survey on consumer finances and found that Americans between ages 55 and 64 have an average balance of $120,000…