Latest News
Explaining Social Security’s Payroll Tax (FICA)
For most of us, whenever you look at your paystub you see the entry – often referred to as a “FICA” deduction. “FICA” is an acronym for “Federal Insurance Contributions Act”, which consists of a tax for both Social Security and…
The Federal “CSRS Offset”, explained
“CSRS”, or the Civil Service Retirement System, was a pre-1984 Federal employee retirement system which did not participate in the Social Security program. It was replaced by “FERS”, or Federal Employee Retirement System, the current system which does participate in…
Social Security Benefits May Be Taxable as Income
Social Security benefits may be taxable as income, which comes as a surprise to many a new recipient of benefits. Though some states do not tax benefits (and some do), your Federal tax obligation will always take your Social Security…
Retirement Planning: Out with the old and in with the new
Reality today means that the old advice typically given by financial planners may no longer work. Constantly improving longevity means that the length of your retirement, which was once counted in years is now counted in decades. And that means…
Appealing a Social Security denial, all the way to the Supreme Court
It’s pretty well known that Social Security routinely denies many of the disability claims brought before it, and in many cases the denial is warranted. But whenever a denial is issued and the applicant believes strongly it is wrong, there…
SSA issues public warning about scammers
In a public service announcement, the Social Security Administration (SSA) issued a warning to all Americans about criminals calling seniors and posing as Social Security representatives in an effort to defraud them. Sometimes these scammers are even “spoofing” the number…
April is National Social Security Month
The Social Security Administration has designated April as National Social Security month, a time when the agency promotes all of the many features available to seniors via America’s most important social benefit program. This month, the agency is placing special…
Expectations vs. reality when it comes to Social Security
When it comes to Social Security planning, it’s important to understand that what might seem logical to you may not be the reality with your Social Security benefits. This is especially true when both partners in a couple have earned…
Social Security taxes for the self-employed
Most of those who work for an employer don’t pay a lot of attention to Social Security taxes – they just know they are deducted from every paycheck. Many may not even know that their employer pays the government an equal…
Scammers are out in full force to get your Social Security
It’s a sad commentary on today’s society, but it seems there are no limits to the ends that criminals will go to try to bilk seniors out of money. The most recent scam is one that calls seniors to tell…