Social Security insolvency
Social Security’s Looming Insolvency and a Call for Answers
Many people keenly aware of the funding crisis facing Social Security in less than a decade have been distressed by the primary candidates’ lack of serious discourse on the issue in this presidential election cycle. And nowhere is this distress…
Highlighting Legislative Inertia on Social Security Reform
The term “inertia” refers to the natural tendency for objects at rest to remain at rest. Thinking about Social Security reform as an “object,” then, implies that action on corrective measures to ward off the catastrophe projected to hit beneficiaries…
Social Security Reform–A Call for Congressional Action
That’s not a new call, actually. The Social Security trustees have been making that plea for decades via comments accompanying their annual reports to Congress. For example, these comments were outlined in the summary of the 2024 edition: “Lawmakers have…
Social Security’s Reckoning: A Sobering Viewpoint on What Should be Emphasized
A quick look at political headlines today will show that the long-term financial problems facing our Social Security system are becoming more widely known. We’re in a less-than-decade window of when action must be taken—either corrective action or default action…
The Social Security Earnings Test—Why Does it Exist?
Claiming Social Security retirement benefits early—that is, before full retirement age (FRA)—is still a popular option in retirement finance planning. For some, it offers the opportunity to step out of a difficult work environment and into different, less stressful work.…
A Glimmer of Optimism in the Retirement Planning Picture, Perhaps?
Financial security in retirement is a major concern in the minds of many workers looking toward that life phase. So much of the news over the past few years has been gloom and doom, with Social Security’s looming insolvency and…
Social Security Insolvency Alarm Bells – Peterson Foundation Weighs In
With increasing frequency, the significance of Social Security’s steady slide toward insolvency is showing up in the news. A blog post by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation (click here to read in full) is a recent example of a respected…
Citizen Activists Join the Fight to Ward Off Social Security Insolvency
In an interesting display of public attention to the looming insolvency problem facing Social Security, union representatives and retiree activists in Wisconsin are focusing on the program’s current operations and its future. For the past two months, a regiment of…
Social Security Retirement Benefits and Boomers…A Note of Caution
The often-reported absence of adequate savings by those intending to rely on Social Security benefits for a comfortable retirement suggests that there may be some rough waters ahead, according to a post by GoBankingRates’ Sean Fisher on their website. Fisher…
FRA Setbacks, Means Testing, and the Inevitability of Tax Increases–One Viewpoint
In a follow-on to last week’s GOP Presidential Candidate Debate, and after considering suggestions put forth by candidates Nikki Haley and Chris Christie regarding adjustments to the full retirement age and incorporating additional means testing into the benefit formulas, financial writer…