Social Security
Social Security: A wildly successful antipoverty program. Can that continue?
By any calculation, Social Security’s role in greatly reducing poverty rates among America’s seniors cannot be disputed. David W. Rasmussen’s article notes that poverty rates among Americans aged 65+ were as high as 78% in 1939, down to 35% in 1959,…
Can Millenials really afford to ignore Social Security?
Millenials’ (those born 1981 to about 2000) views on Social Security have been written about for some time now. Many think the program will be bankrupt by their retirement and are thus discounting benefits altogether. A looming bankruptcy is untrue, though the…
Taking Social Security at age 66 versus 70
Writing in Forbes Magazine, Laurence Kotlikoff, professor of Economics at Boston University refutes a recent MarketWatch article advocating one should take Social Security benefits at age 66 rather than age 70, given Social Security’s financial problems. Kotlikoff acknowledges Social Security’s long term…
Beware banking too heavily on Social Security in retirement
Social Security was never designed to be one’s sole source of income in retirement. Currently, benefits replace only about 40% of pre-retirement income. Where will the difference come from? In this article Maurie Backman stresses the importance of 401k plans and…
The Drawbacks of Social Security Privatization
Privatization has been shown to save governments money in many instances. When it comes to Social Security, there have not been serious discussions on privatizing the program since about 2005. The idea does sound plausible on its face, as it would give workers more…
Social Security for the six-figure income earner
Social Security is a universal program, meaning that all who contribute can expect to benefit, as long as basic criteria such as having 10 years of earnings, among others, being met. This article by Selena Maranjian of The Motley Fool discusses the…
Disability and Social Security Spousal Benefits
The question of how a spouse’s SSDI benefits relate to the ability to apply for benefits on the other spouse’s work record is one that arises frequently. Newsday’s Lynn Brenner provides an analysis of these two types of benefits coincide, including…
Immigration and Social Security
The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) recently released the results of its study on immigration and its potential influence on the Social Security solvency dilemma. Calling “increased immigration a powerful policy tool in the effort to maintain the Social Security program,” BPC authors…
Social Security’s Future: The Millennial Perspective
Call them Generation Y, Gen Y, or “echo Boomers,” but know one thing: this group of future retirees called Millennials appears to be growing worried about the future of Social Security. Millennials, generally considered to be those born from the…
Giving Thanks for the Watchdogs
On this Thanksgiving Day, let’s add a note of thanks for those who keep track of the never-ending stream of scams and frauds coming at us all the time. IN this regard, the editorial staff at petoskeynews.com recaps a comments from the…