Social Security
Immigration & Social Security’s Funding Crisis
Social Security and Medicare are important issues to voters 50+, and many cast ballots based on them. Lorie Konish of CNBC writes a comprehensive piece here noting that illegal immigration does not play any significant role in the looming insolvency…
Would increasing full retirement age to 69 save Social Security?
Insolvency is just a decade away for Social Security. The usual choices to rescue the program are raising taxes, cutting benefits, and increasing the full retirement age (FRA). No single option “solves” the problem, and Jessica Hall of MarketWatch explains…
Controversial WEP & GPO Bill Has Decent Chance of Passage
The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Offset Provision (GPO) are reviled by public employees, whose Social Security benefits are cut as a result of having only worked sparingly in jobs that paid into Social Security. But not all agree…
Claiming Benefits Early…Not Always a Bad Move
Most financial counselors will advise clients to defer filing for Social Security benefits as long as possible, but at least until reaching full retirement age. This strategy will ensure that your monthly benefits payment will avoid the reduction accompanying the…
Social Security’s Lump Sum Death Benefit (LSDB)
Current Social Security rules allow for a one-time death benefit ($255) to be paid to a decedent’s spouse, minor children living in the same home, or a child who has developed a disability at age 21 or younger. If the…
Rumor Clean-Up Time: Illegal Immigrants and Social Security
Without question, the issue of immigration is foremost on the minds of many Americans these days. The 2024 presidential election cycle consistently creates commentary about the state of our immigration system, the policies associated with it, and the financial impacts…
CRS Explains One of the “Secrets” Associated with Taxation of Social Security Benefits
Paying federal income taxes on Social Security benefits has drawn much attention and criticism over the years, so much so that legislation is still pending in the 118th Congress to eliminate the tax. For example, House Bills H.R. 3206 (Senior…
Recapping the Key Social Seurity Changes from 2024
To many, Social Security seems like a stable monolith, something that’s just always there and never changing. But that’s not the case at all. Anyone familiar with Social Security in any depth will tell you about the many, many moving…
2024 Election Cycle Alert: Likely Harris Moves that Could Affect Social Security & Retirement
The keyword is “could” because most of what’s been said about Candidate Harris so far lacks specific content. But, based on comments delivered in various forums, it appears that a Harris presidency pledges to focus on saving Social Security via…
A Look Ahead at the Future of Social Security COLAs
With the Federal Reserve’s progress toward reigning in the inflationary spiral of the past few years, coupled with its 2% long-term target for inflation, the 2025 cost-of-living adjustment is likely to be well below the average of the past three…