Social Security
Next Year’s COLA? Who knows, but one can speculate.
It’s that time of the year, and the numbers that will determine the COLA calculation for next year are now being accumulated. For those pundits looking ahead to what the CPI-W comparison will yield in October, the speculation is a…
A Practical Look at How Social Security Fits in Your Retirement
Of course, Social Security will be a significant part of your retirement financial picture. For some, it will be the most significant part, while for others it may serve to support other financial resources that have been accumulated along the…
Fertility Breeds Instability for Social Security
Brenton Smith of Fedsmith.com explains how lower fertility is not a new problem. Politicians have known about it for decades. He ties the issue to Social Security’s long term solvency problems, which are now closer by several years due to…
Next 3 Months Are Crucial for Social Security Recipients
July, August, and September are crucial for anyone receiving Social Security benefits. That’s because the consumer spending data from only those three months are used to calculate the inflation rate. This then determines what the cost of living increase (COLA)…
Can Taxing the Rich Save Social Security?
Sean Williams explores both sides of a common argument made to assist Social Security’s ailing financial health– tax the rich more. Will it work? Extending the 12.4% combined employee/employer payroll tax beyond the current $137,700 wage cap would generate immediate…
Is Means-testing the cure for what ails Social Security?
Whether folks know it or not, the Social Security and Medicare programs already have progressivity built into their systems. Thus they are means-tested, but only to a degree. Maurie Backman defines means-testing as “the concept of assessing Social Security beneficiaries’ annual…
Millennials won’t rely on Social Security. That’s probably a good thing.
Megan Leonhardt of CNBC reports the findings of recent studies showing that Millennials (born between 1981 and 1997) are not planning to rely on Social Security to fund their retirements. If only all generations thought that way. Social Security is an…
10 Ways COVID-19 Will Affect Social Security
The current pandemic is more than just a physical threat to public health. It is a financial threat to the nation’s most important public program–Social Security. Sean Williams notes ten ways that the crisis will hurt the program. Most notably,…
The Payroll Tax Cut Idea, Again
President Donald Trump has again come out in favor of a payroll tax cut to ” … help the American economy to continue to recover from the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 virus.” And once again, the debate on the wisdom…
The Social Security Solvency Dilemma: One View of a “Surefire” Fix?
Social Security’s long-term financing woes are garnering increased attention again, with the economic devastation accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic providing more fuel to the fire. While the most recent report by the Social Security Board of Trustees reiterated the 2035 end-date for depletion of…