Column: Did the budget deal close a Social Security ‘loophole,’ or harm poor women?
9 years, 4 months ago

Column: Did the budget deal close a Social Security ‘loophole,’ or harm poor women?

LA Times  

But who got left behind? Leaving aside that this figure spans 75 years, meaning it probably averages out to less than one or two tenths of a percent of Social Security’s projected benefit payments over that time, the main change has been a purported closing of a “loophole” that allowed some couples to claim more than their share of benefits. “This is a moment when advocates should pivot to how Social Security affects low-income people,” Hartmann said, though she doesn’t sound too optimistic that will happen. Before 2000, Social Security calculated whether a claimant’s individual or spousal benefit was higher, and paid that; the Senior Citizens Freedom to Work Act allowed individuals to choose which benefit to receive. In Hartmann’s view, file-and-suspend has allowed lower-income women and couples to bring their Social Security benefits up to a reasonable level.

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History of this topic

Hiltzik: Social Security is in Trump's crosshairs
3 weeks, 3 days ago

Hiltzik: Social Security is in Trump's crosshairs

LA Times  

Perhaps the most frequently cited quote from Donald Trump relevant to his purported efforts to root out government waste has been “we’re not touching Social Security,” or variations thereof. Its press release about the reduction referred to the program’s “bloated workforce.” To anyone who knows anything about the Social Security Administration, calling its workforce “bloated” sounds like a sick joke. …

Biden signs 'first Social Security expansion in decades'​ as GOP eyes cuts
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Biden signs 'first Social Security expansion in decades'​ as GOP eyes cuts

Raw Story  

Joe Biden on Sunday became the first president in more than two decades to sign a measure that expands Social Security benefits, a move that came as congressional Republicans and an Elon Musk-led advisory commission weigh possible cuts to the nation's most effective antipoverty program. "For years the government has taken away Social Security benefits from millions of retired federal, …

Millions of public workers are set to get higher Social Security benefits. Here's why
Trending News
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Millions of public workers are set to get higher Social Security benefits. Here's why

NPR  

Millions of public workers are set to get higher Social Security benefits. The Windfall Elimination Provision trimmed benefits for public employees who received pensions not covered by Social Security payroll taxes. The Government Pension Offset cut Social Security spousal or widow benefits for those who also received public pensions not covered by Social Security. The changes come at a critical …

Millions to Get Bigger Social Security Checks If Biden Signs New Bill
3 months ago

Millions to Get Bigger Social Security Checks If Biden Signs New Bill

Live Mint  

Millions of Americans may see their Social Security benefits increase under a bill headed to President Joe Biden’s desk — though critics warn that the measure comes at the cost of pushing the fund further toward insolvency. If signed by the president before the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, the law would boost Social Security payments to more than …

Letters to the Editor: Social Security can be fixed easily, but it would upset the rich
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Letters to the Editor: Social Security can be fixed easily, but it would upset the rich

LA Times  

To the editor: The final votes from the 2024 election have barely been tallied, the inauguration is more than a month away, and President-elect Donald Trump’s close allies are already going after Social Security. This is how to fix Social Security’s insolvency problem: Everyone should pay the tax on all their income — no loopholes for the rich. Sen. Mike …

Experts: Analysis shows Trump proposal would "dramatically worsen Social Security’s finances"
5 months, 1 week ago

Experts: Analysis shows Trump proposal would "dramatically worsen Social Security’s finances"

Salon  

Social Security funds could run out in the next six years if former President Donald Trump wins in November, according to a new report from the bipartisan group Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Trump’s policies would add over $2.3 trillion to Social Security’s deficit between 2026 and 2033 and — and cause a 33% cut to benefits in 2035, …

Congress has just over a decade to fix Social Security before cash runs out
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Congress has just over a decade to fix Social Security before cash runs out

Daily Mail  

Social Security is expected to run short on funds by 2035, according to a new report. Social Security relies on its trust funds to provide monthly benefit checks to around 70 million Americans. While Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security, said this was 'good news' for beneficiaries, he urged Congress to take steps to 'extend the financial health of the …

Money Talk with Liz Weston: A sticky inheritance scenario
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Money Talk with Liz Weston: A sticky inheritance scenario

LA Times  

Achieving what you want with your estate plan may be a lot more complicated and have more repercussions than you currently imagine. Even if your daughter is amenable, you still need an estate planning attorney’s help to craft the trust that doles out the money. Plus, you’ll have to find someone to manage the trust, notes Burton Mitchell, a Los …

Millennial Money: Navigating the SSI ‘marriage penalty’
1 year ago

Millennial Money: Navigating the SSI ‘marriage penalty’

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But because they both receive Supplemental Security Income — …

Column: An exhaustive debunking of the dumbest myths about Social Security
1 year, 4 months ago

Column: An exhaustive debunking of the dumbest myths about Social Security

LA Times  

Myths and canards about Social Security and its supposed fiscal troubles have steadily proliferated over the years. Slate paired Eric Boehm, a writer for the conservative magazine Reason, with a writer named Celeste Headlee for a dialogue titled “Social Security Doesn’t Make Sense Anymore.” The roughly 2,000-word piece contained so many misconceptions, inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and flat-out lies about the program …

Social Security Doesn’t Make Sense Anymore
1 year, 4 months ago

Social Security Doesn’t Make Sense Anymore

Slate  

This week, Congress approved a temporary government funding package, once again averting a potential shutdown, at least until next year. And unlike in the 1940s, these days, you’ve got retirees that are generally wealthier than the people who are funding their retirements through Social Security. It’s a question that nobody’s really asking in Congress, because we silo off Social Security …

The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is coming -- but it won’t be as big as this year’s
1 year, 5 months ago

The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is coming -- but it won’t be as big as this year’s

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Looking ahead to retirement next spring, Karla Abbott finds comfort in the cost-of-living increase that millions of Social Security recipients get each year. Still, she said Social Security’s annual cost-of-living increases provide some support as she and her husband plan out their non-working years. “This is an important system, and we need to restore its solvency, because if …

Column: Social Security is perfectly healthy, but there’s one easy way to improve it
1 year, 11 months ago

Column: Social Security is perfectly healthy, but there’s one easy way to improve it

LA Times  

’Tis the season for hand-wringing over the fiscal condition of Social Security. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which is an offspring of the late private equity billionaire and Social Security foe Peter G. Peterson, declared in the wake of the trustees’ report that “Social Security is 11 years from insolvency.” The annual report lent urgency to a raft …

8.7% hike to Social Security checks won't cut it, some fear
2 years, 5 months ago

8.7% hike to Social Security checks won't cut it, some fear

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “I’ll do my best, I grew up during the …

Column: With a noxious family leave proposal, GOP pretends it’s still pro-women despite antiabortion laws
2 years, 8 months ago

Column: With a noxious family leave proposal, GOP pretends it’s still pro-women despite antiabortion laws

LA Times  

Having achieved its long-held goal of eviscerating women’s reproductive health rights, the Republican Party is now hard at work pretending that it’s about to enter a new era of pro-women and pro-family policy. — Kathleen Romig, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, on Sen. Marco Rubio’s New Parents Act After the Dobbs ruling was leaked in May, a fellow at …

Column: Social Security trustees say the U.S. is rich enough to expand, not shrink, benefits
2 years, 9 months ago

Column: Social Security trustees say the U.S. is rich enough to expand, not shrink, benefits

LA Times  

After passing a huge tax cut for the rich, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell blamed Social Security and Medicare for the federal deficit. In 2018, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, identified “entitlements” — that’s Washington-speak for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — as “the real drivers of the debt” and called for them to be adjusted “to the demographics of …

Liz Weston: Don’t let Social Security steer you wrong
3 years, 6 months ago

Liz Weston: Don’t let Social Security steer you wrong

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Certified financial planner Kate Gregory of Huntington Beach California …

Column: Republicans seek to exploit COVID-19 crisis to cut Social Security benefits
4 years, 10 months ago

Column: Republicans seek to exploit COVID-19 crisis to cut Social Security benefits

LA Times  

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is fretting about the federal deficit, now that billions are going to working people in coronavirus aid, rather than to the wealthy via a tax cut. The Post reports that they’re “exploring” a proposal put forth by two conservatives allowing workers to receive up to $10,000 today, but paying the money back by deferring their …

Column: Elizabeth Warren offers a Social Security reform plan that checks a lot of boxes
5 years, 6 months ago

Column: Elizabeth Warren offers a Social Security reform plan that checks a lot of boxes

LA Times  

Congressional progressives lately have been putting forth Social Security reform plans that shore up the system’s finances while improving benefits. Warren told me by email, “63 million Americans rely on monthly Social Security benefits, but current benefits are too small for millions of them to support a decent retirement.” Her $200 monthly increase would “address the current retirement crunch — …

Column: The Republican proposal for paid family leave is a sham that would wreck your retirement
6 years ago

Column: The Republican proposal for paid family leave is a sham that would wreck your retirement

LA Times  

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has a plan to let you raid your Social Security to pay for parental leave. The Urban Institute, which took a close look at the GOP proposal last year, found that it would raise Social Security’s annual costs, accelerate its fiscal problems, and open the door to other raids that “could undermine Social Security’s ability to …

Column: Trump’s budget would eviscerate the social safety net but provide welfare for the rich
6 years ago

Column: Trump’s budget would eviscerate the social safety net but provide welfare for the rich

LA Times  

Much of the news coverage of President Trump’s proposed 2020 budget, which was released Monday, focuses on two aspects. Trump boasts of his determination to “defeat the HIV/AIDS epidemic.” But as Lindsey Dawson of the Kaiser Family Foundation points out, the cuts and limitations he’s proposing to Medicaid would undermine care for HIV patients, 41% of whom get their health …

Women in their own words: Why we’re not working
7 years, 9 months ago

Women in their own words: Why we’re not working

LA Times  

Everyone’s work life has its own story – as does every decision to stop working. The share of prime-age women working or looking for work rose from 35% just after World War II to 76.8% in 1999 – then began dropping, to 74.3% last year. Ursula Strauss Los Angeles Age: 30 Ursula Strauss I quit my job one year ago …

What People Over 50 Aren't Hearing In All This Election Noise
8 years, 8 months ago

What People Over 50 Aren't Hearing In All This Election Noise

Huff Post  

Whether you think America already is great or needs to be made great again, if you are over 60, you may be feeling like wallpaper in this election’s run-up about now: You are there, presumably contributing to the room’s decor, but it’s finally dawning that nobody actually sees you. Here’s how the leading candidates say they will do it, according …

Social Security Still Isn’t Broke, New Report Confirms
8 years, 9 months ago

Social Security Still Isn’t Broke, New Report Confirms

Huff Post  

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew acknowledged Wednesday that Social Security faces financial challenges, but nonetheless said that making benefits more generous should be a priority. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg/Getty Images WASHINGTON -- Social Security will be able to pay full benefits until 2034, when it will face a modest gap in funding, the social insurance program’s trustees reported on Wednesday. But in a …

Column: Yes, Social Security is unfair, especially to women. But can it be fixed?
9 years, 4 months ago

Column: Yes, Social Security is unfair, especially to women. But can it be fixed?

LA Times  

By tweaking Social Security benefits to eliminate an ostensible loophole favoring married couples, the recent budget deal in Washington shed light on one little-known complexity in the program. Social Security spousal and survivor benefits are so peculiarly designed they would be judged illegal.if private pension or retirement plans tried to implement them. — C. Eugene Steuerle, Urban Institute “Social Security …

Social Security Advocates Shrug At Budget Deal
9 years, 5 months ago

Social Security Advocates Shrug At Budget Deal

Huff Post  

WASHINGTON -- Advocates for senior citizens said they're neither happy nor unhappy with a congressional budget deal that makes changes to Social Security and Medicare. CBPP/Greenstein: the budget deal will "extend the solvency of SSDI through 2022," preventing benefit cuts https://t.co/cPSRoDpB9V — Adam Jentleson October 27, 2015 Earlier this year, Republicans railed against the possibility of reallocating payroll tax money …

Social security's most media-friendly foe
12 years, 3 months ago

Social security's most media-friendly foe

Salon  

For those familiar with Ayn Rand's writing, the question "Who is John Galt?" That's almost certainly why, as CNN reports, Wall Street–coddling Republicans are "insisting that Social Security reforms be part of" the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. With burn-the-village-to-save-it talking points, she and her paymasters are pretending that they want Social Security to be part of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations in …

Let’s beef up Social Security benefits instead of cutting them
12 years, 11 months ago

Let’s beef up Social Security benefits instead of cutting them

LA Times  

Advocates for strengthening Social Security have come to dread the release of the annual report of the program’s trustees. That’s because the event has become the basis for more hand-wringing about Social Security’s fiscal condition and calls to cut benefits for current and future retirees. And it points to the best way to improve Social Security’s value for all Americans: …

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