Sat, June 08, 2013
Last week, the Board of Trustees for the Social Security trust funds issued its annual report for 2013. Despite the temporary reduction in payroll tax collections enacted in response to the Great Recession, they project that the dates for exhaustion of the Medicare and Social Security trusts remain unchanged: the Social Security trust is expected to run out in 2033, and the Medicare trust should do the same in 2026. The Trustees also oversee the trust that covers Social Security Disability benefits, and they warn that the disability trust will be depleted much sooner, in 2016. Read the full article
Sun, August 12, 2012
Beginning next year, some taxpayers will pay additional Medicare taxes as one consequence of the Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act. Read the full article
Fri, January 21, 2011
Last March, I predicted that Congress would close the door on the Social Security “interest-free loan” loophole strategy that has been discussed in various publications over the last couple of years. I was almost right: the Social Security Administration (SSA) itself has taken the initiative to clamp down on this practice by severely restricting the circumstances under which it can be done. Read the full article
Fri, October 15, 2010
As expected, the Social Security Administration announced today that there will be no increase in Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits in 2011 for the 59 million retirees and others receiving monthly benefits. No cost-of-living-increase (COLA) can be given because there has been no increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' cost-of-living index from the third quarter of 2008 (the last year a COLA was made), to the third quarter of 2010. Under current law, the absence of a COLA also means that there can be no increase in the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security tax. Read the full article
Fri, October 16, 2009
Despite a decline in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), major retirement plan limits remain unchanged. Read the full article
Mon, June 01, 2009
Each year the trustees of the Social Security/Medicare trusts are required to report on the status of the trust funds. Last month, having included the effects of the recession in their projections, they released a new report. The news is not good.
Read the full article
Mon, May 12, 2008
An idea that seems to have gained a lot of attention through an article by financial journalist Scott Burns is worth examining. Basically, the idea is this: you retire at 62 and apply for Social Security benefits, which are reduced because you're retiring early. Then, at age 70, you withdraw from Social Security, pay back the benefits you've received, and reapply. Now you receive a much bigger Social Security check.
Read the full article
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