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Tag Archives: Social Security (US)
For Older Americans, Some Positive Health News
Three recent developments — incremental and undramatic but encouraging — are likely to improve the lives and health of seniors.
How to Transition Into Retirement
Many older Americans like to ease into being an ex-worker — but you need to think carefully about just how to get there.
Using Tech to Optimize Your Social Security Benefits
A variety of online tools can guide retirees looking to make the most of this benefit — which many older Americans depend on.
Social Security Opens to Survivors of Same-Sex Couples Who Could Not Marry
Challenging a policy that limited survivor’s benefits to married couples, even though some couples were legally barred from marriage, took years.
How to Cope With Medicare’s Rising Costs
A higher Medicare premium in 2022 is just part of the puzzle of health care costs for older Americans. But there are ways to plan.
Woman Stole Daughter’s Identity to Get Loans and Attend College, U.S. Says
Laura Oglesby, 48, of Missouri, who pleaded guilty to intentionally providing false information to the Social Security Administration, lived as someone nearly half her age, the authorities said.
Inflation and Retirement: How to Protect Your Savings
With prices rising at their fastest rate in decades, people in retirement or approaching it should take extra care to protect their savings.
Supreme Court Looks at Puerto Rico’s Status in Case on Benefits
A federal law excludes residents of Puerto Rico from a Social Security program that provides monthly payments to needy people.
Social Security Cost of Living Increase Will be 5.9 Percent in 2022
The increase, a cost-of-living adjustment that applies to about 70 million Americans, comes as consumer prices have jumped sharply.
What the Debt Ceiling Means for Social Security and More
The Treasury secretary says the government will run out of money to spend if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling. Here’s what that could mean for programs that help millions of Americans.
On Concerns About Debt, and Disregard for Climate and Child Poverty
Why don’t those who used to obsess over debt seem to care about the future?
California’s Farms Face a Reckoning
Eighty percent of the water used by people in California goes to just 0.8 percent of the state’s gross domestic product.
When to Collect Social Security: Why You Should Wait
More details on why experts advise to wait to claim benefits and on benefits for divorced spouses.
Social Security is projected to be insolvent a year earlier than previously forecast.
Annual government reports on the solvency of the programs underscored the questions about the long-term viability of Social Security and Medicare.
Biden Fires Trump Appointee as Head of Social Security Administration
The dismissal, the latest effort by President Biden to oust a Trump-appointed director of an independent executive agency, could set off a legal showdown over who rightfully holds the position.
Biden Fires Andrew Saul, head of Social Security Administration
Andrew Saul, a Trump holdover, drew Democrats’ ire and has vowed to fight his dismissal.
Americans Are Retiring Earlier Because of Pandemic
After years in which Americans worked later in life, the latest economic disruption has driven many out of the work force prematurely.
Women and Social Security: How to Get the Biggest Check
Women tend to live longer than men, so they need as much retirement income as possible. Whether you’re 30 or 60, here’s what you need to know.
Social Security and Covid: Why Getting Help Won’t Be the Same
The pandemic abruptly closed the agency’s 1,200 offices, and officials are considering how to move forward. One issue: Without the offices, fewer low-income seniors sought benefits.
Robina Asti, Who Made History on the Ground and in the Air, Dies at 99
As a transgender veteran in her 90s, she challenged government bureaucracy. She then set out to be recognized as the oldest working flight instructor.
Under Biden and Romney Stimulus Plans, An Approach to Help Families
Under plans by President Biden and Senator Mitt Romney, children would be worthy of government support, no strings attached.
Disabled Americans Are Losing a Lifeline
Biden can help.
The Auto I.R.A. Is Gaining Traction as a Retirement Savings Option
The automatic I.R.A., administered by state governments, will be more widely available.
Female Workers Could Take Another Pandemic Hit: To Their Retirements
Unequal job losses now will translate into smaller nest eggs and Social Security benefits down the road.
If Biden Wants to Be Like F.D.R., He Needs the Left
Radical agitation helped bring Social Security and much of the New Deal into being.
It’s Time to Talk About Social Security. No More Waiting.
Even before the pandemic, Social Security’s finances were under growing pressure. The next president and Congress will play a crucial role in what happens next.
What Can We Learn From Rival Political Ads in Florida?
The margin is expected to be razor thin between President Trump and Joe Biden in this hotly contested state, here’s how the campaigns’ recent television and radio ads there are characterizing their opponent.
Trump’s Payroll Tax ‘Cut’ Fizzles
Big companies say the president’s directive to delay collection of the tax that funds Social Security is more trouble than it is worth. Federal employees are upset they are stuck with it.
Inflation Is Higher Than the Numbers Say
While government statistics say inflation is low, the reality is that the cost of living has risen during the pandemic, especially for poorer Americans.
America’s Retirement Race Gap, and Ideas for Closing It
Scholars and policymakers have proposed ways to fix the inequities between whites and people of color, including changes to Social Security and building wealth from birth.
A ‘Safety Net’ That’s a Kafkaesque Mess
The Supplemental Security Income program, on which millions of disabled Americans depend, is daunting by design.
Personal Finance Lessons From the Pandemic
Our writer entered the pandemic believing he was in good shape financially. Now, he says, he has a lot more to do.
Social Security Is Worth More Than You Think, but Needs Your Help
Low interest rates have made Social Security more valuable. But the coronavirus crisis is likely to make its long-term shortfall worse.
What to Know About Taking Social Security in the Pandemic
Suddenly unemployed older workers who had hoped to delay filing have options that can boost their lifetime benefits.