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Social Security
The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Oct. 12 that the monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will increase 3.2% in 2024. The change will affect more than 71 million Americans and translates to an increase in Social Security benefits of more than $50...
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Improvements in retirement-plan design have put more workers in a better position to meet their retirement goals, yet for Americans who lack access to a plan, the outlook remains challenging.
That was one of the key takeaways from Vanguard’s inaugural Retirement Outlook report, which evaluates...
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For the next 10 years, the Social Security trust funds will have a positive balance. But balance sheet solvency after that will be another matter, says the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
In its latest Social Security Primer, updated Oct. 2, 2023, the drumbeat the CRS hits is little...
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Where do things stand regarding retirement assets and plan participation in the United States? Two agencies give us a look.
Assets
U.S. retirement assets as of New Year’s Eve in 2022 stood at a total of $37.8 trillion, says the Congressional Research Service (CRS) in U.S. Retirement Assets: Data...
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The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released a report concerning the proposals for a new proportional formula for use with the windfall elimination provision (WEP).
Specifically, in “The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) in Social Security: Proposals for a New Proportional Formula”...
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Democrats have reintroduced a bill during President Biden’s ongoing battle over student debt forgiveness to restore federal protections for Social Security benefits to prevent them from garnishment by the federal government for the repayment of all non-tax federal debt.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)...
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The findings in a new survey suggest retirement plan professionals need to optimize Social Security benefits with clients, as large percentages of respondents across generations do not have a firm grasp of how the program works.
Nearly half (49%) of U.S. adults aged 18 or older believe that they...
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The findings in a new survey suggest retirement plan professionals need to optimize Social Security benefits with clients, as large percentages of respondents across generations do not have a firm grasp of how the program works.
Nearly half (49%) of U.S. adults aged 18 or older believe that they...
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Social Security—often cited as a “third rail”—has been a staple of the retirement landscape for almost 90 years. But that doesn't mean that it’s free of misconceptions. A recent commentary highlights some to avoid.
In “5 Social Security Myths Debunked,” Fidelity points out some common assumptions...
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Recent research from the Investment Company Institute (ICI) sought to answer two critical questions on which retirement policy is often based—how do the amount and compositions of spendable income for individuals change from middle to old age?
“There are constant proposals to overhaul Social...
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The effect of skipping past Social Security’s looming solvency deadline without a solution is by now widely known. If payroll taxes are the only available funds, Social Security will pay 77% of scheduled benefits.
While still a sizable portion of promised benefits, the cuts will nonetheless hurt...
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We know waiting to claim Social Security benefits pays—to the tune of an extra 8% per year for every year after full retirement age, or 32% in total.
It’s one of the best deals in finance, and certainly better than much of what's found in the annuity space, yet only 10% of non-retired Americans...
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Many members of the Baby Boom generation have retired, and many of those who remain in the workforce are not far off from following suit. But many of those individuals are less financially prepared for retirement than one may expect, says a recent study.
In “What Happened to Late Boomers’...
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Witnesses at a recent hearing called on the Massachusetts legislature to investigate the effects of the federal Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset.
The Joint Committee on Public Service held a hearing on July 25 concerning Resolve S. 1656, which calls for an...
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Pressure from the states for action on the federal Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) is increasing.
The WEP and the GPO are benefit formulas that reduce Social Security benefits for workers and their eligible family members if the worker receives (or is...
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I recently ran across a survey that claimed 7 in 10 DC plan sponsors were “taking steps” to solve the retirement income challenge… but that looks to have been “aspirational.”
While the survey’s[1] intro cautioned that there was more to be done, that struck me as a remarkably high (and reassuring)...
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Investors grappling with ongoing inflation, high interest rates and an unstable economic environment are considering delaying their retirement plans, according to Nationwide’s eighth annual Advisor Authority.
The survey by the Nationwide Retirement Institute finds that a quarter (25%) of pre-...
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Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, on June 21 reintroduced legislation that would make a variety of adjustments to the windfall elimination provision (WEP).
The Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act of 2023 would:
introduce a new proportional...
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A big piece of fixing Alaska’s problem with teacher staffing is addressing retirement plan issues, says none other than the Majority Leader of the State Senate.
Cathy Giessel (R-Anchorage), the Majority Leader of the Alaska Senate, made her comments as a panelist in the June 12 National Institute...
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Acting with a sense of urgency to avoid a first-ever federal debt default, the U.S. Senate late June 1 approved legislation to suspend the federal debt limit until 2025, clearing the measure for presidential signature, expected today.
The Senate vote on the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (H.R....
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