Advertisement
Social Security
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the Social Security Trust Fund is in danger of running dry. That is, unless something is done to forestall that – and the CBO has come up with some ideas to do that.
In “How Changing Social Security Could Affect Beneficiaries and the System's Finances,”...
READ MORE
Perhaps consensus is a part of who we are as a people. But voices offering new ideas that challenge accepted mindsets are also part of who we are. And that applies to the discussion concerning retirement savings and preparedness as much as it does for anything else.
There was lively debate in the...
READ MORE
So is there a retirement crisis or not? House Budget Committee members and experts who testified before the committee on May 15 did not agree. But at least they did concur on one thing: the need to take action to bolster the retirement readiness of those who are not well-prepared.
Testifying...
READ MORE
While there’s some good news in the Trustees report for the nation’s retirement security system, there’s also some not-so-good news.
First, the good news. The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASI and DI) Trust Funds are projected to become...
READ MORE
With the recent release of the Social Security Trustees’ 2019 report, there appears to be a renewed focus on Social Security and “stabilizing” the nation’s retirement plan.
Before efforts are made to stabilize Social Security, a hard question must be addressed. As currently designed, is the system...
READ MORE
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has updated its report on the Social Security retirement age. The report provides a discussion of some current trends concerning and affecting that threshold and how the Social Security retirement age may relate to addressing the challenges facing the Social...
READ MORE
The IRS has issued tables concerning covered compensation under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(l)(5)(E) and Treas. Reg. §1.401(l)-1. The data is contained in Revenue Ruling 2019-6.
These tables provide information on covered compensation based on calendar year of birth and Social Security...
READ MORE
Social Security, the “third rail” of retirement financing, offers more than meets the eye. It also provides auxiliary benefits — dependent benefits and survivors benefits — to the spouses, former spouses, widow(er)s, children and parents of retired, disabled or deceased workers. A recently updated...
READ MORE
The ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951 may limit U.S. Presidents’ tenure, but that doesn’t mean their influence over a host of areas ends when their terms of office do. And that includes retirement readiness.
In “How 5 U.S. Presidents Continue to Influence Your Retirement Readiness Today...
READ MORE
The Senate Special Committee on Aging in a Feb. 6 hearing, “Financial Security in Retirement: Innovations and Best Practices to Promote Savings,” listened to ideas from a panel of experts on how to increase retirement savings and enhance Americans’ financial readiness to retire.
“As Americans live...
READ MORE
At a recent event in Washington, SEC Commissioner Kara Stein provided her take on retirement readiness in the United States and what she thinks can be done to improve it.
In a conversation with the Brookings Institution,Stein painted a sobering picture. “Although everyone’s ideal retirement might...
READ MORE
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 67 million Americans will increase 2.8% in 2019, the Social Security Administration announced Oct. 11.
The 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to beneficiaries in January. For SSI...
READ MORE
A measure before the Senate would create a Commission on Retirement Security. S. 2753, The Commission on Retirement Security Act of 2018, would establish a federal commission to review private retirement benefit programs and report to Congress on how to improve private retirement security in the...
READ MORE
Rarely a week goes by that a headline, survey or academic paper doesn’t proclaim the reality of a retirement crisis with the certainty generally reserved for topics like the existence of gravity, or the notion that the sun will rise in the east.And certainly based on the data cited, there would...
READ MORE
Longevity generally is increasing. But some of those rays of golden sunshine can be clouded due to the instability of the retirement saving atmosphere. A recent blog entry offers some ideas on how those clouds may be dispelled.In “Income to Last a Lifetime,” the April 2018 edition of its Essential...
READ MORE
“Lifetime income is becoming the most important issue for retirement security,” says Theodore Goldman, Senior Pension Fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries, adding that the academy considers lifetime income “one of the most critical components leading to retirement security.”Goldman shared...
READ MORE
There’s a new proposal being floated that proponents say would “increase retirement income security and reform Social Security.” And yes, a mandate is involved.The proposal involves something tagged “Supplemental Transition Accounts for Retirement” (START), and it’s being touted by AARP. The...
READ MORE
The IRS has released the instructions for Form 9855-SSA, Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants With Deferred Vested Benefits, for 2017 filing. The IRS calls the form the “designated successor” to Schedule SSA of the Form 5500, and is used to satisfy the reporting...
READ MORE
Just because both spouses in a married couple age, they are not necessarily eligible to claim Social Security benefits at the same time. Nor is either spouse required to claim them as soon as he or she is eligible to do so. A recent paper discusses what happens when they claim at different ages.In...
READ MORE
A proposal to allow some retirees to receive lump sum Social Security payments would result in higher costs for Old Age, Survivor and Disability Insurance (OASDI) in the short term, but a small net reduction in OASDI costs in the longer term, says Social Security Chief Actuary Stephen Goss.The...
READ MORE