Social Security

Why Uncle Sam Seized $713 Million From Social Security Checks Last Year

By Kelli B. Grant, CNBC

If you're counting on Social Security benefits, you better make sure you don't owe Uncle Sam. Under certain circumstances, the government can seize part of your Social Security check to satisfy...
Oregon Just Took the Lead in Getting Americans to Save More for Retirement

By Eric Pianin

Bucking resistance from a Republican Congress and the Trump Administration, Oregon has become the first state to launch a program requiring private employers to either offer their own 401 (k) savings...
Trump’s 2018 Budget: F in Math, A in Provocation

By Edward Morrissey

Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to enact economic policies that would produce annual growth in gross domestic product (GDP) consistently higher than 3 percent. The US economy has not seen that...
The Heartless Tradeoffs in the Trump Budget

By Mark Thoma

As the bombshells continue to drop on the Trump administration, behind the scenes Trump’s first detailed budget proposal is being developed, and it has a few bombshells of its own, particularly for...
How Millions of Aging Baby Boomers Could Bust the Economy

By Eric Pianin

A new report not only highlights growing economic anxiety among an increasingly important and influential cohort of the population, but also suggests that this overarching pessimism and caution could...

How the Government Is Making It Harder for You to Retire

By Eric Pianin

Many Americans have saved shockingly little for their retirements, with one study showing that the median savings for households near retirement age is just $17,000. In the coming years, tens of...
10,000 Boomers Turn 65 Every Day. Can Medicare and Social Security Handle It?

By Eric Pianin

By the time the last of this generation approaches retirement age in 2029, 18 percent of the U.S. will be at least that age, the Pew Research Center projects. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid...
The Growing Funding Gap for State Pensions Puts Millions at Risk

By Eric Pianin

Two new reports by the Pew Charitable Trusts suggest that state governments across the country are shortchanging their employee pension funds and aren’t adding enough money in emergency funding...
Here’s How Two Lawmakers Plan to Secure Social Security’s Troubled Future

By Eric Pianin

If nothing changes, by the time today’s 50-year old reaches retirement age, Social Security will be paying 21 percent less in benefits than it is today.
Trump Keeps Promise Not to Touch Social Security Reform – Or Did He?

By Edward Morrissey

Give Donald Trump credit for making his political career unique in many ways, to be sure. But one difference, in particular, has become a theme in his presidency: Trump keeps his promises. For the...

Who Is Rich These Days? The Income Gap Myth

By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

A while back, the Fiscal Times sparked a controversy by publishing an article arguing that a family with an income of $250,000 per year is not really rich. When taxes, housing costs, college costs...
The Two Issues that Can Bring Down the Economy

By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

The term “crisis” is frequently overused in Washington, never more so than in budget debates. The problem is that a real crisis requires a hard deadline by which time something must happen or...
Congress Passes $150 billion Benefit Package

By PAUL KANE, The Washington Post

Congressional negotiators put their final signatures late Wednesday on an economic plan worth more than $150 billion that would extend a payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits.
Obama’s Plan to Maintain the Social Safety Net

By Merrill Goozner, The Fiscal Times

It is now commonplace to say this year’s presidential election will be the most momentous since at least 1980. President Obama’s budget released Monday underscores what’s at stake when voters trek to...
Social Security's One Real Problem

By Mark Miller, Reuters

President Obama mentioned Social Security briefly during his State of the Union address last week, but his comments raised more questions than they answered. Its real problem: it's on track to...

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