Social Security has launched a new online tool that will help you avoid costly errors that could reduce your benefits. The Retirement Estimator gives estimates based on your actual Social Security earnings record. Please keep in mind that these are just estimates. We can’t provide your actual benefit amount until you apply for benefits. And that amount may … Read more
If you still receive a paper check for your Social Security or other federal benefit payments, you are out of compliance with the law. The Treasury Department requires federal benefit payments to be made electronically. Switch to Electronic Payments Today! You can choose to get your payments by direct deposit to a bank or credit union account … Read more
Most of us know some basics about Social Security. We understand retirees can start taking retirement benefits at age 62. We realize we’ll get a bigger monthly check if we wait a few years more until our normal retirement age to tap benefits. And who hasn’t heard thatSocial Security has a long-term financial problem that Congress needs to address? … Read more
The Committee on Economic Security (CES) On June 8, 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a message to the Congress, announced his intention to provide a program for Social Security. Subsequently, the President created by Executive Order the Committee on Economic Security, which was composed of five top cabinet-level officials. The committee was instructed to study the entire problem … Read more
The backlog of applications for disability benefits is so big the Social Security Administration has a special code—DXDI—for appeals dismissed because the applicant died waiting. Since 2005, the agency has made 15,043 DXDI designations. One person who died waiting was Dexter E. Penny of District Heights, Md., who applied for disability benefits in February 2009 … Read more
People Experiencing Homelessness Individuals experiencing homelessness who have a disability have the same rights and privileges in applying for disability benefits as someone who is not homeless. Please read more in Spotlight on Homelessness. You should inform us during the application process if you are experiencing homelessness, so that we may better assist you with your … Read more
By Robert McGarvey Updated Jan 17, 2016 2:15 PM EST Original: Jan 15, 2016 Late last year, Congress slammed shut two giant Social Security loopholes that had let some lucky pensioners up their take by tens of thousands of dollars. But the financially wily will note those loopholes are not quite closed. There remain tactics for maximizing Social Security over a lifetime, but eligible recipients need … Read more
By AIMEE PICCHI MONEYWATCH June 8, 2018, 6:00 AM The Social Security system’s costs will exceed its income this year, the first time that has happened since 1982. Plenty of workers may take this development with a grain of salt because of the widespread belief that they’ll never see a Social Security check in their lifetime. More than half … Read more
Technical Fix for Social Security may reduce benefits significantly over the long haul according to this opinion post in The Nation by William Greider. Do you agree? The ugly part of this gimmick is that it punishes most severely the very people who most need help. http://www.thenation.com/blog/164450/technical-fix-social-security-will-shrink-benefits-poor
The COLA, announced Thursday, Oct. 11, will increase the average Social Security retirement benefit by $39 a month or roughly $468 a year. The average single retired Social Security recipient is expected to receive $1,422 in December 2018 before increasing to $1,461 a month later. The COLA affects household budgets for about 1 in 5 Americans, … Read more