The financial news that actually matters
Covers Social Security benefits, eligibility rules, payment calculations, and policy changes. It explains how benefits are determined and how they impact retirement income.
Roughly 70 million Americans who rely on Social Security checks face a quiet but consequential math problem: if inflation runs hotter than federal actuaries assumed, the cost-of-living adjustment for 2027 will be larger, and the trust fund that pays retirement benefits will run dry sooner. Both the Social Security Administration and the Congressional Budget Office…
Workers born in 1960 or later who file for Social Security retirement benefits at age 62 will receive a monthly check that is 30 percent smaller than what they would collect at their full retirement age of 67. That reduction is permanent, applies to every payment for the rest of the recipient’s life, and compounds…
Roughly 72 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks face a widening gap between competing forecasts for their 2027 cost-of-living adjustment. Estimates now range from 3.8 percent to 4.7 percent, a spread of nearly a full percentage point that translates into hundreds of dollars a year for a typical retiree. The disagreement traces back…
Hundreds of thousands of older Americans living on Social Security could see a chunk of their monthly benefits seized to repay defaulted student loans. Federal law allows the government to withhold up to 15 percent of a borrower’s Social Security check, or the amount above a $750 monthly floor, whichever is less. The Department of…
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security retirement benefits now face a shorter countdown to potential payment cuts. The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund can pay scheduled benefits in full only through 2032, according to the 2026 OASDI Trustees Report released this summer. That date is one year earlier than the 2033…
Roughly 1.5 million veterans who receive disability compensation could see their benefits reduced under a bill that House Republicans have moved toward a floor vote. H.R. 9237, titled the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, includes a provision known as Section 108 that would offset the cost of expanding benefits for combat-injured military retirees by…
The Social Security Board of Trustees released its 2026 annual report on June 9, projecting that the combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust funds will be depleted in the third quarter of 2034. After that point, incoming payroll tax revenue would cover only 83 percent of scheduled benefits for the roughly 67…
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security retirement checks face a 22 percent benefit cut starting in late 2032 unless Congress acts first. The program’s Board of Trustees released its 2026 annual report on June 9, confirming that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund will be depleted by the fourth quarter of…
Workers who skip their employer’s 401(k) match forfeit what amounts to an instant, guaranteed return on every dollar they contribute. Under federal tax rules, employers can match employee contributions dollar-for-dollar or at a set percentage, but that money only flows to participants who actually defer part of their paycheck. The catch: even after earning a…
A married couple collecting Social Security typically receives two separate monthly payments, one based on each spouse’s earnings record. When one partner dies, the household does not keep both checks. Federal rules allow the survivor to receive only the higher of the two benefits, not the combined total. For couples where one spouse earned far…