With unemployment still 5.4%, and less payroll tax revenue to finance the benefits of swelling Social Security rolls, how is the program’s financing faring during our 2021 economic recovery? The Social Security Trustees are expected to soon release a much-anticipated annual report that gives us our first real glimpse of how the recession caused by ...

As the coronavirus health crisis, and high unemployment drag on, Social Security’s financial situation is becoming increasingly urgent. According to the Social Security Trustees, Social Security’s annual revenues are expected to fall short of benefits paid in 2021, and never recover without action from Congress.  High numbers of people out of work due to business ...

Social Security’s finances depend largely on payroll taxes, tying the strength of Social Security to the strength of the U.S. economy.  The U.S. unemployment rate was more than 13.3% through May.  That was worse than the 2009 Great Recession, when the unemployment rate reached a peak of 10.6% in January 2010.  With 20.5 million people ...

Mary Johnson, editor Every year, I take a look at how the Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) compares with the rise in average retiree costs.  Data that I collect for my report on the buying power of Social Security benefits examines the change of prices between January of the previous year to January of ...

The abrupt and severe contraction in the U.S. economy caused by the coronavirus has far-reaching consequences for Social Security.  Twenty million workers filed claims for unemployment between March 15, 2020 and April 17, 2020, a level that has not been seen since the Great Depression.  Both the wide-scale shutdowns and layoffs, as well as provisions ...

What’s Retirees’ Biggest Concern About the Future of Social Security?   A $300 Benefit Cut By Rick Delaney, Chairman of the Board There’s a discussion about Social Security that we haven’t yet heard much about from the candidates yet.  What’s their plan to address Social Security’s financing issues?  The answer is critical because, according to the independent Congressional ...

Forty-three percent of respondents say they do not have any retirement savings according to a recent TSCL survey.  This sobering finding is actually a slight improvement from a 2017 estimate by the U.S. Government Accountability Office that said 47% of Americans don’t have any retirement savings.  What does trying to live on Social Security for ...

TSCL Endorses Legislation That Would Help the Public Understand Social Security Benefits By Rick Delaney, Chairman of the Board People close to retirement sometimes tell us they don’t have a clue about how much they will receive in Social Security benefits.  This is concerning, because knowing your Social Security income is the key to retirement planning.  Without ...

Mary Johnson, editor Roughly one-half of all retiree households report that a portion of their Social Security benefits is subject to taxation, according to TSCL’s Senior Surveys.  That’s substantially more than expected from the time when the tax on benefits was first enacted in 1983.  At that time, the tax was estimated to affect just 10 ...

Rick Delaney, Chairman of the Board   Social Security Legislation Would Provide 75 Years of Solvency For Social Security If lawmakers wait too long, solutions for fixing Social Security’s financing could involve deep cuts and large abrupt tax increases.  But Members of the House Ways and Means Committee are discussing an alternate path to solvency for the program ...