Topic: Social Security Administration

All Content

Modern Parenthood
Most popular baby names ... for now. Beware, Sophia.

The most popular baby names in the US are Sophia (for girls) and Jacob (for boys), according to the Social Security Administration's new list of top 2011 baby names. But if history is any guide, it won't take long before Sophia goes the way of Barbara (No. 764).
Tax VOX
Just how big is the payroll tax cut?

The payroll tax cut extension will save workers a total of $114 billion this year. That means an average cut of $714 per worker, though some will take home more (and some less).
Robert Reich
Obama is no 'food stamp president'

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich agree that President Obama is turning America into “European-style welfare culture,” pointing to a rise in the number of citizens relying on federal aid. Here's why they have it backwards.
The Daily Reckoning
The new American standard of living

Americans are getting poorer faster than they got rich
Medicare premiums taketh what Social Security giveth?

Medicare premiums are slated to rise – by about $10 a month – for most recipients in 2012. These higher Medicare premiums will eat into the extra $39 a month that the average Social Security recipient is expected to get from next year's cost-of-living adjustment.
Social Security increase reduced after Medicare premiums increase

Social Security increase less than previously thought after Medicare premiums: The anticipated 3.6 percent increase in Social Security payout next year will only amount to $29 extra per month on average after an increase of Medicare premiums.
A long, steep drop for Americans' standard of living

Not since at least 1960 has the US standard of living fallen so fast for so long. The average American has $1,315 less in annual disposable income now than at the onset of the Great Recession.
Social Security recipients see 3.5 percent raise

Social Security recipients have not received a raise since 2009. That is set to change in 2012, when Social Security checks will be about 3.5 percent more than the last two years.
Change Agent
To fight hunger, donate 'Just One Can'

Tony Marren founded Operation Just One Can to make it easy for Americans to get involved in solving the problem of hunger in the United States.
Are 'Pippa' and 'Asher' really the top baby names of 2011?

A new online baby names list says that 'Pippa' and 'Asher' are the top trending monikers for babies. Is that true?
Social Security: the political monster that lurks in debt talks

Long the "third rail" of politics, Social Security has emerged as a part of bipartisan talks aimed at stabilizing America's public debt. Will it finally be restructured to reflect today’s economy?
On the Economy
AARP agrees to benefit cuts!?

AARP may have changed its position on Social Security cuts. But how much is the shortfall, anyway?
Social Security payments: $6.5 billion in overpayments

Social Security payments were made to seniors in 2009, federal investigator says. One in 10 Social Security payments to very poor were improper.
The Circle Bastiat
Do we really need a minimum wage?

If minimum wage were eliminated, the only jobs that would be affected would be ones that overpay unskilled workers
Government shutdown 101: Will Social Security and Medicare be affected?

Social Security and Medicare aren't funded by the spending bill tied up in the government-shutdown showdown, meaning that they would be affected only at the margins.
Medicare premium hike could offset Social Security raise

Medicare price increases could wipe out any gain from a Social Security cost-of-living-adjustment next year for three-quarters of Medicare beneficiaries, estimates AARP.
Baby names in frontier states are more unique

Baby names: The same values that pushed adventurous individuals into new territories as our country was being populated may still show up in the names their descendants give to babies, a new study finds.
If a government shutdown occurs, what actually happens?

Here’s what to expect if Republicans and Democrats in Congress don't reconcile their differences on spending for the last half of this fiscal year ... and a government shutdown ensues.
Social Security freeze: no COLA, but maybe $250

Social Security freeze means recipients won't get a cost-of-living adjustment for the second year in a row. But House Speaker Pelosi is pushing for a $250 payment.
Social Security freeze worries some seniors

Social Security recipients will go a second year without any increase in benefits. This year was the first without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation started in 1975.
Will Meg Whitman's illegal maid hurt her with California Latinos?

Latinos are 19 percent of California voters. The flap over Nicky Diaz Santillan, GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's former housekeeper, could make a difference in how they vote.
The Vote
Would Meg Whitman take a lie-detector test about housekeeper? 'Absolutely.'

In a frantic day of back-and-forth allegations about whether California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman knowingly employed an illegal immigrant, Whitman insisted she did everything right. The housekeeper's lawyer says Whitman is lying.
Meg Whitman knew housekeeper might be illegal immigrant, according to lawyer

Meg Whitman told reporters that she fired her housekeeper last year when the woman informed Whitman she was in the country illegally. Now, Meg Whitman's former housekeeper has hired high-profile attorney Gloria Allred.
Donald Marron
Social Security: no COLA in 2011

Social Security benefits won't include a cost-of-living increase for the second year in a row.
The Daily Reckoning
Social Security: The futile fight for what’s been promised

Social Security redistributes wealth from the young to the old. The government keeps promising young payers that they'll get their share - but no one believes it anymore.