Social Security
Millions of retired Americans know that the phrase "fixed income" isn't completely accurate. Their income isn't fixed forever, at least not their Social Security benefits. That's because Social Security provides an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that usually increases its benefits.
There are ways to tackle Social Security's insolvency problem, says Martin O'Malley, who served as Social Security commissioner during the Biden administration.
Fixing Social Security's looming financial crisis may not be easy, but it's doable - as long as the rich pay more in taxes.
"The insolvency date is an entirely solvable problem," Martin O'Malley, who served as Social Security commissioner under the Biden administration, told MarketWatch.
Millions of Americans depend on Social Security and Medicare as part of their retirement plan, but new comments Republicans made about the programs have retirees nervous. When House Speaker Mike Johnson referred to the programs as needing to be "adjusted and fixed," he raised concerns about just what Republicans might be planning for the programs, especially in light of the country's $40 trillion-plus debt.
Here's what you should know about both sides of the conversation around these programs.
The head of the Social Security Administration says the agency’s customer service metrics are showing improvement, following significant staffing cuts.
SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano told members of the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday that the agency is seeing its “best all-around performance ever,” and that it is doing more with fewer employees.
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson (CT-01) pressed Trump’s hand-picked Social Security Commissioner, Frank Bisignano, on the urgent need to lift the cap on the ultra-wealthy to extend protect beneficiaries from cuts and slammed Republicans for congratulating themselves on misleading customer service efficiency numbers while beneficiaries struggle to afford daily necessities.
Social Security’s trustees said in their annual report released Tuesday that the New Deal program will be unable to pay out full benefits by the end of 2032—a quarter earlier than projected last year—in the absence of congressional action, a finding that advocates said underscores the destructive impact of President Donald Trump’s policy agenda and the need to make the rich finally pay their fair share into the system.
