Social Security

Happy Birthday, Social Security!

By Michael Rainey

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law 83 years ago today, August 14, 1935. Here are some key facts about the program, courtesy of the Center on Budget and Policy...
The Deficit Is Up 20% This Year

By The Fiscal Times Staff

The federal deficit was 20 percent larger in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2018 than it was during the same time last year, the Congressional Budget Office announced Wednesday. Revenues rose 1...
Chart of the Day: Americans Using Government Programs

By Yuval Rosenberg

The federal welfare program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families delivers cash aid to about 2.5 million people, or less than 1 percent of the U.S. population — “far smaller than the share...
A Growing Problem for Seniors: Bankruptcy

By Yuval Rosenberg

The New York Times reports on new research that suggests a growing problem for seniors: “The rate of people 65 and older filing for bankruptcy is three times what it was in 1991, the study found, and...
US Interest Costs Will Match Social Security Spending by 2048, CBO Says

By Yuval Rosenberg

The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday confirmed what we already knew: The U.S. faces a rising tide of red ink, with the national debt as a share of the economy projected to nearly double over...

Why the Social Security Disability Fund Is Looking Healthier

By Michael Rainey

The Social Security trustees’ report released earlier this month estimated that the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds will run out of reserves in 2032, four years later than expected. The...
Do Deficit Hawks Have a Snowball’s Chance in Hell in Today’s Politics?

By Michael Rainey

When Starbucks founder and executive chairman Howard Schultz announced his retirement earlier this week, he set off a round of speculation about a possible presidential run in 2020. Schultz has never...
Medicare Finances Worsen, Social Security Will Tap Reserves for First Time in 36 Years

By Yuval Rosenberg

Medicare’s financial problems worsened last year while Social Security still faces a significant long-term financial crunch — and will need to tap into its reserves for the first time in 36 years,...
Why More Retirees Are Waiting to Claim Social Security

By Michael Rainey

Retirees are waiting longer to claim their Social Security benefits, reports Mark Miller of Reuters, with the number of early claimants dropping dramatically in recent years: “As recently as 2004,...
Election Ad Wars 2018: GOP Focuses on Immigration, Dems on Health Care

By Yuval Rosenberg

The 2018 elections are 160 days away, but the campaign ad wars are already well under way, with Republicans and Democrats focusing on very different issues so far — though the election is clearly...

Here’s a First Draft of the GOP’s Plan to Overhaul Social Security

By Eric Pianin

A senior Republican House chairman has begun circulating a proposal that would make major cuts and changes to the Social Security system in the coming decades, a move to contravene in President-elect...
A New Plan to Save Social Security for Another 75 Years

By Eric Pianin

Amid turmoil over the future of Obamacare, Medicare and Medicaid, a bipartisan coalition on Capitol Hill is renewing its call for creation of a blue-ribbon commission to recommend changes in Social...
How Social Security Lifts People Out of Poverty, State by State

By Janna Herron

More than 22 million Americans, young and old, were lifted out of poverty last year because of their Social Security benefits.
This Year’s Social Security Cost of Living Hike Buys a Starbucks Frappuccino

By Eric Pianin

For the third consecutive year, the nation’s 65 million seniors will see virtually no increase in their Social Security benefits, even as premiums for their federally funded health care and...
Abolish Social Security? Gary Johnson's Libertarian Party Gets a Closer Look

By Eric Pianin

Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, the Libertarian Party candidates who are threatening to be spoilers in the November presidential election, have been campaigning on the themes of fiscal constraint, social...