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Archive for category Retirement

Increasing Claims Puts New Pressures on Social Security

Aug 6

Posted by Hal LaPray in Disability News, Retirement, Social Security Disability

Social Security Filings On The Rise

Social Security Disability Claims On The Rise

Recent efforts by the Social Security Administration to cut through a massive backlog of disability claims is being tempered by a sharp, spiked rise in applications this year.  Experts blame the current economic downturn, and the expansive increase in applications shows no signs of slowing.

Last March, The Social Security Administration revealed that as many as 3 million new applications were expected in 2009, however this week the Associated Press reported that SSA officials are now expecting more than 3.3 million claims to be filed.

As one would expect, the surge in filings has increased the backlog of those waiting to have their disability claim processed by a whopping 30 percent.

The Social Security Disability Program Under Fire

In today’s hostile, polarized political climate, many things are said about the viability and long-term sustainability of the Social Security benefits programs.  News networks, television reports, radio personalities and political pundits take extreme positions on whether the Social Security disability program needs a complete overhaul to avoid total collapse, or whether the program simply needs fine-tuning to stay afloat. Economists and financial experts disagree on most of these matters, indicating that in truth, no one really knows for sure.

Social Security Facts

The Social Security benefits program is a pay-as-you-go service.  In other words, the benefits received by today’s retirees and disabled are paid for by today’s workers.  As more people retire or become disabled, more workers are needed to pay into the program.  As life expectancy increases and as birth rates decline, then the amount of money that’s needed to sustain the program must increase per capita.  Over time, there will be fewer workers to support more disabled and retired persons.

Projections About Social Security’s Future

Based on workforce trends and rate of increasing filings, the Social Security Administration predicts that as soon as 2017 there will not be enough workers to support the number of retirees and disabled benefit recipients.  However, a Social Security trust fund exists (at least on the general ledger) that is supposed to be credited by today’s payroll surpluses, pushing sustainability predictions to 2041.  Many analysts do not believe that the program will remain viable for that long without deep, fundamental changes.  Others claim that the skeptics are merely fear-mongers, trying to stir up controversy and debate for political gain.

Many academic political scientists argue that it is probably safe to simply trust the Social Security Administration’s predictions on the matter.  It has been said that that any federal bureaucracy’s first goal is to remain solvent, and any underestimation of future fiscal needs would only serve to injure the administration’s need for survival.

Ultimately, members of Congress appear to unanimously support the program as a whole, and history shows that legislators tend to work together when it comes to maintaining social programs that benefit all Americans regardless of social class or political affiliation.  And, although the prescription for a long-term solution is uncertain, most agree that the prognosis is good.

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Senate Mulls Social Security Reform Ideas

Jul 14

Posted by Hal LaPray in Disability News, Retirement, Social Security Articles, Social Security Disability

The Senate Aging Committee Discusses Social Security Benefits

The Senate Aging Committee Discusses Social Security Benefits

While no new bills have been presented to either houses of Congress, the U.S. Senate held a Special Committee meeting last month to discuss better ways of implementing the Social Security benefits program for those who need it the most, the fastest.

At issue was the current state of the economy and how the recession has forced more Americans to file for Social Security disability or Retirement benefits in order to pay the bills.

“Social Security was designed in another era. We need to make sure that the most vulnerable in our society are not left behind as we examine ways to strengthen the program”

The Senate Aging Committee discussed the country’s increasing dependence on Social Security in addition to the federal program’s long-term sustainability and it’s efficiency.

The Senate Aging Committee Chairman, Senator Herb Kohl, D-Wisc. was quoted as saying”The impact of the financial downturn provides a stark contrast to the dependability of Social Security, and it is also the reason that the program’s guaranteed, inflation-protected benefits are more vital to Americans now than ever.”

Those present at the hearing debated ways to improve the system in order to bring it more in line with the needs of today’s families.  “… as crucial as the program is today, the fact is that it was designed in another era. We need to make sure that the most vulnerable in our society are not left behind as we examine ways to strengthen the program”, Kohl continued.

Present at the meeting included Leon Burzynski (the president of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans), former Social Security Administration commissioner, Kenneth Apfel, and Joan Entmacher, of the National Women’s Law Center.

“We need to ask a series of questions — whether Social Security continues to be a benefit people can count on; whether the elderly, disabled and survivors of workers are protected from financial hardship; whether the program is efficient, universal and fair; and whether the program is maintained as a basic public trust,” Apfel stated.  The former commissioner was able to give a detailed overview of the need to efficiently deliver benefits to survivors, disable workers and retirees who rely on Social Security benefits to make ends meet.

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Raising Children While On Social Security

Jul 13

Posted by Hal LaPray in Disability News, Retirement, Social Security Articles, Social Security Disability

Raising children while on Social Security benefits can be challenging.

Raising children while on Social Security benefits can be challenging.

With the advent of medical progress on all fronts, there has been a sharp rise in the median age for women who bear children.  The Centers for Disease Control reports that the median age for mothers at their first live birth rose from as low as 20.3 years in 1970 up to 27.8 years in the year 2000.  As today’s parents mature, there is a higher likelihood of those who are retired and/or disabled may actually be raising minor children in their home.

For those retired or disabled persons who are raising minor children as dependents, it is important to remember that, chances are, those children are also eligible to receive Social Security benefits.  This is the case for parents who are receiving either retirement or Social Security disability benefits.

In order to be eligible to receive such benefit payments, a minor child must have a parent that is disabled or retired, and otherwise entitled to receive Social Security benefits.  Additionally a minor child may also receive benefits if his or her parent has died after sufficient contributions to the Social Security program have been made through payroll withholding.

The child must not be married and younger than the age of eighteen, unless the child is also disabled, wherein benefits may be payable if the child was less than 22 years old when the disability began.

Ultimately, a child may be eligible to receive one half of his or her parent’s retirement or disability benefit payment.  If the parent is deceased, the child may receive up to 75% of the parent’s basic benefit amount.  If more than one child is eligible within a single family, then each child may recieve benefits at that rate (until a maximum amount of 180% of the benefit amount is paid).

In short, it is important to maximize you or your child’s potential Social Security benefit eligibility.  Research, find out, and get help.  Call a qualified Social Security attorney and ask questions. A great source for additional information can be found at the Social Security website. -> Benefits For Children

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Current Economic Crisis Causing Social Security Recipients to Return to Workforce? I Don’t Think So.

Jun 8

Posted by Hal LaPray in Disability News, Retirement

Some Social Security Recipients May Return To The WorkforceAnother story is out in the Wall Street Journal about the “claim and suspend” measure of Social Security benefits for retirees.  The author brings up the fact that a retiree, who is receiving Social Security benefits, can suspend their benefits and return to the work force, and in the meantime, their future benefit cap will rise, as though they had not yet filed for benefits.

Interestingly, the article somehow tries to tie the country’s current economic condition to the idea that retirees are returning to the workforce.  While the text and the message of the article hold true and is generally good information, I seriously doubt that the recession is forcing retired folks back into the workforce.  With more unemployed workers competing for fewer jobs, it seems to me that there is little incentive for a retiree, who is already drawing and living on Social Security benefits, to temporarily suspend those benefits for an opportunity to jump back into the hunt.

Conversely, if the economy were booming and jobs were plentiful, wages were good and hope was on the rise (as opposed to our being mired in a recession), then I would expect Social Security benefit recipients to at least consider whether they could make a fresh start in the hopes of finding lasting, high-paying employment.

Again, the point of the Wall Street Journal article is true.  If a retiree takes a few years off of retirement to rejoin the workforce, then while the retiree is working, his or her monthly benefit amount will increase as though the retiree never received benefits in the first place.  That being said, it’s up to each retiree to decide what’s best in the long run.

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When To Start Collecting Social Security - Some Say Later, I Say Sooner

Jun 3

Posted by Hal LaPray in Disability News, Retirement

Social Security Benefits
Social Security Benefits - Retire Sooner or Later?

David McPherson of ABC News recently ran an editorial column wherein he discussed the “right” time to begin collecting Social Security benefits.  He was talking more about retirement benefits, and how waiting longer to apply for and receive such benefits may be in your best interest.   McPherson pointed out what most of us already know; that if you start collecting benefits at an earlier age, you lock yourself into less money per month, as opposed to waiting until you’re older in order to receive more money per month.

While that sounds good at face value, I’m afraid that his math simply doesn’t add up.  For example, McPherson correctly stated that at today’s rates, a retiree that begins collecting Social Security at age 62 only earns $19,665 per year, but if the same retiree waits until age 66 he or she will receive will receive $26,220 per year.

Sounds ok, right?  Wrong.

What McPherson fails to point out is the lost $80,000 total receivables between age 62 and age 66.  To make up the difference in earnings, the worker who retires later will have to wait until his or her 69th birthday to make up the deficit.

Clearly this may be ok for some, such as the retiree who fully expects to live a happy, active lifestyle until he or she is at least 80 years old.  As for me, I would recommend taking the money earlier and using it to my own benefit during the years in which I am fully able to make the most use of it.

On the other hand, if the retiree is otherwise financially able to live comfortably well without the supplemental earning of Social Security retirement benefits, and the retiree is in excellent health and fully expects to live an additional twenty years or more, then he or she may well consider waiting until a later age, so that the inheritance of his or her posterity may be increased.  If this paragraph describes you, then I say follow McPherson’s sound advice.

But as for me, I’ll take my money as soon as I can get it.

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