SOCIAL SECURITY

Even with new spending restraints included in the congressional debt limit deal, the U.S. government’s deficits are still on course to keep climbing to record levels over the next few decades.

Americans are deeply opposed to cutting into Medicare or Social Security benefits, and most support raising taxes on the nation’s highest earners to keep Medicare running as is.

An annual report on Social Security and Medicare says the financial safety nets millions of older Americans rely on and millions more young people are counting on will run short on funds to pay full benefits within the next decade.

In the federal budget standoff, the majority of U.S. adults are asking lawmakers to pull off the impossible: Cut the overall size of government, but also devote more money to the most popular and expensive programs.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is calling for “common sense and compassionate solutions” to reform entitlement programs and the nation’s debt burden.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is proposing changes to entitlement programs for younger generations, opening the door to potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare if elected.

It seems no one wants to cut Social Security or Medicare benefits.

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida has amended a plan to overhaul how the federal government works after Democrats repeatedly seized on it to accuse Republicans of looking to cut Medicare and Social Security.

The Congressional Budget Office says it expects the U.S. economy to stagnate this year.

President Joe Biden is taking direct aim at Republicans who have floated cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

When President Joe Biden suggested that Republicans want to slash Medicare and Social Security it brought howls of protests from the GOP side of the aisle during the State of the Union address.

A section of the new $1.7 trillion spending bill from Congress has been billed as a dramatic step toward shoring up retirement accounts of millions of workers.

Higher prices throughout much of 2022 have taken their financial toll on older adults in particular.

The news that 70 million people will see an 8.7% boost in their Social Security checks next year came just weeks before Election Day, but it's unlikely to give Democrats the edge they're desperately seeking at the polls.

Tens of millions of older Americans will see a major increase in benefits this January when a new cost-of-living adjustment (or COLA) is added to Social Security payments.

Millions of Social Security recipients will get an 8.7% boost in their benefits in 2023.

It’s not just old people who will get what’s expected to be the largest cost-of-living adjustment in Social Security benefits in 40 years.

With a fixed income and higher prices these days, there is a risk of outliving your money.

For those getting ready to begin taking their Social Security benefits, it’s important to keep in mind just how much you can receive depending on what your age is.

We’re wrapping up our Medicare coverage this week by discussing the Medicare Donut Hole -- a cute name for something you probably won’t like.

We’re sharing some important dates to know about if you’re signing up for Medicare or changing your plan.

If you’re signing up for Medicare soon, it’s important to know how to pay for the things that the original Medicare plan does not pay for, like co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles.

If you’re signing up for Medicare soon, it’s important to know how to pay for the things that the original Medicare plan does not pay for, like co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles.

We’re taking a special look at to the elements of Medicare and what you need to know before signing up.

We’re taking a special look at to the elements of Medicare and what you need to know before signing up. In this segment, we’re covering Medicare Advantage -- a more expensive health care option.

For the next few weeks, we’re going to discuss the elements of Medicare and what you need to know before signing up.

For the next few weeks, we’re going to discuss the elements of Medicare and what you need to know before signing up.

A stronger-than-expected economic recovery from the pandemic has pushed back the go-broke dates for Social Security and Medicare, but officials warn that the current economic turbulence is putting additional pressures on the bedrock retirement programs.

For those of you who are signing up for Medicare this year, it's important to know that the sign-up process is complicated, especially this year.

Olivia and Liam are once again America’s most common baby names.

When it comes to planning for retirement, experts are saying that women should plan to save more money than men do.

The Social Security Administration has released the 2022 calendar that shows when to expect payments.

The head of a Senate panel that oversees Medicare says the Biden administration should cut back a hefty premium increase soon to hit millions of enrollees.

Starting next year (2022), you’ll get more money, a lot more, but it will be to cover rising costs. Here’s a closer look at what to expect.

Rising inflation is expected to lead to a sizeable increase in Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for the year 2022.

Rising inflation has triggered a jump in Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2022.

The sharp shock of the coronavirus recession pushed Social Security a year closer to insolvency but left Medicare’s exhaustion date unchanged, the government reported Tuesday.

If you’re planning to retire soon, there are some steps you should take before you file that paperwork.

The Social Security Administration released the annual list of the top baby names, and there aren’t many changes -- the popular names remain popular.

Even for those of us who think we have some knowledge about anything tax related, it can be a stressful time. And it's certainly not a time when you want to play a guessing game.

WASHINGTON – Social Security recipients will get a modest 1.3% cost-of living-increase in 2021, but that might be small comfort amid worries about the coronavirus and its consequences for older people. The economic fallout from the virus has reduced tax collections for Social Security and Medicare, likely worsening their long-term financial condition. The former vice president would raise Social Security taxes by applying the payroll tax to earnings above $400,000 a year. That amount generally increases, so at least some of any additional Social Security raise goes to health care premiums. That prompted Congress to pass recent election-year legislation that limits next year’s premium increase but gradually collects the full amount later on under a repayment mechanism.

The IRS has launched a “Get My Payment” website to help people track the status of their coronavirus stimulus payment. The “Get My Payment” website is aimed at helping you:Check your payment statusConfirm your payment type: direct deposit or checkEnter your bank account information for direct deposit if we don’t have your direct deposit information and we haven’t sent your payment yetIf you need to let the IRS know about your new address, go here. The IRS is expected to make about 60 million payments to Americans through direct deposit for people who used direct deposit on their 2018 or 2019 tax returns. This will include Social Security beneficiaries who filed federal tax returns that included direct deposit information. These payments will be made to Social Security beneficiaries who did not file tax returns in 2018 or 2019 and receive their Social Security benefits via direct deposit.

DETROIT – Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell released the expected timeline for direct stimulus payments made to Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic. The estimates are that nearly 99 percent of Social Security beneficiaries who do not file a return receive their benefits through direct deposit. The economic impact payment will be deposited directly into the same banking account reflected on the return filed. People who typically do not file a tax return will need to file a simple tax return to receive an economic impact payment. How long are the economic impact payments available?

That's different from the "social insurance" or shared responsibility approach taken by Democratic presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Lyndon Baines Johnson. The Warren campaign says the reason programs like Social Security and Medicare are popular is that benefits are broadly shared. Truman's plan for universal health insurance did not pass, but it would have been supported by payroll taxes. "If you look at the two core social insurance programs in the United States, they have always been financed as a partnership," said William Arnone, CEO of the National Academy of Social Insurance, a nonpartisan organization that educates on how social insurance builds economic security. Under Warren's plan, nearly $9 trillion would come from businesses, in lieu of what they're already paying for employees' health care.

The findings of this Social Security study were unsettling, to say the least. Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

Americans have forfeited at least $450 million this way to government impostor scams since 2014, the FTC said and that only counts the victims regulators know about. Government impostors became the number one source of FTC complaints and now account for the lion's share of impostor scams overall. "Toward the fall, we started to see these scams really, really pick up." Thousands of consumers who reported the scam this year told the FTC they lost money. Last week, the FTC, Justice Department, and various states and local authorities brought nearly 100 cases against alleged robocallers.