Debt limit deal is in place, but budget deficit is still a multi-decade challenge for US government
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.
Go-broke dates pushed back for Social Security, Medicare
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.
Retiree checks to rise 1.3% in 2021 amid coronavirus fallout
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.
IRS launches ‘Get My Payment’ website to help with stimulus payments
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.
Here’s the expected timeline for direct stimulus payments to Americans amid coronavirus
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?
Warren health plan departs from US 'social insurance' idea
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.
FTC reports sharp increase in phone scams
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.