Social Security Administration

2011's Most Popular Baby Names

| Posted 05.14.2012

Written by Pamela Redmond Satran Sophia is the new top girls’ name in the U.S., unseating Isabella after a two-year reign, according to the Socia...

Identity Thieves Now Robbing Graves

Posted 04.24.2012

Call it financial grave robbing. Each year the identities of nearly 2.5 million deceased Americans are used to open credit cards, apply for loans,...

Social Security Trust Fund Exhaustion: A Moving Target

Jared Bernstein | Posted 04.24.2012

Jared Bernstein

When the trustees of the Social Security and Medicare programs release their annual reports, one of the first thing folks look for is whether the life of the trust funds that finance these retirement security programs have been extended or reduced. Well, the reports came out on Monday, and the key takeaway from where I sit is that these remain critically important programs whose future can and should be ensured by policy actions designed to enable both programs to continue to provide retirement security for generations to come. As with so much else in our fiscal and economic landscape these days, the best thing to do in the near term is everything we can to get the recession behind us and get back on a stronger growth path.

Are Your Retirement Benefits Providing Maximum Advantage?

Janel M. Leymeister, CEBS | Posted 04.09.2012

Janel M. Leymeister, CEBS

It's impossible to predict how events in Washington play out, of course. But if you're concerned about the impact of potentially higher taxes on the highest earners within your company, a review of your retirement plans may be in order.

Official Makes Rules For Gov't Conferences, Proceeds To Have Lavish Conference

The Huffington Post | Harry Bradford | Posted 04.03.2012

An extravagant conference sponsored by U.S. taxpayers is costing some government officials their jobs. General Services Administration chief Marth...

A Financial To-Do List for the Recently Widowed

Jason Alderman | Posted 05.29.2012

Jason Alderman

Although there are certain actions you must take right away to ensure your current financial security, several major decisions with long-term consequences should probably be postponed until you've had a chance to reflect on how -- and where -- you want to spend the rest of your life.

New Child Support System Could Cost Poor Men Their Only Income

AP | DANIEL WAGNER | Posted 04.28.2012

WASHINGTON -- Old child support debts could cost thousands of poor men their only income next year because of a policy aimed at reducing the cost to t...

Women and Personal Finances

Jason Alderman | Posted 03.27.2012

Jason Alderman

Women tend to earn less and live longer than men so at retirement they often have less in accumulated savings, receive smaller retirement and Social Security benefits and must spread out their money over a longer time period.

Thieves Use Deceased Child's Photos For Facebook Page, PayPal Donations

Posted 01.19.2012

Julie Chambers' heartbreaking experience of losing her 2-year-old daughter was made worse in an unimaginable way. The mother from northeastern Engl...

Why 2012 Is a Huge Year for Retiring Boomers

Ann Brenoff | Posted 05.17.2012

Ann Brenoff

Nota bene: 2012 is a critical year on the Baby Boomers' timeline. In 2012, the oldest boomers will turn 66, the magic age at which they can claim the whole enchilada of the Social Security benefits they have earned and, as an added topping, the penalty for working and collecting benefits goes away. Big news, right? Maybe, maybe not.

Gerry Smith

Rise In Child Identity Theft Prompts Push For Solutions

HuffingtonPost.com | Gerry Smith | Posted 12.23.2011

"Burdened Beginnings" is a series examining the problem of child identity theft. Other stories in the series can be found here. When Jennifer Andru...

Republicans Target Social Security Fraud

AP | By ANDREW MIGA | Posted 11.21.2011

WASHINGTON -- Fourteen Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee want more scrutiny of how the Social Security Administration oversees benefit...

Eleanor Goldberg

Why Thieves Are Stealing Childhood Cancer Victims' Identities

HuffingtonPost.com | Eleanor Goldberg | Posted 11.18.2011

After their 4-year-old daughter lost her valiant, 33-month fight to brain cancer, the Agins were overwhelmed with grief and medical bills. The mournin...

'Adult Baby' Cleared Of Fraud, Demands Apology

Posted 12.21.2011

When this man-baby is threatened, he doesn't cry -- he fights back. A fully grown man who wears diapers and sucks on a pacifier has been cleared o...

Half Of Young People Don't Expect To Get Social Security

Posted 12.20.2011

In the eyes of half of America's youngest voters, the American dream of government-funded retirement is slipping away. Half of Americans between th...

Robert J. Myers: Honoring a Voice That Is Missed

Nancy Altman | Posted 11.25.2011

Nancy Altman

Bob Myers was a giant -- to those of us lucky enough to have known him and have worked with him, and to all Americans whose lives are made more secure by Social Security.

Mandatory E-Verify Would Overwhelm Social Security Administration, Increase Disability Backlog

Scott Hochberg | Posted 11.16.2011

Scott Hochberg

E-Verify is a tool designed to prevent the employment of undocumented workers, and would add significant responsibilities and workload to an agency that is already overworked and underfunded.

Social Security: Better Than Nothing but Less Than Ideal

Bob Jacobson | Posted 11.14.2011

Bob Jacobson

The SS law as written 80 years ago needs serious revising. I don't mean cutting benefits, raising the age of eligibility, or wiping out the safety net. I mean making it relevant to our times.

The Social Security Conundrum Explained

Paul Heroux | Posted 10.22.2011

Paul Heroux

But how can drastic action be necessary when the Social Security trust fund reportedly has over $2.4 trillion in it at present? This is a misleading sleight-of-hand. Here is how.

Social Security Administration Makes Billions In Improper Payments

AP | STEPHEN OHLEMACHER | Posted 08.14.2011

WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration made $6.5 billion in overpayments in 2009, including $4 billion under a supplemental income prog...

For Many, Retirement May Have To Postponed Until Their 80s

The Huffington Post | James Sunshine | Posted 08.10.2011

If you were thinking of retiring in your sixties, think again. And according to a new study, even seventy is pushing it. The study by the Employee ...

Swearing in for Temp Work at Social Security

Craig Newmark | Posted 07.26.2011

Craig Newmark

I'm now a "special" government employee, looks like my focus will be social media for customer service and online authentication issues. In the phot...

The Good News and the Bad News in the Social Security Trustees' Report

Dean Baker | Posted 07.16.2011

Dean Baker

The bad news about the program is also the good news. The program's finances deteriorated, but the main reason is that the trustees assumed we would enjoy substantially longer life expectancies.

For Mother's Day, Help Mom Get Organized

Jason Alderman | Posted 11.17.2011

Jason Alderman

In addition to traditional gifts like candy and flowers, consider spending a few hours helping your mom organize her financial, legal and medical records so that she -- and you -- knows where she stands.

As Other Income Sources Shrivel, Social Security Is Even More Indispensable

Merton Bernstein | Posted 06.12.2011

Merton Bernstein

Trimming Social Security benefits by tens of billions of dollars would mean a big hit to the income of thousands of businesses from whom beneficiaries purchase goods and services.