Rep. Paul Ryan Criticized for Views on Social Security
The Democrats are already gearing up to attack Rep. Paul Ryan for his views on Medicare and Social Security. Ryan has spoken out about his desire to privatize the programs.
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Tuesday launched a preemptive strike on Rep. Paul Ryan, who will deliver the official Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union address.
Ryan, who turns 41 later this week, is viewed as a rising star of the party, a budget hawk who hasn’t been afraid to spark conversations about taking on entitlement programs such as Medicaid and Social Security.
For months, Democrats have tried to tie Ryan’s past proposals to reshape both programs to the rest of the GOP. Since Ryan has taken the helm of the House Budget Committee, the Wisconsonite has been more circumspect in his words. But that hasn’t stopped Democrats from suggesting that Ryan’s views now have the endorsement of the House Republican leadership.
“Paul Ryan owes it to the national audience tonight to… continue reading
Looking for Social Security attorneys in Baton Rouge? Contact us today for more information.
Spending Cap Proposed by Senators
A bill has been introduced in Congress that would put in place a rigid spending cap. The cap would dramatically reduce Social Security, Medicare and every other federally funded program.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Social Security, Medicare and virtually every other federal program would face the budget ax under legislation unveiled Tuesday aimed at forcing Congress to dramatically cut spending over the coming decade.
The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., would phase in a federal spending cap of just more than 20 percent of the size of the economy, which they said would wring almost $8 trillion from the budget over the coming 10 years.
Cuts of that magnitude would have to fall heavily on Social Security and Medicare, the retirement programs whose costs are being driven sky-high by the retirement of the baby boom generation.
The legislation doesn’t actually propose cuts but instead sets spending caps and enforces them with the threat of automatic, across-the-board reductions. The idea is that the threat of such a meat-ax approach would force lawmakers to make more thoughtful cuts.
Corker said the… continue reading
Looking for Baton Rouge Social Security attorneys? Contact us today for more information.
Rep. Paul Ryan Criticized for Views on Social Security
The Democrats are already gearing up to attack Rep. Paul Ryan for his views on Medicare and Social Security. Ryan has spoken out about his desire to privatize the programs.
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Tuesday launched a preemptive strike on Rep. Paul Ryan, who will deliver the official Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union address.
Ryan, who turns 41 later this week, is viewed as a rising star of the party, a budget hawk who hasn’t been afraid to spark conversations about taking on entitlement programs such as Medicaid and Social Security.
For months, Democrats have tried to tie Ryan’s past proposals to reshape both programs to the rest of the GOP. Since Ryan has taken the helm of the House Budget Committee, the Wisconsonite has been more circumspect in his words. But that hasn’t stopped Democrats from suggesting that Ryan’s views now have the endorsement of the House Republican leadership.
“Paul Ryan owes it to the national audience tonight to… continue reading
Looking for Social Security attorneys in Baton Rouge? Contact us today for more information.
Possible to Work and Collect Benefits
Depending on your age and how much you make, it is possible to continue working and collect Social Security at the same time. There are certain restrictions to this rule.
Q. I have a friend who is still working full time at age 74, earning about $40,000. He told me he is also collecting full Social Security benefits. Is that possible and, if so, why? That doesn’t seem right to me, especially since Social Security is in jeopardy.
A. Your friend’s age makes it legal for him to collect full benefits and earn as much as he does, said employment attorney Troy G. Rosasco of Turley, Redmond, Rosasco & Rosasco in Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
“If you work and are full … retirement age or older, you may keep all of your Social Security retirement benefits, no matter how much you earn,” Rosasco said.
Social Security’s full retirement age for people born in 1942 or earlier, a category your friend falls into, is 65. On the other hand, let’s say you chose to receive benefits before full… continue reading
Looking for Baton Rouge Social Security lawyers? Contact us today for more information.
Obama May Address Social Security
Many are wondering whether President Obama will address Social Security in his State of the Union address. People are expecting that the president will call for a fiscally moderate path forward.
With many expecting President Obama to endorse a fiscally moderate path forward in his State of the Union address next week – and perhaps call for changes to Social Security in the process — progressives are urging the president to protect entitlement programs.
The cause of liberal concern is clear: Since Republicans won back the House of Representatives in the 2010 elections, Mr. Obama has signaled he will embrace more moderate-to-conservative ideas in his next two years in office. Recent polls suggest voters may be responding positively to that message. And as the White House well knows, Mr. Obama could help undermine any potential 2012 competitors by embracing more conservative fiscal policies.
Along those lines, the president could endorse modifications to the Social Security program in his State of the Union address, particularly given that his bipartisan deficit commission endorsed the idea in its… continue reading
Looking for Social Security attorneys in Baton Rouge? Contact us today for more information.
How To Increase Social Security Benefits
The Social Security Administration has taken steps to prevent people from increasing their benefits. However, there are still some ways that people can maximize their benefits legally.
BOSTON (MarketWatch) — The Social Security Administration recently put the kibosh on a technique some retirees were using to boost their monthly benefits. But even though that loophole is essentially closed, experts say there are still plenty of ways households can legally maximize the amount of income they receive from Social Security.
In December, the SSA said retirees essentially can no longer do what are called do-overs, or the free-loan strategy. Here’s how it worked: You claim benefits at a given age and then years later repay what you received, pay no interest, and then file for benefits again, getting a higher monthly amount because you delayed filing until a later age. Read MarketWatch’s story on Social Security do-overs, from 2008.
“This strategy is equivalent to a ‘no interest’ loan from Social Security,” said Boston College’s Center for Retirement… continue reading
Looking for a Baton Rouge Social Security attorney? Contact us today for more information.
Medical Residents Still Have to Pay Taxes
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that medical residents are not exempt from paying taxes. This comes after a long battle between the IRS and big hospitals around the U.S.
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld an Internal Revenue Service requirement that medical residents pay Social Security taxes.
The ruling would appear to settle a long fight between the IRS and teaching hospitals including Mayo Clinic, and deprives the hospitals of millions they had hoped not to have to pay the government in the future.
Full-time students are generally exempt from Social Security taxes, but law clerks and tradesman apprentices are not.
In a 2005 rule, the IRS said a full-time employee is one that works more than 40 hours a week, and said medical residents were not part of the “student” category.
Mayo Clinic challenged the rule, arguing that like other students, residents attend lectures, perform laboratory work and are focused primarily on learning.
The high court, in an unanimous… continue reading
Looking for a Baton Rouge disability attorney? Contact us today for more information.
Using IRAs to Boost Retirement Funds
A lot of Americans expect to receive Social Security to help with living expenses once they retire. However, Social Security is set to run out completely, making it that much more important to ensure your own future.
Many Americans depend on to some extent on Social Security to finance their retirement years and to provide their beneficiaries with financial support; however, according to projections made by the Trustees of the Social Security Fund, the fund assets will begin to be depleted by 2024 and are projected to be exhausted in 2037. As a result, it’s imperative that individuals find out ways to save for retirement. If you’re lucky, you may have an employer-sponsored plan, but you can also supplement your retirement nest egg by funding personal retirement plans such as Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Let’s look at some of the features and benefits of IRAs.
Traditional IRAs
A Traditional IRA may be funded by an individual who receives taxable compensation during the year and is under the age of 70.5. If you are married and not currently employed, your spouse may fund your Traditional… continue reading
Looking for a Baton Rouge Social Security attorney? Contact us today for more information.
Columbia To Give Free Tax Help
In Columbia, the CAP and AARP are teaming up to offer people free tax help. The organizations want to help people take advantage of tax breaks they are eligible for.
Lower Columbia Community Action Program (CAP) and trained AARP Tax Aide volunteers will provide free tax assistance to filers of all ages and incomes from Jan. 15 through April 18.
Once again this year, CAP and AARP are encouraging people to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is a tax break for qualifying people who work but have low wages.
“Many workers are eligible for this tax credit and don’t know it,” according to Liz Myntti, program manager at CAP’s Financial Independence Center.
She encourages individuals who earned less than $43,352, and couples who earned less than $48,362, to see if they qualify. Taxpayers do not have to have children to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, she added.
This year AARP tax aides will be at three sites in the area: from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at… continue reading
Want to learn more about disability in Baton Rouge? Contact us today for more information.
Colorado Worried Over Cyber Security
Officials have found that Colorado computer systems are at a high risk for hackers. Thousands of records including names, birth dates and Social Security numbers have been compromised.
Curlie Matthews doesn’t go to sleep worrying that computer systems he oversees for the city of Colorado Springs are vulnerable to hackers.
But Matthews, the city’s chief information officer, and officials of other Colorado cities say an audit that found the state of Colorado’s computer systems are at high risk of online attack raises concerns for them.
“That is an issue that we are constantly concerned with. We take every step that we possibly can to secure our environment,” Matthews said Tuesday. “If I get a look at that audit and there are some things that we can improve, we will certainly do that because it is a constant battle to stay ahead.”
The audit of state-run computers found that thousands of records containing Social Security numbers, birth dates and other confidential information could easily be… continue reading
Looking for Social Security lawyers in Baton Rouge? Contact us today for more information.
