Free Republic

FIRST ON FOX: Lawmakers want to know why the Social Security Administration has reportedly erroneously overpaid benefits to millions of Americans and then hit beneficiaries with demands for repayment to the tune of thousands of dollars. A bipartisan letter sent by House members in the Ohio delegation presses Dr. Kilolo Kijakazi, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), for answers on its efforts to claw back overpayments from Americans, many of whom did nothing wrong. Those affected are elderly or disabled people on a fixed income who may have their benefits frozen or cut until their debt is...

While Social Security is set to increase by 3.2 percent in 2024, many seniors are worried about how the limited inflation adjustment will keep them afloat. In a new report from Atticus, a majority of seniors voiced dissatisfaction with the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2024. In total, 62 percent of the 400 Americans over the age of 62 in the survey said they were unhappy with the payment bump. "About that 3.2 percent COLA increase for 2024, well, it sounds good on paper, but, honestly, it's not quite cutting it for seniors," Christopher Hensley, financial adviser and the president of...

Americans are more optimistic about the future of Social Security than they have been in recent years, a new survey from Gallup found. Among non-retirees, 50 percent expect Social Security to pay them a benefit when they retire, compared to 47 percent who do not think the system will help them. The response from non-retirees is up from readings taken between 2005 and 2015, when majorities of non-retirees polled said they did not think that they would receive benefits from the system, Gallup found. Current retirees believe they will continue to receive full benefits under Social Security.

As she woos her party’s wealthy donors, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is promoting a policy that sets her apart from her closest competitors for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination: A willingness to stake out positions on the politically fraught issue of overhauling the nation’s entitlement programs.In a recent Haley endorsement, Emily Seidel – a top official in the influential political network associated with billionaire Charles Koch – praised the former UN ambassador’s “courage” for advocating changes to “an entitlement system that makes promises it can’t keep.”

At least no one can say that the January 6 committee didn’t have an impact! Greg Abbott, Kristi Noem, Henry McMaster, and their families will have to guard against identity theft for the rest of their lives, thanks to the committee’s work in exposing their Social Security numbers. How many numbers got exposed? “Around 1900” of them, according to the Washington Post, which came from White House visitor logs supplied to the committee. The J6 committee failed to redact those from a spreadsheet released to the public as part of its final report on the riot. Ben Carson, a Trump...

(NewsNation) – The Social Security Administration announced 2024’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) just over a month ago, confirming a 3.2% bump in benefits for retirees. Here’s what you need to know. How does the 2024 increase compare to 2023’s? While still one of the largest increases in decades, 2024’s COLA increase of 3.2% is far below the 8.7% bump that recipients were granted in 2023.

As finance and development ministers and legislators gather in Morocco for the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), from Oct. 9 to 15, the pressing issue of runaway global inequality will loom large on their agenda. Governments can use various tools to address inequality, including fair taxes, quality public services and just labor conditions. And an important tool they should consider now is universal social security, a set of policies and programs designed to ensure financial security across a person’s lifetime. The World Bank and IMF wield substantial influence by funding and shaping social...

“Donald Trump appeared in court today, but it wasn’t a legal proceeding. It was a grotesque parody of the system our ancestors created. Victor Davis Hanson explains.” – Tucker Carlson

Count Peter Schweizer among the “doubters” of the Biden administration’s choice of former Commerce Secretary and major Democratic donor Penny Pritzker to lead U.S. efforts to channel private sector reconstruction assistance to Ukraine. Pritzker, the heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune and a real estate mogul herself, was corrupt and self-dealing during her commerce department tenure under President Barack Obama, which Schweizer documented in a 12-page chapter of his book, Secret Empires. “You really wonder who’s going to benefit from all this,” Schweizer said of the aid money headed to Ukraine. “Yet, here comes Penny Pritzker… She has no moral...

Social Security recipients have been hit with payback demands following overpayment - and now the government agency is facing questions over how billions of dollars were incorrectly paid out. Numerous reports have told the stories of people, many of whom are vulnerable or suffer from a disability, who have been asked to pay back large sums due to the service accidentally giving them too much money. Social Security payments are made for a variety of reasons. SSA benefits are paid based on your earnings record if you are aged 62 or older or if you are a person with a...

(NEXSTAR) — As lawmakers continue to try to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month, many are growing concerned about how it could affect them, especially when it comes to federal monthly payments they receive. The government could shut down by the end of next week, if Congress isn’t able to pass a spending bill. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy vowed Wednesday he would not give up trying to persuade his colleagues to pass a temporary funding bill. So what would that mean for your Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, or Veterans Affairs payments? In short, they will not...

Payments to Social Security recipients may increase a bit more than expected in 2024, but an advocacy group says they'll still fall short of what retirees need. The Senior Citizens League said Wednesday that the Social Security cost of living adjustment, or COLA, will likely be 3.2% for 2024. That would add about $57 to monthly benefits, raising them to $1,790 for the average recipient, according to the group's estimates. The cost of living adjustment is calculated based on an average of the inflation readings for the months of July, August and September. Specifically, it's based on the Consumer Price...

I recently had the opportunity to address a group of patriotic young Americans at the Young Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas. I was able to visit with a number of these bright young people, either individually or in small groups, both before and after my talk. One of the things that I learned is that many of them do not support our Social Security system, and there were several reasons given for this. For example, one said that he believes Social Security will go broke long before he reaches retirement age. Another gentleman said that he could do far...

Milton Friedman once observed, “If the government ran the Sahara, in five years there would be a shortage of sand.” He was right. The government has run Social Security for more than 80 years, and now there is a shortage of security. At this point, the experts believe that someone who is 79 years old today is likely to outlive the system’s ability to pay scheduled benefits. The solution, according to the White House fact sheet on the 2024 Budget Proposal, is: do nothing, and the Republicans cheered. That leaves a rapidly growing problem to third parties.Social Security presents a...

Experts are warning that the Republican Party's plans to overhaul Social Security should "terrify voters". Earlier this year, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) published its FY 2024 Budget Protecting America's Social Security. Policymakers in Washington are negotiating changes to the retirement benefit system in light of concerns that the Social Security system will become insolvent by 2023. According to analysis, Republicans are proposing cuts to Social Security and raising the Retirement Age. Alicia H. Munnell, the director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, is sounding the alarm that "rich" Americans will not be the only ones experiencing...

TOKYO -- Up to 42% of Japanese women born in 2005 could end up not having children in their lifetimes, according to a government estimate, a high percentage that could threaten the future of its social security program. Japan's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research gives this estimate for women born in 2005 under its low-birth scenario. In the medium scenario, 33.4% of this group will go through their childbearing years without having kids. In the most optimistic case, the rate will be 24.6%. The percentage is even higher for men, who are more likely to be unmarried...

On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law. Eighty-eight years later, our Social Security system is among the most successful and popular government programs in history. Nearly every worker pays premiums (Federal Insurance Contributions or FICA) for Social Security. In return, they receive insurance benefits when they retire, become disabled, or lose a family breadwinner. Social Security is secure, efficient, and the most important source of retirement income for the vast majority of Americans. Social Security does have one major flaw, though: Its benefits are too low. The average Social Security benefit is only $1,700...

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers must address the trillions of dollars that make up the national debt and deficit without touching Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, Sen. Chris Coons said Monday. “I recognize that the art of politics is finding one that both parties can support,” Coons, D-Del., told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “But frankly, at the end of the day, Democrats are not going to cut benefits under Social Security.” Coons said Congress needs “to find a way forward in the middle that balances revenue and spending in a positive way” following Fitch’s decision to downgrade the nation’s long-term debt this month.

In 2023, Social Security benefits got an 8.7% COLA, the largest cost-of-living adjustment since 1981. According to the United States Social Security Administration (SSA), "COLAs are based on increases in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)." So, when inflation starts to cool, that means a lower cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security recipients. Currently, inflation is at its lowest level in two years, dropping to a 12-month rate of 3.0% in June. This is down from 4.0% in May and 4.9% in April. David Payne, staff economist from the Kiplinger Letter, forecasts a 3% Social...

(NEXSTAR) – The next cost-of-living increase for Social Security recipients is projected to be slightly better than previously estimated, but still the lowest in years, the Senior Citizen’s League predicts. The Senior Citizen’s League (TSCL), a nonpartisan senior advocacy group, had estimated in mid-June that 2024’s COLA increase could be somewhere around 2.7% — a huge drop-off from 2023’s 8.7% increase. The group’s revised estimate, issued Thursday following the publication of the Labor Bureau’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W), now puts that number at 3%, they say. Three percent, however, would still amount to the lowest COLA...