Good morning, and happy Grandparents Day. This week a House committee chairman, the likely next Budget chairman and a senator from Ohio said something Republicans have not said about Social Security in forty years: the fix will include more revenue. Here is what each version would cost, who writes the check, and the tax increase on retirees nobody in the debate mentions. After that, the $1,000 account most eligible grandchildren still do not have, and the January premium increase for anyone still on a work health plan. On The Money Today:
Let's get into it. Behind the headline The first half of a sentence
For forty years the Republican answer on Social Security's finances was one word. This month Lloyd Smucker, Tom Cole and Bernie Moreno said a different one, and Moreno wrote a bill with Elizabeth Warren. We think that is the most honest thing said in Washington since June, and that every version deserves the same costing as a benefit cut. The table, and the tax retirees are already paying, are in the article. Keep reading. Washington Some Republicans now say raise Social Security taxes. What each fix costs, and who pays
Lift the cap, add a donut hole above $250,000, or raise the 12.4% rate: three versions, three different people writing the check, and none of them reaches solvency alone. The article costs each one, explains why 1983 is the model, and names the tax on retirees that has risen every year since 1984 without a single vote.
In partnership with FinanceBuzz 22 expenses retirees say they cut first. See which apply to youLiving on retirement income is mostly a subtraction problem. The retirees who make it work have usually cut the same handful of things.
FinanceBuzz put together a list of the everyday costs people on retirement income review first, from subscriptions and insurance add-ons to the fees hiding in bank and brokerage accounts. Most take five minutes to change. See the list.
Sponsored. Senior Daily Benefits may earn a commission if you sign up. That never changes what we recommend. Grandparents Day 6 in 10 eligible babies still don't have their $1,000. A grandparent can open the account
Bill Ackman says skipping a Trump Account over the name is "stupid," and the numbers say most families are doing exactly that. The account is money returned to a family that earned it. The article has who qualifies, how a grandparent opens it in an afternoon, what the $1,000 becomes by 18, and the one contribution mistake that costs the tax break.
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Sponsored. Senior Daily Benefits may earn a commission if you sign up. That never changes what we recommend. Health costs Work health plans rise 9% to 11% in January. The number to run before Medicare starts
Aon, the Business Group on Health and WTW all land in the same place: the largest increase on record, and 85% of employers plan to pass it on. For a worker at 60 the bridge to Medicare just got pricier; for one past 65 it is the year to compare the paycheck deduction with Part B. The article has both columns, the two rules that decide timing, and the HSA trap.
Money IQ Social Security benefits become taxable above $25,000 of "combined income" for a single filer and $32,000 for a married couple. Those thresholds were set in 1983. How many times have they been adjusted for inflation since? A) Never B) Once, in 1993 C) Every year, with the COLA D) Every ten years Answer at the bottom of this email. Also making the rounds today Worth remembering A solvency deal is coming, probably late, and it will have revenue in it. The honest version is not "tax the rich" against "cut benefits"; it is a table with every lever and a cost next to each one, including the thresholds that have been quietly taxing retirees since 1984. Three Republicans put one lever on the table this week. Ask your representative to put the rest. Money IQ answer: how did you do? The answer is A) Never — The 1993 law added a second, higher tier ($34,000 and $44,000) at which up to 85% of benefits become taxable, but it did not index either tier, and no law since has. In 1984 the tax reached about one retiree in ten; today roughly half of Social Security households pay some income tax on their benefits, and every COLA pushes more of them over the line. It is the one Social Security tax increase that has never needed a vote. That's a wrap for today! Before you go, we'd love to know what you thought of today's newsletter. Hit REPLY if you have more to share — we read every one.
Thanks for reading. Take care of your money, your family and your neighbors, and we'll see you tomorrow morning. P.S. If you missed Saturday: a 75-year-old hired a caregiver in March, and by April 17 she held his power of attorney and the deed to his house, for $5. The case, the rule that should have stopped it, and the six things a family does this week. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Today's newsletter was written and edited by the Senior Daily Benefits team. The content provided by Senior Daily Benefits is information to help readers become financially literate. It is neither investment, tax, legal, nor medical advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy or sell any product, enter into any loan, insurance, or investment, or adopt any strategy. Decisions should be made only with guidance from a qualified professional. We may earn a commission from partner links; sponsored content is labeled. Senior Daily Benefits is not affiliated with the U.S. Government or any federal agency. Unsubscribe here 499 Evernia Street, Apt 303, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 |
