News Archive

"Australia’s Superannuation model, while structurally more sustainable due to its asset-backed design, exposes participants to investment, market, and economic-cycle risks that are largely absent from traditional defined-benefit social insurance systems. Any serious consideration of transitioning the United States from a pay-as-you-go model toward a Superannuation-style system must therefore address significant challenges related to transition financing, sequencing, risk allocation, and intergenerational equity."  MORE >>

"Australia's system is highly ranked in international comparisons -- receiving a grade of B+ and the U.S. only a C+. The U.S. receives low grades mainly because Social Security is not adequately financed and many workers have no workplace retirement program. To improve our grade, we must fix Social Security and give all workers access to supplementary plans. Good as it is, Australia can't help us."  MORE >>

"[W]orking while receiving Social Security can come with a significant tax drag. If you claim before your full retirement age (currently 67), Social Security benefits are subject to the “earnings test,” a formula that temporarily withholds a portion of benefits if your wage income exceeds certain levels. You may also need to pay taxes on Social Security benefits or surcharges on Medicare premiums, or simply be pushed into higher income tax brackets."  MORE >>

Updated Feb. 5, 2026. "[F]our tables show estimated future benefits consistent with earnings in 2024 and age in 2025. Each table lists earnings in 2024 at various ages and annual benefit amounts at entitlement for example workers with full-lifetime average earnings levels of $20,000, $40,000, $60,000, $80,000, $100,000, $120,000, and the taxable maximum.... [T]he benefit amounts assume no increase in price levels or in average wage levels after 2024."  MORE >>

"[T]he Part B premium will rise from $185 in 2025 to $202.90 per month in 2026.... Part B premiums as a share of annual Social Security benefits -- defined as the benefit for the retired workers with average pre-retirement earnings -- will reach an all-time high of 9.4 percent."  MORE >>

"[These numbers] relate to compensation from work: paycheck withholding, the potential need for estimated taxes, and your retirement savings. [1] The Social Security wage base ... [2] Your income-tax bracket and withholding ... [3] Your contribution limit for qualified retirement plans ... While not all employees have them, health savings accounts (HSAs) are also getting an increase in their pre-tax contribution limits for 2026 in response to inflation."  MORE >>

"The Social Security Administration is rolling out nationwide systems in the coming months that will impact how the agency schedules appointments for initial claims and triages its workload to employees.... Employees are wary that these changes will introduce more complexity to their workloads, as well as a higher risk of overpayments that SSA would have to claw back."  MORE >>

"The main critique of the Social Security program ... is that it operates on a pay-as-you-go basis, which makes it very vulnerable to demographic shifts.... The appeal of the Australian system to organizations ranking national retirement systems is that the main plan is fully funded and protected from demographic shifts, and the Age Pension ensures that no one falls below any adequate standard of living."  MORE >>

"Social Security faces long-term financing challenges that require action.... Recent proposals ... call for drastic changes, shifting the Social Security program from focusing on wage replacement to poverty alleviation. While reducing the federal budget deficits, these plans face strong political opposition and require long, phased implementation. Properly measured, elderly poverty is only about 6%, making such drastic changes unnecessary for a successful, popular program.... [S]olvency and poverty reduction can be achieved through modest, bipartisan tax and benefit adjustments plus targeted safety net improvements."  MORE >>

"[The authors] draw on New Zealand as an example for a more predictable government retirement design that provides a flat, universal benefit to alleviate poverty in old age, while empowering Kiwis to save for their own financial security. Rather than treating Social Security's financing gap as a narrow revenue problem, [they ask] more fundamental questions about the program's purpose, its distributional design, and the political incentives that shape reform proposals."  MORE >>

"43 percent of individuals interviewed between ages 56-75 combined work and benefits for at least some period of time ... [T]wo-thirds of them claimed before the FRA -- typically right at age 62 -- while another 30 percent claimed between the FRA and age 69 -- typically right at the FRA. This pattern suggests different circumstances and different reasons for claiming."  MORE >>

"International experience suggests that fiscal crises often serve as catalysts for politically difficult but necessary retirement program reforms. Across advanced economies, rising debt burdens and economic shocks have forced governments to confront unsustainable retirement programs, often prompting benefit restraint and the adoption of automatic stabilizers to limit the need for future political intervention. The lessons from these international reforms are especially relevant for the United States, as Social Security's finances deteriorate and the costs of delay continue to mount."  MORE >>

"The trustees made changes to the intermediate assumptions in two primary areas: [1] Given the low level of the total fertility rate (TFR) in recent years, the trustees revised the year the ultimate TFR of 1.9 children per woman is reached from 2040, as stated in the 2024 Trustees Report, to 2050.... [2] The trustees reduced the assumed ratio of total labor compensation to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), also known as the labor share of output."  MORE >>

"Using the 75-year projection period understates the system's financial status if system revenues are expected to exceed system expenditures in years after the 75-year projection period. Because this was the approach used in 1983, the system benefits paid during last 42 years have been higher than actuarially supportable levels, system revenues should have been increased to support these benefits or some combination of lower benefits and higher revenues should have been adopted. It looks like future generations of beneficiaries and taxpayers will likely pay for this mistake."  MORE >>

40 presentation slides. Topics: [1] Social Security"s actuarial status: 2025 Trustees Report results;; [2] Main reasons for the worsening financial outlook over time; [3] What"s happened since the 2025 report was released? [4] How to eliminate the long-term actuarial deficit: individual changes and comprehensive proposals.  MORE >>

57 pages. "During this reporting period, OIG issued 31 audit reports, which included 9 reports that identified, in total, nearly $287 million in questioned costs and more than $819 million in funds put to better use.... During this reporting period, OIG's investigative efforts resulted in 332 indictments/criminal informations and 266 convictions and produced more than $194 million in monetary accomplishments, which includes court-ordered restitutions, recoveries, settlements, judgments, and estimated savings to SSA."  MORE >>

33 pages; For use in preparing 2025 Returns. "This publication explains the federal income tax rules for social security benefits and equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits.... [It] covers ... [1] Whether any of your benefits are taxable. [2] How to report taxable benefits. [3] How much is taxable. [4] How to treat lump-sum benefit payments. [5] Deductions related to your benefits, including a deduction or credit you can claim if your repayments are more than your gross benefits."  MORE >>

"The size and location of additional assets expected to complement Social Security income should directly inform clients' claiming decisions. So should a client's projected longevity, with better longevity generally encouraging delayed claiming where possible.... [C]urrent retirees depend on Social Security for about 40% of income on average."  MORE >>

"[It's] hard to read an article about Social Security these days that doesn't proclaim the financial benefits of waiting till 70.... [M]any in the financial services industry ... are increasingly prone to labeling those who take those well-earned benefits 'on time' as being foolhardy at best ... [T]here's more to these types of decisions than 'the math' ... [S]ome people get so caught up in a slide rule exercise they forget that there are real, rational, personal reasons for the timing of the claiming decision."  MORE >>

"Although the 2.8% COLA is only 0.3% more than the 2.5% increase in 2025, it isn't far from the historical average. The COLA has averaged about 2.6% over the past 20 years. It went as low as 0.0% in 2016 amid declining prices, and as high as 8.7% in 2023 when inflation spiked after COVID disruptions."  MORE >>

"Social Security benefits, including Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for 75 million Americans will increase 2.8 percent in 2026.... [T]he maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) is slated to increase to $184,500 from $176,100."  [Also available: Fact Sheet which outlines all 2026 Social Security changes.]  MORE >>

"[T]here is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to filing for -- or changing -- your Social Security retirement benefits.... [1] Projecting your benefits; [2] Life expectancy and Social Security; [3] How marriage affects your benefits; [4] How to 'undo' your benefits; [5] Social Security planning and your overall financial picture; [6] Concerns about Social Security solvency; [7] Making an informed decision."  MORE >>

"Only 22% of Americans age 50-plus agree that 'a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of right around 3% for Social Security recipients is enough to keep up with rising prices,' while 77% disagree.... A follow up question asked what level of increase would be sufficient to help Social Security recipients afford everyday living expenses. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of older Americans selected 5% or higher, with one quarter (26%) indicating that an 8% increase would be necessary to keep pace with rising costs."  MORE >>

"The Social Security trust fund that is used to pay retirement benefits is expected to be depleted in 2033. Once the trust fund is depleted, retirees may only receive 77% of their benefit amount. It is widely believed Congress will make changes to the Social Security system before the trust fund is depleted. Finance experts say those changes shouldn't affect older workers, but younger workers could see reduced benefits and should start investing more for retirement."  MORE >>

36 pages; Sep. 29, 2025. "Following a brief description of each provision, [the authors] provide ... [1] the change in the 75-year long-range actuarial balance, [which] indicates the financial effect of the provision over the entire long-range (75-year) period.... [2] the change in the annual balance as of the 75th year, [which] gives an indication of the year-by-year expected gain or shortfall after the provision has been in place for a long period of time." [Detailed estimates for each category of change also available.]  MORE >>