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News Articles: social security

A sign noting the acceptance of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, which SNAP beneficiaries use to pay for food, is displayed at a grocery store in 2019 in Oakland, Calif. SNAP emergency allotments are ending after this month and have already ended in some parts of the country.

SNAP recipients will lose their pandemic boost and may face other reductions by March

Congress ended the temporary benefit meant to help low-income households with pandemic-era hardships. A huge increase in Social Security benefits may mean some households see further SNAP reductions.

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  • Kaitlyn Radde
Louana Joseph and her daughter, Marlie, outside their former apartment complex in southwestern Atlanta. Joseph moved out of the unit because she suspects the gray and brown splotches that were spreading through the apartment were mold. After rents soared during the pandemic, some families were forced to live in substandard housing, which increased their risk for health problems such a s asthma and lead poisoning.

Her apartment might have put her son’s health at risk. But ‘I have nowhere else to go’

A nationwide affordable housing crisis has wreaked havoc on the lives of low-income families, like Louana Joseph’s in Atlanta, who are close to the brink. Their struggle to stay a step ahead of homelessness is often invisible.

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Kevin Soyt, Robert Hamilton and Dave Bayer participate in a water aerobics class in the John Knox Village Continuing Care Retirement Community pool on Oct. 15, 2021 in Pompano Beach, Fla. The Social Security Administration announced the largest cost-of-living adjustment in decades: 8.7%.

High inflation leads to the biggest raise in Social Security in more than 40 years

Retirees and others who rely on Social Security will see a large boost in benefits next year, with the average benefit rising by $141 per month, as inflation stays above 8%.

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  • Scott Horsley
Kathy Stolz-Silvis was nine years old when her father died, making her and her siblings eligible for Social Security survivor benefits. But she didn't become aware of those benefits until decades later.

Decades after foster care, she learned she was owed benefits. Where did the money go?

After reading an investigation by NPR and the Marshall Project, former foster youth are asking what happened to their benefits — and the government isn't helping.

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  • Alexandra Arriaga
Susan DeFrance retired two years ago and moved to a mobile home park on the ocean to cut expenses. Now with inflation, she's worried about outliving her savings.

Inflation has many retirees worried about outliving their savings

The highest inflation since the 1980s has many retirees scared. Their retirement nest eggs will be in peril if it persists over the long term.

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  • Chris Arnold
Some consumers are wondering why President Biden is not doing more to counter surging prices across the economy.

Inflation is surging and people are hopping mad

Inflation is the highest it's been in more than 30 years, imposing a financial burden on households and putting President Biden under pressure.

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  • Scott Horsley
In this Feb. 11, 2005 file photo, trays of printed social security checks wait to be mailed from the U.S. Treasury's Financial Management services facility in Philadelphia. The financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Social Security and Medicare is front and center as the government releases its annual report on the state of the bedrock retirement programs on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021.

A New Report Says The COVID Recession Has Pushed Social Security Insolvency Up A Year

The new projections in the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees reports indicate that the program will be unable to pay full benefits in 2034. Last year's estimated exhaustion date was 2035.

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  • The Associated Press
Anna Romero had to quit her part-time job during the coronavirus pandemic to care for her husband, Ivan, who has dementia.

Some Seniors Face Shrinking Nest Eggs As They Care For Loved Ones During Pandemic

Many senior citizens entered their golden years with more debt than previous generations, and now they're struggling financially as they try to provide care for an ailing relative during the pandemic.

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  • Sally Herships
Once the rules for implementing it are worked out, a bill signed into federal law in December will eliminate the required five-month waiting period for diagnosed ALS patients to begin disability benefits, enabling quicker Medicare coverage as well.

ALS Patients To Gain Quicker Access To Disability Benefits And Medicare

Lou Gehrig's disease can take months to diagnose, then rapidly incapacitate patients, leaving many families bankrupt before disability payments and Medicare kick in. A recent law aims to change that.

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  • Michelle Andrews
President Trump signs one of four executive orders addressing the economic fallout from the pandemic in Bedminster, N.J., on Aug. 8. The Trump administration has given employers the option to stop collecting payroll taxes, but workers may have to repay the money next year.

The Payroll Tax Delay Is Here, But So Is Confusion About It

Some employees will soon see a boost in take-home pay. The Trump administration has given employers the option to stop collecting payroll taxes. But workers may have to repay the money next year.

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  • Scott Horsley
Employers are supposed to stop withholding the payroll tax on Sept. 1. But companies need guidance from the IRS on exactly who is eligible to have their taxes suspended and how to keep track so those taxes can eventually be repaid.

Payroll Tax Delay To Boost Take-Home Pay, But Don't Spend It Yet

President Trump has directed the Treasury Department to stop collecting payroll taxes this fall in an effort to boost workers' paychecks. But the move is temporary, and could spark headaches in 2021.

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  • Scott Horsley
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act into law on August 14, 1935.

Break It Down: Social Security

April is Financial Literacy Month. It was designated in 2003. The Great Recession revealed just how little average Americans know about their finances....

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On Second Thought For Thursday, April 28, 2016

An Atlanta artist is trying to get beyond the statistics about sexual abuse. All month long, Jessica Caldas has marked an “X” on the ground in chalk...

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