Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
Americans worried about the future of Social Security cite a higher retirement age as one of their biggest concerns, according to recent polling, even as the program’s trust-fund timelines have moved closer. The 2025 Trustees Report moved the projected exhaustion date for the combined Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance funds to 2034, one year sooner…
Supplemental Security Income recipients eligible for the maximum federal payment will see $994 land in their bank accounts for March 2026, with the deposit arriving as early as February 27 because the scheduled payment date falls on a weekend. The early arrival, combined with a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment that took effect in January, means roughly…
Retirees who have paid off their mortgages can cover all basic living expenses on Social Security alone in exactly 10 states, according to analyses of federal benefit data and regional cost figures. With the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment raising the estimated average monthly retirement benefit to $2,071 starting in January 2026, the math works in a…
Only eight states still tax Social Security benefits in 2026, and each uses its own income tests and formulas to decide what retirees owe. Key Points For 2026 from Dec reporting state that Only eight jurisdictions, including Colorado and Connecticut, still reach into Social Security checks. Understanding which states tax benefits and how they calculate…
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has publicly warned that a series of Social Security Administration changes, from workforce cuts to restricted phone services and mandatory field office appointments, amount to a “brutal” erosion of access for retirees who depend on the program. The warning lands as the SSA simultaneously shrinks its staff, tightens how beneficiaries manage…
Vice President JD Vance has built a consistent public message around Social Security: benefits will not be cut. He has called the program an “important promise” to older Americans and argued that rooting out fraud, not trimming checks, is the right path to keeping it solvent. But a closer look at the policies taking shape…
Social Security’s financial outlook worsened again this week when the program’s Board of Trustees projected the combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust funds will be depleted by 2035, one year earlier than the prior forecast. At the same time, a reinstated policy now allows the agency to withhold up to 50 percent…
President Trump has repeatedly claimed that the One Big Beautiful Bill will mean 88% of seniors receiving Social Security benefits pay zero federal income tax on those benefits. The White House published that figure in a research brief, and the Social Security Administration echoed it in a press release stating “nearly 90%” of beneficiaries would…
The Social Security Administration on October 24, 2025, announced a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for 2026, raising monthly benefits for approximately 75 million people starting in January. The average retired worker will see roughly $56 more per month. But the actual dollar increase any individual receives depends heavily on when they claimed benefits relative to their…
A growing number of states are eliminating or sharply reducing taxes on Social Security benefits, and the trend is accelerating fast enough to pressure holdout states into action. West Virginia, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas have all moved in the past two years to lighten the tax burden on retirees, while Utah is weighing its own…