Retirement, Social Security | featured news

Social Security retirement benefits for nearly 62 million Americans will go up 1.7 percent next year, the Social Security Administration said on Tuesday, a small increase that may not cover rising premiums for the Medicare elderly health insurance program.

Social Security is rushing even faster toward insolvency, driven by retiring baby boomers, a weak economy and politicians' reluctance to take painful action to fix the huge retirement and disability program.

Millions of retired and disabled people in the United States had better brace for another year with no increase in Social Security payments....

More than 58 million retirees and disabled Americans will get no increase in Social Security benefits next year, the second year in a row without a raise.

By law, Social Security benefits can't decline. But because premiums for the Medicare drug program are expected to increase 11% next year, seniors who have those premiums deducted from their benefits will see a drop in payments, says Barbara Kennelly, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

Big job losses and a spike in early retirement claims from laid-off seniors will force Social Security to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes the next two years, the first time that's happened since the 1980s....