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Social Security

As inflation moderates, so does Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment

by Savannah Maher
Sep 14, 2023
The 2024 cost-of-living adjustment comes out to 3.2%, a pretty modest amount compared to past years.
The annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is automatic and meant to stabilize the purchasing power of Social Security benefits.
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Why it's getting more expensive to hire workers in China

by Jennifer Pak
Aug 9, 2023
China’s government is making employers pay more into its social welfare system, just as the economy is stalling.
Employees work on a speaker assembly line in Fuyang in China's eastern Anhui province. It's been getting costlier for employers in China to hire workers.
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I've Always Wondered ...

Should the rich pay more into the Social Security system?

by Janet Nguyen
Jul 21, 2023
As the rich get richer, their income is escaping taxation.
The percentage of total earnings in the country that doesn't face Social Security taxes rose from 10% in 1982 to 19% in 2021. 
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Social Security has funding problems. How do we fix it before benefits are cut?

by Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson
Jun 12, 2023
The trust fund supplementing income taxes could run dry within 10 years. Dennis Jansen of Texas A&M suggests reforms.
About 67 million Americans receive Social Security income.
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Raising the Debt Ceiling

What happens to benefit checks if there's no deal on the debt ceiling?

by Samantha Fields
May 23, 2023
Supplemental Security Income payments and veterans 'payments could be among the first checks to be delayed.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden to continue debit limit negotiations. Experts agree that a default would cause a massive pause on regular government payments to individuals in need.
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I've Always Wondered ...

Will we ever run out of Social Security numbers?

by Janet Nguyen
Mar 10, 2023
With 1 billion possible combinations, we still have decades before they’re used up.
Your Social Security number is yours even after 'til death do you part.
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What's behind the larger Social Security checks?

by Sabri Ben-Achour , Chris Farrell and Erika Soderstrom
Jan 23, 2023
This month Social Security checks went up by an 8.7% cost of living increase. But what happens to social security in the future?
Marketplace Senior Economics Contributor Chris Farrell outlines the benefits of this month's boost to government retiree benefits.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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Social Security recipients to get their biggest cost-of-living raise in over 40 years

by Samantha Fields
Oct 10, 2022
The adjustment is likely to be announced this week and expected to be around 9%. It's welcome news for recipients struggling with inflation.
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For Social Security recipients, "there’s no keeping up" with rising costs

by Savannah Maher
Aug 15, 2022
The program is expected to provide a large benefits increase in 2023. Until then, many on fixed incomes have to tighten their budgets.
Marketplace Senior Economics Contributor Chris Farrell outlines the benefits of this month's boost to government retiree benefits.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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How patience can pay off when it comes to filing for Social Security

by Nova Safo , Chris Farrell , Rose Conlon and Alex Schroeder
Feb 21, 2022
Waiting until age 70 to file for Social Security means a roughly 76% boost to benefits.
In this photo illustration, a Social Security card sits alongside checks from the U.S. Treasury on October 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Social Security Administration announced recipients will receive an annual cost of living adjustment of 5.9%, the largest increase since 1982. The larger increase is aimed at helping to offset rising inflation.
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