Social Security is turning 90 — and its problems are only mounting with age

Social Security celebrated its 90th anniversary Thursday, marking a major milestone for the program that supplies monthly benefit checks to almost 70 million senior citizens, disabled people and surviving family members of deceased workers.   When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law on Aug. 14, 1935, he guaranteed for the…

Social Security retreats from plan to eliminate paper checks for beneficiaries

The Social Security Administration said it will continue issuing paper checks to the retirement program’s beneficiaries, backing away from a previously announced plan to switch all payments to electronic deposits after Sept. 30.  On Wednesday, the Social Security Administration told CBS MoneyWatch it would continue issuing paper checks for beneficiaries, including recipients of retirement and…

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As Congress was approving President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” on Thursday, the Social Security Administration touted the legislation by stating that it “eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries.” That claim, which echoes previous promises by Mr. Trump to remove taxes on Social Security, may have come as welcome news for the millions…

Half of all private-sector workers in the U.S. have no access to a retirement plan, study finds

Americans are continually encouraged to sock away money in a 401(k) or other retirement plan to ensure a comfortable, if not cushy, life in their later years. Yet about half of all U.S. workers in the private sector lack access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, a huge obstacle in building enough wealth to retire, a…

Social Security’s insolvency date is now a year earlier. Here’s how it could impact your benefits.

Social Security is on track to deplete its trust funds by 2034, one year sooner than previously forecast, when the federal retirement program will be required to cut monthly benefits by about 20%.  The new projection, issued Wednesday in the Social Security Board of Trustees’ annual report, is partly due to increased costs from the Social Security…

Social Security retirement trust fund may be depleted in less than a decade, new trustees’ report finds

A Social Security Administration office in Washington, D.C., March 26, 2025. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images The trust fund Social Security relies on to pay retirement benefits may be depleted in 2033, according to an annual report released by the Social Security Board of Trustees on Wednesday. That is unchanged from last year’s projections….

Social Security cost-of-living adjustment may be 2.5% in 2026, new estimates find

Sdi Productions | E+ | Getty Images Millions of Social Security beneficiaries received a 2.5% boost to their benefits in 2025, thanks to an annual cost-of-living adjustment that went into effect in January. In 2026, Social Security checks may go up by the same amount — 2.5% — based on the latest government inflation data,…

Americans are filing for Social Security at record rates amid fears about its future

Older Americans are filing for Social Security benefits at a record rate this year, a surge that could reflect growing anxiety about the stability of the retirement system amid cutbacks under the Trump administration, experts say.  The number of people claiming Social Security jumped 17% to 1.8 million this year through May compared with the…