Latest news with #ElizabethHuston
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Is a $4K Senior Bonus Better Than No Taxes on Social Security?
President Donald Trump touted a lot of ideas while he was campaigning for a second term and one of the proposals he consistently talked about was eliminating taxes on Social Security. It was a vow he made to the retirees, but now he could be reneging on his promise. Read More: Find Out: In the 'One, Big, Beautiful' tax bill there is no proposal for ending taxes on Social Security. Instead, there's a temporary $4,000 deduction. The bill offers a 'historic tax break' to Social Security recipients, 'fulfilling President Trump's campaign promise to deliver much-needed tax relief to our seniors,' White House assistant press secretary Elizabeth Huston said via email, CNBC reported. According to the outlet, the following stipulations would apply: Must be 65 or older The $4,000 deduction would be applicable for tax years 2025-2028 Single filers with more than $75,000 in modified adjusted gross income and married couples who file their taxes together who earn more than $150,000 would not qualify. While that is much different than completely getting rid of taxes on Social Security as promised, finance expert Andrew Lokenauth says it might be a better deal for many retirees. Here's why. For retirees who earn above the income guidelines, the $4,000 deduction won't be helpful, but it will provide financial relief for many older folks, according to Lokenauth. 'From my experience working with retirement planning, the $4,000 deduction is much better targeted to help lower and middle-income seniors.' He explained, 'I've seen how eliminating Social Security taxes primarily benefits wealthier retirees who have substantial other income, while doing nothing for the roughly 50% of seniors who already don't pay taxes on their benefits.' For example, if a retiree makes around $50,000 the $4,000 deduction would save them $500 annually in taxes. 'Not life changing but meaningful for many seniors managing fixed incomes,' Lokenauth said. Retirees in higher tax brackets will not notice a difference with their finances as a result of the $4,000 deduction. The impact will be felt according to income level. 'For seniors making under $75,000 individually or $150,000 jointly, that $4,000 deduction provides consistent, predictable tax relief of roughly $440-$880 depending on their tax bracket,' Lokenauth explained. Retired higher earners would save significantly from the elimination of Social Security taxes. 'I've worked with wealthy retirees who would save $5,000 annually from nixing Social Security taxes,' Lokenauth said. 'But here's the thing — they're not the ones who need the help most.' The $4,000 deduction is a far cry from getting rid of taxes on Social Security, but it will help offset some expenses for retirees.'I saw a middle-income client recently who'd save about $600 a year — enough to cover a few months of utilities or several weeks of groceries,' Lokenauth said. 'And because it's structured as a deduction rather than a credit, the benefit grows along with someone's tax bracket up to the phase-out thresholds.' For now, it looks like eliminating taxes on Social Security isn't an immediate priority, but the $4,000 bonus is in the bill and is far less expensive to implement. There's no comparison. 'I've looked at the budget implications, and this $4,000 deduction would cost about $200 billion over 10 years, while roughly 20% of eliminating Social Security benefit taxation would cost around $1 trillion,' Lokenauth added, 'Plus the deduction comes from general revenue rather than draining Social Security's already strained trust funds.'There are some positive aspects to the bonus proposal such as it works with either standard or itemized deductions, meaning more seniors can actually access the benefit. However, the time frame concerns Lokenauth. 'I've seen how temporary tax provisions create uncertainty. Congress really should make this permanent.'With that in mind, there is room for improvement, but Lokenauth said this is a more 'fiscally responsible approach that still delivers meaningful relief.' More From GOBankingRates 8 Common Mistakes Retirees Make With Their Social Security Checks Here's the Minimum Salary Required To Be Considered Upper Class in 2025 This article originally appeared on Is a $4K Senior Bonus Better Than No Taxes on Social Security?
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Administration Classifies 6,000 Latino Immigrants as 'Dead' So They Will 'Self-Deport'
The Trump administration has entered the names of over 6,300 mostly Latino immigrants into the Social Security Administration's "Death Master File" database, rendering them ineligible for benefits The latest move was created to "remove the monetary incentive for illegal aliens to come and stay, we will encourage them to self-deport,' Elizabeth Huston, a White House spokeswoman, said The administration will target 92,000 undocumented immigrants who have a criminal conviction on the death database next, a White House official said The Social Security Administration has entered the names of over 6,300 mostly Latino immigrants into a database that tracks people who have died, according to The New York Times, The Washington Post and CBS News. The Trump administration is targeting immigrants who have Social Security numbers but have lost their legal status in the U.S. — including those who entered under former President Joe Biden's temporary work programs. This prevents those impacted from being able to receive Medicaid, Medicare, unemployment insurance, federal loans or other benefits. President Donald Trump 'promised mass deportations and by removing the monetary incentive for illegal aliens to come and stay, we will encourage them to self-deport,' Elizabeth Huston, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement, per The Washington Post. 'He is delivering on his promise he made to the American people." Related: Donald Trump Says He'd Be 'Honored' to Deport Americans to El Salvador Prison: 'I'm All for It' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem requested that the federal agency put pressure on undocumented immigrants to leave the country. More specifically, Noem and Leland Dudek, the acting Social Security commissioner, signed two memorandums of agreement on Monday, April 7, per The Washington Post. Now, under the Social Security Act, the administration has named living immigrants in the 'Death Master File' for national security reasons, an official said, per The Washington Post. The 'Death Master File' database has records of more than 85 million deaths dating back to 1936. An agency employee said that once listed as deceased in the database, their Social Security benefits would immediately terminate, and ultimately, would make them unidentifiable and cause problems with employment. It will also permit the Commerce Department to mistakenly report that the immigrants have died on their own death database. As a result, it will lead institutions to sever relationships with listed immigrants, and not be included on lists to banks, mortgage companies and employers. Related: House Democrat Shouts at Republicans for Shielding Elon Musk from DOGE Testimony: 'Why Isn't He Here Explaining It?' Twenty-two people listed in the 6,300 are receiving student loans, 41 are collecting unemployment insurance and 1,000 are collecting benefits through Medicaid, a White House official said, per The Washington Post. This newly announced tactic adheres to the Trump administration's aggressive campaign to force undocumented immigrants out of the U.S. A White House official told The Washington Post that the administration will next target 92,000 undocumented immigrants who have a criminal conviction on the death database, and then eventually add undocumented immigrants without criminal histories. The recent developments follow Elon Musk's efforts with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to implement major changes at the Social Security Administration. Musk has previously said that Social Security is a 'Ponzi scheme.' He claimed in a Fox Business interview on March 10 that 'there's a massive amount of fraud of, basically, people submitting Social Security numbers for Social Security benefits, unemployment, Small Business Administration loans and medical care.' The billionaire entrepreneur added, 'We're trying to put a stop to all of that." 'If you want to know what DOGE is doing at Social Security, this is it,' a White House official said, per The Washington Post. Related: Trump Shows Off the $5 Million Immigration 'Gold Card' with His Face It follows the Tuesday, April 8, agreement between Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in which the IRS will give tax data it maintains for undocumented immigrants to Homeland Security. Additionally, last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services gave the Social Security Administration a database of 800,000 people with final deportation orders. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. A representative for the Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for more information on Thursday. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Administration Classifies 6,000 Latino Immigrants as 'Dead' So They Will 'Self-Deport'
The Trump administration has entered the names of over 6,300 mostly Latino immigrants into the Social Security Administration's "Death Master File" database, rendering them ineligible for benefits The latest move was created to "remove the monetary incentive for illegal aliens to come and stay, we will encourage them to self-deport,' Elizabeth Huston, a White House spokeswoman, said The administration will target 92,000 undocumented immigrants who have a criminal conviction on the death database next, a White House official said The Social Security Administration has entered the names of over 6,300 mostly Latino immigrants into a database that tracks people who have died, according to The New York Times, The Washington Post and CBS News. The Trump administration is targeting immigrants who have Social Security numbers but have lost their legal status in the U.S. — including those who entered under former President Joe Biden's temporary work programs. This prevents those impacted from being able to receive Medicaid, Medicare, unemployment insurance, federal loans or other benefits. President Donald Trump 'promised mass deportations and by removing the monetary incentive for illegal aliens to come and stay, we will encourage them to self-deport,' Elizabeth Huston, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement, per The Washington Post. 'He is delivering on his promise he made to the American people." Related: Donald Trump Says He'd Be 'Honored' to Deport Americans to El Salvador Prison: 'I'm All for It' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem requested that the federal agency put pressure on undocumented immigrants to leave the country. More specifically, Noem and Leland Dudek, the acting Social Security commissioner, signed two memorandums of agreement on Monday, April 7, per The Washington Post. Now, under the Social Security Act, the administration has named living immigrants in the 'Death Master File' for national security reasons, an official said, per The Washington Post. The 'Death Master File' database has records of more than 85 million deaths dating back to 1936. An agency employee said that once listed as deceased in the database, their Social Security benefits would immediately terminate, and ultimately, would make them unidentifiable and cause problems with employment. It will also permit the Commerce Department to mistakenly report that the immigrants have died on their own death database. As a result, it will lead institutions to sever relationships with listed immigrants, and not be included on lists to banks, mortgage companies and employers. Related: House Democrat Shouts at Republicans for Shielding Elon Musk from DOGE Testimony: 'Why Isn't He Here Explaining It?' Twenty-two people listed in the 6,300 are receiving student loans, 41 are collecting unemployment insurance and 1,000 are collecting benefits through Medicaid, a White House official said, per The Washington Post. This newly announced tactic adheres to the Trump administration's aggressive campaign to force undocumented immigrants out of the U.S. A White House official told The Washington Post that the administration will next target 92,000 undocumented immigrants who have a criminal conviction on the death database, and then eventually add undocumented immigrants without criminal histories. The recent developments follow Elon Musk's efforts with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to implement major changes at the Social Security Administration. Musk has previously said that Social Security is a 'Ponzi scheme.' He claimed in a Fox Business interview on March 10 that 'there's a massive amount of fraud of, basically, people submitting Social Security numbers for Social Security benefits, unemployment, Small Business Administration loans and medical care.' The billionaire entrepreneur added, 'We're trying to put a stop to all of that." 'If you want to know what DOGE is doing at Social Security, this is it,' a White House official said, per The Washington Post. Related: Trump Shows Off the $5 Million Immigration 'Gold Card' with His Face It follows the Tuesday, April 8, agreement between Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in which the IRS will give tax data it maintains for undocumented immigrants to Homeland Security. Additionally, last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services gave the Social Security Administration a database of 800,000 people with final deportation orders. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. A representative for the Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for more information on Thursday. Read the original article on People
