Latest news with #MySocialSecurity
USA Today
25-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Social Security Administration backtracks on decision to end paper checks, reports say
The Social Security Administration will continue to send some paper checks to beneficiaries of the retirement program, reversing its recently announced plan to move all social security payments to electronic deposits beginning in the fall, according to media reports and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Warren (D-Mass.) said on Wednesday, July 23, that SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano agreed to continue to issuing paper checks for those who are unable to receive payments otherwise. A spokesperson for the SSA confirmed to CBS MoneyWatch and finance outlet Kiplinger it would continue to issue paper checks to certain beneficiaries, including those who receive retirement and disability benefits. The SSA added it would emphasize the advantages of using electronic transfers and encourage recipients to switch away from paper checks. The SSA did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's requests for comment. The agency first announced its plans to move away from paper checks on July 14 as part of an effort to modernize its systems and improve service delivery. Here's what you need to know. How many beneficiaries receive paper checks? The SSA said less than 1% of beneficiaries have yet to switch to electronic payment methods and still receive paper checks. But with over 74 million people receiving Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or both in June 2025, dropping paper checks would potentially impact hundreds of thousands of Americans. About 4.2% of of U.S. households lacked a bank or credit union account in 2023, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Bankrate reported one reason why some people are "underbanked" is because they believe they don't earn enough to open an account. Those who are underbanked also cited concerns about fees, privacy or general distrust of banks. How to switch to electronic payments Social Security beneficiaries can switch from paper checks to electronic payments online through their My Social Security account. The agency has technicians available to support those who need tech support Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. ET. Why is the Social Security Administration pushing for electronic payments? The SSA said switching from paper checks to electronic payments minimizes delays in payments and reduces the risk of fraud. Citing the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the SSA said electronic payments cost roughly 35 cents less than paper checks, essentially saving the federal government millions of dollars annually. The agency added that the transition away from paper checks provides a safer and more secure method to receive benefits, saying paper checks are 16 times more likely to be either lost or stolen. CONTRIBUTING: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY
Newsweek
16-07-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Social Security Update: Major Change for Benefit Recipients
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced a significant upgrade for millions of Americans: The My Social Security online portal will offer 24/7 access starting mid-July. The change marks a major improvement in customer service, allowing beneficiaries and applicants to manage their Social Security accounts at any time, day or night. Why It Matters Social Security remains a critical pillar for more than 60 million Americans, whose financial security often depends on timely access to the program's resources. Until now, the online portal has experienced scheduled downtimes, limiting access for retirees and those seeking to manage their benefits or documentation. This shift to uninterrupted access comes amid mounting financial pressures on the Social Security system and broader concerns about the program's sustainability, particularly as the trust fund's money for full payments is set to run out within the next decade without legislative intervention. What To Know The revamped My Social Security portal is designed to give both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries around-the-clock access to their accounts. Through the portal, users can request replacement Social Security cards, upload documents, submit online forms, and manage critical features such as direct deposit information, tax forms, and benefit verification letters. Non-beneficiaries can also check application statuses and access personalized estimates of their or their spouse's benefits, according to the SSA. "My top priority is to transform SSA into a model of excellence—an organization that operates at peak efficiency and delivers outstanding service to every American," SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano said in a statement. A Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Washington, D.C. A Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Washington, D.C. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images This initiative is part of a larger overhaul at the SSA aimed at addressing long-standing issues, such as backlogs and lengthy wait times, which have been exacerbated by the growing number of baby boomer retirees. Beyond the online upgrade, SSA reports that 70 percent of its field offices have new phone technology, the answering speed for its 800-number has improved by 35 percent, and 90 percent of calls can now be handled through self-service or with a convenient callback feature. "Currently, there are late-night and weekend hours when the portal is closed. Many elderly beneficiaries rely on family or service providers to make online updates, so the expanded service hours will only help those who are helping our seniors," Drew Powers, the founder of Illinois-based Powers Financial Group, told Newsweek. What People Are Saying Martha Shedden, president and co-founder of the National Association of Registered Social Security Analysts, told Newsweek: "We welcome any improvements SSA makes to customer service, particularly phone service wait times and field office staffing increases. The web portal plays a significant role in customer service." Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: "The online portal reflects an evolving form of connecting with beneficiaries centered on more efficiency and modernness. The Social Security Administration, much like other government entities, has long been the subject of mixed feedback from beneficiaries who struggle with issues of applying for benefits, receiving them, and everything in between." Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek: "Now, anytime there's a tech upgrade in the Social Security system, I'll call that a win. But let's be real; most retirees probably won't notice a huge difference. Many still prefer the phone or that personal touch. That said, improvements to the phone system will help save time and still give folks that human connection if they need it." What Happens Next The SSA's portal upgrade is scheduled to go live in mid-July, providing uninterrupted service nationwide. Officials say this move is intended to help meet the needs of current and future beneficiaries as the agency also faces broader questions about the solvency of Social Security before the projected trust fund depletion in 2033. "The hope is this new portal will remedy some of those problems, but in terms of effectiveness and its appeal to non-digitally literate recipients, it remains to be seen if benefits will outweigh any issues," Beene said.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Social Security updates & senior tax deduction: Ask Yahoo Finance
Millions of seniors will see smaller Social Security checks starting in July as the Social Security Administration begins to collect past overpayments. Additionally, President Trump's new tax legislation includes a $6,000 tax deduction for seniors aged 65 or older. Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Kerry Hannon and Retirement Daily editor Robert Powell — who also hosts Yahoo Finance's Decoding Retirement podcast — answer readers' questions about Social Security repayments and the new tax deduction. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Mind Your Money here. Millions of seniors will see smaller social security checks starting in July. The reduced benefit payments are how the Social Security Administration is attempting to recoup money that it overpaid to some Americans. The administration plans to withhold 50% of a beneficiary's monthly check until the sum of their overpayments is reclaimed. But many people have questions about this and we want to give you answers. So joining me now is Yahoo Finance's Carrie Hannon and Bob Paul in a social security edition of Ask Yahoo Finance anything. Thank you both for being here. Um, Carrie, let's start with you because some of your readers wrote in about this and one asks, quote, is there a defined way to quickly determine your correct social security payment early on to avoid being overpaid, and if you are, is there an easy method to correct the situation? So this person obviously wants to be proactive and make sure they are not overpaid so then they don't have to give up some of their check on the other side. What what do you say? Yeah, absolutely, Julie. Um, of course, nothing's ever super easy, but the best thing to do is immediately go to the Social Security Administration's website and hopefully you have your My Social Security account set up. If you do, you can get a snapshot right there of what your benefits are, what your check is to be, and they can send you a proof of confirmation of what that number is. So if for some reason you get a check that's not matching that, you know that there's something amiss here. But the point is, if it's already occurred and there's something you really need to take control of as quickly as possible, the best thing to do is get in touch, go to the website once again, and they provide a link for you to go ahead and and pay it. You know, just get it done if it's not too much and you can do that. By all means, you can do that by credit card. You can also ask for smaller payments. If that 50% is going to be too much, because frankly, a lot of seniors really rely on these checks to meet their cost of living each month. And so you can make a case for having smaller amounts taken out. By law, the government does have to recoup this money. So they're not trying to be evil about this. It's just it's been miscalculated by them or somebody did not give them the income information change that they might have had. The third thing you can do is say, you know, you need, you absolutely cannot afford this and you put in a petition to waive the payment altogether. The final thing you can do, Julie, is to ask for reconsideration, to say, you know, I don't believe that I was actually overpaid or, you know, frankly, it wasn't my fault if I was. And so that's an other step you can take. But be proactive, don't sit and wait, uh, if if possible, see whatever tools you can use to move forward. And Carrie, we got another question for you. One reader asks, I sold my house last year, they say, and paid capital gains. Will the income from the sale affect my social security check? So, Carrie, this person wants to know if they need to tell social security about that sale in case they think she was overpaid given the boost to her income. What's the answer to this one? Yeah. I know. Well, great question, right? Because you know, they consider your earnings, uh, as part of how much your social security benefit is if you're before, you know, before a certain age. Um, and and so this is important to know. But the good news is no, they will not, they do not consider capital gains as something that is considered in your earned income. So you're you're off the hook there. Yeah. I I would just mention Julie too that any increase in someone's provisional income though can lead to a greater portion of their social security benefits being subject to income tax and and for just by way of background, you're adjusted gross income or provisional income is your AGI plus muni bond interest and half of your social security benefits if you want to get a sense of what portion of your social security will be taxed. Gotcha. All right. Well, another big social security topic is changes to tax policy. That includes an additional $6,000 tax deduction for seniors age 65 and older. So Bob, give us the overview. What do seniors need to know about this? Yeah, so first off, this provision does not eliminate social security benefits out or taxes on social security benefits outright. It allows an extra deduction of up to $6,000 per taxpayer who is age 65 and older, regardless of whether they currently receive social security benefits or not. Uh, the deduction is age based, not benefit dependent. It's a deduction and not an exclusion. Uh, it's not refundable, which means that if the deduction exceeds your taxable income, you won't receive a refund. Uh, it's available to both people who itemize and as well as those who use the standard deduction. It does require a valid social security number. It's temporary, it's set to expire in 2028 and it's also subject to modified adjusted gross income phase outs beginning at $150,000 for joint filers. So the deduction does not eliminate taxation of benefits, but according to the White House, it will take the number of beneficiaries who pay no tax on their benefits from around 40 to 50% upwards to 88% according to. Yeah. Big change. All right. Well, one more question we got for you, Bob, is how will the senior deduction affect my Roth IRA conversion plan? So what's the answer to that one? Yeah, this is an interesting one. So, so right now I mentioned that you get a $6,000 deduction and and that that equates about $12,000. It's not about equals $12,000 per couple and that deduction is reduced to zero at 100 between $150,000 and $250,000 of modified adjusted gross income. So, uh, according to Bob Keebler who's done some analysis, this phase out creates what he would call a tax cliff for Roth conversions at the $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income level. So for instance, a married couple who's age 65, they would qualify for the full $12,000 deduction and that would equate to on paper a tax savings of $2,640. But what happens is if you do a say $100,000 Roth conversion, then it would push your modified adjusted gross income up to $250,000 and that could trigger a 22% income tax, but also wipe out the senior deduction. So at first glance, it looks like this conversion would be beneficial, but when you do the numbers, it's not. So the ultimate advice here, the tax planning tip is to model all these Roth conversions before you do them and to determine whether it would be better to do the Roth conversion before you turn 65 or after you turn 65. Okay. And finally, yeah, go ahead, Carrie. Well, I would note just quickly, Julie, that that as Bob was talking about too, since with this new law that went in to effect that the taxes are staying relatively low, since they're not going to bump back up. And so it makes making a Roth conversion a bit more enticing for people to do this at these lower tax rates. Okay. And now, Carrie, you also got a question on the new senior deduction. Um, one reader writes, since the deduction will lower my adjusted gross income, will it affect the premium I pay on Medicare? I got to say, this is a very good question because the Medicare premiums are determined by your adjusted gross income. So if in fact, you are taking, you are able to take advantage of this deduction, the $6,000 deduction, that will lower your adjusted gross income. And in in essence, that will maybe impact what you're going to pay in your Medicare premiums. These go on a sliding scale and it starts about at adjusted gross incomes for a single filer of around 106,000, I think is this year, 100 and so forth. So if you think of that as your starting point and it sort of graduates down, it may very well help you out there. The problem is, it'll be two years from now. It's a two-year lag between when they look at this your income. So for right now for 2025, they're looking at 2023. Gotcha. Thank you both so much. We got I would mention too is according to the Medicare Trustees report, the Medicare part B premium is estimated to increase 11% to above $200 for 2020. Sign in to access your portfolio
Axios
07-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
That Social Security email about the "big, beautiful bill," explained
Millions of Americans got a confusing email from the Social Security Administration over the weekend, celebrating the passage of the "big, beautiful bill." Why it matters: It's unusual for the agency to blast an overtly political message to its massive email list, which includes retirees and those who've signed up at their website. Tax experts, former agency leaders and advocates for the agency are criticizing the email for spreading misinformation. Zoom in: The email claims that the spending bill "eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries." It says this elimination is in addition to providing "an enhanced deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and older, ensuring that retirees can keep more of what they have earned." Reality check: The big bill does contain a big temporary tax break for seniors, who get an enhanced deduction on their federal income tax for the next four years. That will mean fewer seniors will pay taxes on benefits until 2028. However, the bill does not eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits — though President Trump and the White House keep claiming it does. "There is no provision in the budget bill that directly 'eliminates' or even reduces taxes on Social Security benefits," Howard Gleckman, senior fellow at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, told the Washington Post. By the numbers: The email appears to have gone out to everyone who is signed up for a "My Social Security" account — that's 71 million people. What they're saying: While the agency has sent out press releases, or tweets, from time to time that could be viewed as political, sending a mass email like this to this large a list is something new, say experts. "The Social Security Administration's communications shop has been politicized," wrote Nathan Osburn, a former deputy commissioner for the agency, on LinkedIn. "I agree," replied Leland Dudek, who was the acting commissioner of the agency, appointed by Trump, during the first few months of the year. The email confused some people who aren't used to hearing from the Social Security agency, says Kathleen Romig, a former senior adviser at the agency. "I've gotten a lot of correspondence from people who never hear from SSA except an annual notice to check their account," said Romig, who is now a director at the liberal Center on Policy and Budget Priorities. Some of them thought it was a scam, she added, claiming the email was "unprecedented." The other side: A Social Security official tells Axios that the agency was just trying to communicate helpful information.
Hindustan Times
16-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Social Security alert: Several benefits could be suspended if new rules aren't met
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is preparing to enforce stricter rules in 2025 that could affect benefit payments for millions of Americans. Beneficiaries who fail to meet updated requirements may face delays or even a suspension of their monthly checks. Currently, about 72.5 million people—including retirees, disabled individuals, and children—receive Social Security benefits. To avoid interruptions, recipients must stay on top of a few key responsibilities. One of the most important steps is keeping the SSA informed about any changes in your personal situation. That includes updates to your address, marital status, or employment. These changes can be easily reported online through a My Social Security account. Also Read: Social Security (SSA) payments today: Who is receiving their check on June 11? Missing updates may seem minor, but they can have serious consequences. Benefits are often stopped immediately if the SSA encounters issues such as: Additionally, retirees who take on part-time or freelance work must report all earnings. There are income limits for Social Security recipients, and going over the cap could temporarily reduce or suspend benefits. If the SSA finds that someone received more than they were entitled to, they will be required to repay the money. The agency also performs address verification checks to confirm where recipients live. This is especially important for people who split time between multiple homes or travel frequently. Inconsistent address information can lead to a pause in payments until the issue is resolved. If you're unsure about your payment status or need to correct any information, you can contact the SSA through its toll-free number or visit a local office. Also coming into effect in 2025 are changes related to the Full Retirement Age (FRA), a result of the 1983 amendments to the Social Security Act. People born in 1959 will reach an FRA of 66 years and 10 months this year. That's the age when retirees can start receiving full Social Security benefits. While you can begin collecting benefits as early as age 62, doing so comes with a permanent reduction in monthly payments. For example, someone whose FRA is 66 years and 10 months could see their benefit reduced by about 29% if they claim at 62. Also Read: Social Security (SSA) payments today: Who is receiving their check on June 11? On the other hand, delaying retirement past your FRA increases your benefit by about 8% per year, up until age 70. These changes are part of a broader effort to maintain the financial stability of the Social Security program as Americans live longer and rely more heavily on these benefits in retirement.
