Blog
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You may have heard or read about the Donald Trump and conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation’s, plans for a second Trump presidency. If you haven’t, do a google search. There is some scary stuff in there, for sure. Some of it directly affects Social Security benefits. One of the major proposals involves gradually…
a month+ ago -
For as long as Attorney Crawforth has been practicing Social Security’s evaluation process has included Past Relevant Work for jobs going back 15 years. That will now change. For decisions dated June 22, 2024 or later the relevant time period is 5 years meaning only jobs in that time frame are evaluated.
3+ months ago
News
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Summer 2021 Newsletter STILL STANDING…AND PRACTICING I published the first issue of Social Security & You in Spring of 1993. Some years I’ve published more issues than others. The most recent issue was dated Spring 2019: over 2 years ago. The world was a much different place then. Especially for me. Read the full newsletter…
3+ years ago -
Spring 2019 Newsletter An Opioid Story I’ve changed his name. Let’s call him Gerald. He was a laborer. And by that I don’t mean that he just did physical work. He was a card-carrying member the Labor’s Union local. And that meant a lot to him. I represented him for Social Security disability and Michigan…
5+ years ago
TRUMP & THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION PROJECT 2025
You may have heard or read about the Donald Trump and conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation’s, plans for a second Trump presidency. If you haven’t, do a google search. There is some scary stuff in there, for sure.
Some of it directly affects Social Security benefits. One of the major proposals involves gradually raising the retirement age for full Social Security retirement benefits from 67 to 69 or 70 years of age.
Also, just as George W. Bush tried to do, Project 2025 will shift toward a more privatized system for Social Security with some or all of the contributions being invested by the recipient. While this could mean more control and potentially higher returns for some, it also introduces more risk into the system and would require higher financial literacy and planning.
Changes to the retirement age and adjusting the benefits formula could lead to a reevaluation of benefits for current retirees. This could lead to reduced benefits, especially for higher wage earners.
Currently, the cost of living increase (COLA) for SS benefits is calculated by the CPI-W, which is the Index for Urban Wage Earners for the 3rd quarter of the prior year. Project 2025 proposes to index benefits to a different inflation measure, such as the chained CPI, which is the measure of price levels of consumer goods and services, over time. This would likely lead to slower growth in benefits, over time.
SS benefits are a major source of income for 60% of retirees, with an additional 28% relying on their benefits for a minor income source. The Senior Citizen League currently projects a COLA of 2.63% for next year. The average retired worker, currently, collects around $1,900 per month. The projected increase would mean an increase of only $49 per month for the average retiree in 2025.
| < previous PAST RELEVANT WORK IS NOW 5 YEARS |
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