As the country and courts continue to debate the importance of marriage in a variety of contexts, when determining Social Security benefits it is clear that marriage matters. Marriage matters for Social Security benefits planning because of meaningful spouse and survivor benefits. Given the...

Selecting the best age to begin social security benefits is an important election for lower-income individuals. These individuals are especially vulnerable to the timing and magnitude of critical cash flow. Unfortunately, the decision models and measures being used by individuals to analyze...

Every day in its annual spinning rotation around the sun the Earth moves from darkness into light. During these 24 hours more than 1,700 American babies are born into poverty. One newborn is delivered into poverty every single minute of every single day in America. About 900 of these beautiful...

The enhancements in the child tax credit (CTC) in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) signed by President Biden on March 11 are a targeted child-centered, economic stimulus. Economists estimate that the 2021 CTC enhancements will increase consumer spending by $27 billion to $37 billion,...

Despite the broad and deep reliance on Social Security benefits, very few of the hundreds of millions of current and future beneficiaries understand how the program works. This article presents through a hypothetical couple some of the basic concepts of the Social Security benefits formula

In this article, the authors reply to Professor Robert Moore's economic analysis of several proposals to redesign the earned income tax credit (EITC). (See Tax Notes, July 5, 1993, p. 105.) Moore suggested that the proposed design changes could result in severe work disincentives. Using the new...