In the next year, lawmakers will consider different options for Social Security reform. In order to adopt the best policies, they must have all the facts. Unfortunately, much rampant confusion exists about how the Social Security trust funds operate. Some question whether the bonds held as...

For the second year in a row, Social Security recipients will not receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase to their monthly benefits. Social Security benefits only rise when prices go up; in years with low price inflation, they remain steady. And although low price inflation benefits...

On Monday, May 16, 2011, the United States reached the current statutory limit on the federal government's borrowing power, the debt limit or debt ceiling, of $14.294 trillion. In theory, reaching the debt limit constrains the Treasury's regular methods of financing federal activities or meeting...

Politicians often stress that marriage is a key institution that promotes family values. However, many aspects of the federal tax code do not promote marriage and may in fact provide disincentives and penalize marriage. As an alternative to marriage, cohabitation is a common choice for...

Lawmakers have long used the tax code for purposes far beyond simply collecting revenue to fund the federal government. Through the insertion of specialized tax provisions, the tax code is used to achieve policy and political aims as well. But these special provisions come at a price: economic...

Director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Alicia H. Munnell talked with with members of the Retirement Management Journal Editorial Advisory Board in February 2019 about the challenges of addressing retirement policy at the national level and the practical steps advisors...