Squared Away Blog

For all the suffering the pandemic caused, it also showcased what federal social programs can do to improve disadvantaged people’s lives. The assistance passed by Congress – all of it temporary – fell short of the ambitious New Deal spending of the 1930s but was more generous than the Great Recession bailout, much of which went to teetering financial institutions rather than individuals. As the pandemic has waned, researchers are assessing an array of policies, including but not limited to relief checks deposited directly into bank accounts, automatic renewal of Medicaid eligibility, and a more generous child tax credit. This blog has already featured research analyzing these COVID-era programs. But it’s worth taking a step back and thinking about t…

Two people in my family who are independent contractors and lack employer health insurance happen to be turning 65 this year and will finally be eligible for Medicare. Hallelujah! A report by KFF, the health care research and news organization, shows why Medicare eligibility is a milestone: 22 percent of people over 65 are paying off debt incurred for routine medical tests, doctors and dental care. While that’s a lot, it’s half as much as the share of older workers paying off medical debt. Retirees are somewhat protected from piling up debt for two reasons, said Alex Cottrill, a KFF policy analyst. Medicare coverage is nearly universal, and retirees usually have an Advantage Plan, Medigap, Medicaid, or a former employer’s…

It is not difficult to find people who have received a fake email claiming to be from the government or a retailer asking them to clear up a problem with their Social Security number, tax filing, or recent purchase. The scammers behind these emails are after personal information or just want the recipients to send money to clear up the issue.  But people can be trained to resist this online fraud. All they need is a little help recognizing some of the common tricks scammers use, by looking for fake URLs – say, amazon.com.tv – or hovering over a link to see where it leads before accidentally clicking into a fraudulent website. In a new study, researchers found that t…

Hard work isn’t always enough. For three decades, two families – the Neumanns and the Stanleys, one White, one Black – fought hard but failed to regain the financial security they had before being laid off from their good manufacturing jobs with benefits.  A powerful and heartbreaking PBS Frontline documentary that aired last week followed them from 1991 until earlier this year, as they moved from one low-paying job to the next, always striving for incremental improvements in their living standards. The timing of this documentary seems particularly relevant in a U.S. election year in which inflation and rising inequality are central concerns for millions of voters.  The two Milwaukee families allowed the reporters to capture intimate portraits not only of…

Black Americans’ homeownership is dramatically lower than it is for Whites, and one reason is discrimination. This also seems to be the case for the LGBTQ+ community, a new study indicates. About half of LGBTQ+ adults said in a survey that they are homeowners. Nearly three out of four who are not LGBTQ+ are homeowners. Why does this matter? As workers build wealth to prepare for their eventual retirement, the equity in their homes is usually their largest store of wealth – and worth more than their retirement accounts. Lower homeownership puts the LGBTQ+ community at a distinct disadvantage. The study, by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, found that the homeownership gap was significant even when the researchers…

For several years before the pandemic, everyone became complacent about an inflation rate hovering reliably around 2 percent. We were jolted from our torpor by the COVID spike in inflation to nearly 9 percent.   Although inflation has come down sharply, the 3 percent rise over the past year is still above pre-pandemic levels. Higher prices remain Americans’ primary concern about the economy. But a new RAND study has good news, at least for some retirees: inflation’s financial hit to their purchasing power is muted. The main reason is that Social Security, the largest single source of a typical retiree’s income, is – in contrast to workers’ paychecks – automatically adjusted every year for inflation. In 2023, the benefit checks…

In the late 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. Social Security Administration subsidized college expenses for young adults with deceased, disabled or retired parents who were receiving dependent benefits. The other requirements were that they were full-time students and remained single while they were in school. The baby boomers who participated in that program, which ended decades ago, have retired or are about to. With more than 40 years of work under their belts, RAND researchers looked back over their careers to see whether the financial support for pursuing a degree had a material effect on their lives. And they found that it did. The boomers in the study with a deceased father who were eligible for the student benefit earned…

One in four 20-somethings in the Boston metropolitan area said in a recent survey that they are planning to quit urban life. Their biggest reason: high housing costs. South Carolina, on the other hand, is booming. It inched past Florida last year as the fastest-growing state. Unassuming Delaware is also growing rapidly. And it is no coincidence that houses in these two states are among the most affordable in the country, according to a state-by-state analysis. “With a cost of living that is 11.5% lower than the national average, people can move to the Palmetto State and see their housing dollars go a lot farther,” South Carolina’s Office of Employment and Workforce boasts on its website. The state reported strong…

After four years of COVID-imposed Zoom meetings, retirement and disability researchers from around the country will meet again in Washington, DC. The theme running through much of the research they will present at the 2024 meeting involves the economic and financial security of various underserved communities. The three-day event, which starts on Wednesday, Aug. 7, will also return to its usual meeting place: the National Press Club in Washington. The agenda and registration information are posted online. Researchers will discuss their latest studies – most of which are funded by the U.S. Social Security Administration – on topics ranging from wealth inequality in racially segregated Chicago to the particular needs of rural communities, women, older LGBTQ+ workers and retirees, and…

Here is just some of what decades of research has revealed about poverty’s ill effects on children: lower birth weights and more obesity, diabetes, asthma, anxiety, smoking, depression, and intellectual disabilities, as well as lower college attendance and a greater likelihood of entering the criminal justice system. And then there is the negative fallout if parents, stressed out about money, don’t have healthy interactions with their children or don’t have time for them.  In 2021, as COVID raged and the economy struggled to recover, Congress provided some financial security to parents by adding a few thousand dollars to the monthly amount they received from the longstanding child tax credit. For one year, the credit increased from $2,000 to $3,600 per…

In the crucible of COVID, the Medicaid expansion that was part of the Affordable Care Act made a difference to older Americans, who were more vulnerable to becoming seriously ill or hospitalized from the virus. In the states that chose to expand the low- or no-cost Medicaid health insurance program to more of their low-income residents, researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that people between the ages of 45 and 64 were better off financially than similar people in the non-expansion states. “The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of the safety net,” the researchers said, “in improving the economic security of households.” By expanding Medicaid, many states made it easier for individuals to qualify by increasing the income limit…

Enjoy the July 4th holiday, which is the start to a long summer weekend for many of our readers. And safe travels!  Squared Away will return next Tuesday and Thursday with its regular weekly blogs. Sign up here for our free email to receive each week’s blog posts in your inbox…