Squared Away Blog

What the heck is a representative payee? Social Security approves a family member or, less frequently, an organization to receive benefits on behalf of an individual who is old and infirm or has a disability. The representative is required to ensure that the benefits are being used to meet the needs of the person in their care. To gauge how well the program is working, Travis Labrum at the University of Pittsburgh conducted lengthy telephone interviews with five people with a mental illness who receive their benefits through a family member and with seven family members acting in that official role. He said that two out of three people who have family representatives managing their finances said they are fairly…

Fewer people with disabilities applied for federal benefits during COVID. The main reason for the drop could’ve been anything from the ease of working at home to evade the virus to the difficulty of applying after Social Security closed its field offices during the pandemic. But fewer applicants does not point to progress. In fact, COVID caused a disproportionate increase in the death rate in the disability community and also attracted younger and possibly sicker applicants with work-limiting conditions to the federal disability programs, according to University of Colorado researcher Lauren Nicholas. Since her findings apply only to the pandemic’s first year, they also raise questions about the longer-term impacts if COVID and related medical conditions continue to bring in…

It is virtually impossible to function in the modern world without a computer or cell phone and broadband. But paying the monthly cell or cable bill can be a stretch for low-income workers and retirees. Congress recognized the importance of having access to the Internet during COVID’s months-long isolation, passing a $1.4 billion program to subsidize broadband. That program, which is run by the FCC, is running out of money. But a more modest federal program in existence since the 1980s, Lifeline, is still in operation. Lifeline subsidizes up to $9.25 per month for cell or Internet service. This is one-third the size of the COVID subsidy that’s expiring. But every little bit helps. Three groups are eligible. Workers and…

The stark difference in Black and White workers’ wealth is old news. But now we have some fresh information about the wealth gap: it grows as people age and move through their retirement years. The most striking deterioration in Blacks’ relative standing can be seen in non-housing wealth. This mainly consists of 401(k)-style plans and savings and investment accounts and does not include the wealth inherent in retirees’ Social Security or employer pensions. In the final years before retirement, the typical White household between ages 50 and 64 has accumulated six times more non-housing wealth than a Black household at that age, according to a new study. During retirement, that imbalance balloons to a tenfold difference – about $173,000 for…

If a 65-year-old signs up for a Medigap policy but decides a year or two later that the premiums are too high, the new retiree can easily switch to an Advantage policy with a low premium. But if, after starting retirement with Advantage, he wants to switch to a more flexible Medigap policy, he could run into problems. A federal rule requires insurance companies that sell Medigap to accept all 65-year-olds – but only when they are new to Medicare. No rejecting new retirees for pre-existing conditions. No charging a higher premium because they are sicker. But once that initial period lapses, Medigap insurers can reject applicants for all kinds of health reasons. This one-way street “detracts from the ability…

In a new survey asking retirees what surprised them about being retired, the big winner – for 43 percent – was how much they’re enjoying it. The rest of the survey indicates that the freedom that comes with leaving the labor force often serves to leaven the considerable sacrifices some have to make for financial reasons. One in four retired households, for example, agree they are “forced to live more frugally than we wanted,” and one in 10 said they’re “spending their nest egg too fast,” according to the survey, fielded in 2023 by Hearts & Wallets, which provides data to the financial industry. I also suspect that one pleasant surprise – having more income than when they were working…

About one in four workers in their 50s and early 60s has a physical or medical condition that limits their ability to work. These impairments can upend retirement plans and force them to make financial sacrifices if they have to apply for disability or sign up early for Social Security. A new research study that looks at four types of injuries – on- versus off-the-job and chronic versus less severe – confirms that they have a dramatic impact on older workers’ earnings and career paths. Start with whether they can continue to work. Older workers who develop an impairment often leave their jobs immediately, regardless of the nature of the impairment, according to the study, which focused on people who…

Aaron Blight and his wife were thrown into the role of caregiver when his mother-in-law was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The couple cared for her for more than five years, juggling her needs with raising their four children. Today, Blight combines a professorship at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, and writing about caregiving with running his company, Caregiving Kinetics, which provides training for professional and family caregivers.  In a recent interview, he discussed four different types of caregivers, whom he describes as “the unheralded and unrecognized” providers of unpaid care valued at some $500 billion per year. He credits Amanda Cooper at the University of Connecticut for the profiles, which she based on the online narratives written by family…

About 11 percent of the children in poor families are living with adults who receive Social Security’s retirement, disability, or supplemental cash benefits. The children are often Black or Hispanic. One out of every four of the families has income below $35,000, and many of the children live with a retired grandparent. If the child does live with a parent, it is often a single mother. While these families rely heavily on their income from Social Security, several federal programs provide additional assistance. A new study documents a dramatic drop in the Supplemental Poverty Rate – from 25 percent to 13 percent – for these vulnerable families when the benefits from three major programs are added to their Social Security:…

To retire is to enter the unknown. Rick Fine has demystified one aspect of retirement: Medicare. As the director of financial planning for an advisory and investment firm, he has put together a list of what he sees as the five biggest mistakes new retirees make. I encourage you to read Fine’s well-written and detailed article about his five mistakes. Here are a few of the high points. Mistake #1: Thinking Medicare is free. It’s a great program but it will cost you $174.70 a month for Medicare’s Part B premium – and much more if you have high income. The Part A hospital coverage and Part B for physician services also have deductibles, as do some of the insuranc…

The recession that economists predicted has never materialized. Unemployment has been under 4 percent for more than two years, a low more characteristic of the go-go 1960s than modern times. But although consumer sentiment, as measured by the University of Michigan’s monthly survey, is improving, it is still mired in the same territory that it was after the 2008 financial crisis.  The first reason is, of course, fallout from COVID-fueled inflation. Americans continue to feel the pain of paying more for everything from eggs and consumer goods to cars. But inflation began to ease up last year and remains well below the pandemic’s 9 percent peak, despite March’s unwelcome increase of 3.5 percent annually. So how to explain consumers’ sour…

During the pandemic, the U.S. Social Security Administration leaned into providing more services and processing applications online. But that has furthered the agency’s disconnect with Native Americans living miles from its field offices in rural areas with poor internet access. That’s one conclusion from a new study of the agency’s effectiveness in reaching Native American and Alaskan Native populations. The study included some analysis of data on these communities but was based largely on interviews with tribal leaders, community members, advocates, and the government staff who assist people applying for Social Security and other government benefits. Although tribal communities have a higher poverty rate than non-Native populations, their members are somewhat less likely to be receiving Social Security’s various benefits,…