Every October, the Social Security Administration announces a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that directly impacts retirees’ payments for the coming year. The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced earlier this month that Social Security benefits will increase by 5.9% in 2022, the largest annual increase in 40 years. The cost-of-living adjustment will affect about 70 million people… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Financial Planning
Why Biden’s “Step-Up In Basis” Repeal Won’t Happen
Candidate Joe Biden promised a lot of tax increases when he was running for the highest office in the land in 2019 and last year. Yet since he’s been president, he hasn’t followed through on those promises, at least not so far. This is largely because thanks to Democrat Senators like Joe Manchin (WV) and… Continue Reading
Household Net Worth Soars To Record High In 2021
The net worth of American households surged to a new all-time high in the first quarter of 2021, buoyed by a faster than expected recovery of the US economy from the COVID-19 recession. Last week, the Fed reported that household net worth surged $6.7 trillion or 3.8% in first-quarter 2021 from fourth-quarter 2020 to reach… Continue Reading
Average American Pays $525,000 In Taxes Over Lifetime
The average American will pay $525,037 in taxes over their lifetime, according to a new study by financial technology company Self. Taxes for the purpose of this study included income taxes, state and local taxes, property taxes, sales taxes and taxes on automobiles. The report says this amount represents an average of 34.3% of lifetime earnings. Nearly… Continue Reading
A Biden Income Tax Move I Actually Agree With
As regular readers know, I opposed President Biden’s latest $1.9 trillion stimulus plan which became law last week. In my view (and many others), it is way too big; 90% of it is for liberal pork barrel spending; and the economy is already on-track for its strongest growth in decades, without the giant stimulus goose.… Continue Reading