New Social Security Changes buried in Budget Act of 2015 kills "File and Suspend" Strategy for Retirees

The Congress, Senate, and President screwed future retirees and didn't tell you about it.

They cut our Social Security Benefits !!!
(from http://theliepolitic.com/2015/10/why-they-really-want-to-cut-social-security/)

On Monday November 2, 2015, President Obama signed into law the "Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015" which was proposed and passed by both the Republicans and Democrats in both Houses of Congress. As part of this Act, the section "TITLE VIII - SOCIAL SECURITY, Subtitle C - Protecting Social Security Benefits" essentially eliminates the ability for future retirees to collect spousal benefits while suspending their own at the same time.

The new Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 still allows individuals to:

• "File and Suspend" their benefits once they reach full retirement age, allowing benefits to grow by 8% annually; or to
• Collect the higher of spousal benefits or the benefits based on their own work record.

But, people cannot both "file and suspend" and "collect" at the same time unless they are already doing so. This means that nothing can be collected from a "suspended" account.

In the past, any person who reached full retirement age could "file and suspend" their benefits. Then, if married (or divorced), they could collect spousal benefits based on their partner's SSI work history. This meant that both a husband and wife could simultaneously suspend their benefits from age 66 to 70, and one of them could collect a spousal benefit at the same time (which is equal to 1/2 of a persons FRA benefit).

However, the new  Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 prevents anyone from collecting benefits on "suspended" account, and after April 30 2016, nobody can "file and suspend" if they are collecting spousal benefits.

Congress provided very little time for both retirees and near-retirees to react and adjust their retirement strategies:

• They prevent anyone who turns 62 after December 31 2015 from both collecting spousal benefits and suspending their benefits. Once they have received a benefit (either theirs or spousal), they have forfeited their right to suspend. However, if they do not collect, they may suspend.
• Those who are 62 and above at the end of 2015 can collect spousal benefits and suspend at the same time.
• But, to qualify for the above, their spouse has only 180 days to have either: begun collecting or have "filed and suspended" benefits. Since the Act was signed into law on November 2 2015, the 180 day grace period ends on April 30 2016. If a spouse has not filed before this date, the spousal benefit is forfeited.

What steps MUST you take?

There is very little wiggle room in this new law. However, the "small" group of people who are 66 or older can still protect most of their benefits.

• First, if you are of Full Retirement Age (now or soon), either file for benefits or "file and suspend" before April 30 2016.
• Second, if you have reached FRA and have not filed - do so immediately. If you do this after April 30 2016, you lose the ability for someone to collect your spousal benefits.
• Third, if you can file, do so immediately. We anticipate that SSI will experience backlogs as the April 30th deadline nears, and many will be "out of luck" simply due to bureaucracy.
• Fourth, those of you who are already collecting benefits are "grandfathered-in", meaning you will not lose their benefits. So, don't worry, you are not affected.

Examples

Situation 1:Tom 68 has filed for benefits 2 years ago and suspended his payments. His wife, Elaine 66, began collecting spousal benefits and suspended her payments as well. Action: Since they have both filed, above FRA, and already collecting, nothing will change.

Situation 2: Fred is 67, above FRA, but he did not file for benefits. By not filing, Fred's benefits are growing at 8% per year (just like suspending). His wife Alice is 65 and will turn 66 next October, and she expects to suspend her benefits then and begin collecting spousal benefits. Action: Fred must "File and Suspend" NOW. If he does not file before April 30 2016, Alice will not be able to both suspend her benefits and collect spousal benefits in October.

Assuming Fred does file in time, Fred and Alice must make more decisions. If Alice begins to collect spousal benefits, then Fred must "unsuspend" and beging receiving SSI as well. Alice can continue to defer her benefits until age 70 because she was older than 62 on December 31 2015.

Because Alice does is not of FRA before the April 30th deadline, Fred cannot collect spousal benefits on Alice's account.

Situation 3: Mike turns 66 in February. His wife Jean is 64. Action: Mike must file for SSI in February. He can either take benefits or defer. Because Jean is currently above 62, she retains the ability to collect spousal benefits and to defer her own SSI payments. If Mike files after April 30, Jean will lose her option to collect and defer.

Situation 4: Bobby is turning 66 in March 2016. His wife Rachel is 61, and turns 62 on January 1 2016. Action: Bobby should file in March and can defer or receive payments. Rachel cannot defer if she receives any SSI benefits at all whether they be her own or spousal. This is because she is under 62 on December 31 2015.


Why were these changes made?

• Because only a small group of old people will be affected (those near retirement age)
• Those already receiving benefits will not care
• The younger people are too dumb to know what happened
• The Congress and President want to increase their own retirement benefits
• To save Social Security?
• To close a loophole?
• Because we want to spend more on Government and screw the American public

Notes and references:

H.R.1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015

• TITLE VIII - SOCIAL SECURITY
• Subtitle C - Protecting Social Security Benefits
• Sec. 831. Closure of unintended loopholes.
• Signed into law by President Obama on Monday November 2 2015
• Senate Passed
• Congress Passed

42 USC 402: Old-age and survivors insurance benefit payments

• Existing SSI Law - prior to Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015

Neither of  two articles below mentions the above changes.

• Obama signs 2-year budget, debt deal before default deadline
• What the budget deal means for retirees

This source helps to describe the changes.

• Here's How Congress Just Cut Social Security For Baby Boomer Couples

The global warming and climate change hoax overplays receding glaciers

The politicians and proponents of taxing carbon emissions have continually cited "Global Warming" as the reason we must impose new taxes.  However, a variety of sources have uncovered evidence of manipulated temperature record keeping for the purposes of supporting the global warming hoax.  After this was publicized, the proponents changed their argument to "climate change".

Well, having been around for quite a few years, I've learned that the climate is always changing. Sometimes it is hot, cold, rainy, snowy, dry, cloudy, sunny, or even simply mild. Because of these seasonal and yearly fluctuations, I've always dismissed the climate change argument.

However, global warming is a bit more interesting. Here in the northeastern United States, temperatures have been above normal for most of the winter months. That seems like warming to me. But then I read about the record breaking low temperatures in Alaska and Europe this year, and it seems like cooling to me.

Wattsupwiththat.com wrote an interesting article that summarizes the sub-zero temperatures experienced in various parts of Alaska this year titled: Bitter cold records broken in Alaska – all time coldest record nearly broken, but Murphy’s Law intervenes. And, a search for the term "record cold in alaska" returns

• Record Lowest Temperatures by State — Infoplease.com (note Alaska in 1971)
• Record Cold in Alaska – updated | WOODTV.com Blogs (September 2010)
• Media Ignore Near-Record Cold in Alaska | NewsBusters.org (April 2007)

Looking at this list, we realize that it has been cold in Alaska for a number of years. That consistency hardly qualifies for either "climate change" or "global warming".

Undaunted, the proponents point to the glaciers and scream "The Glaciers are Receding!" This proves that global warming exists.

Unfortunately, glaciers grow and recede as part of their natural life-cycle. Years ago, I visited an Alaskan glacier. The ranger there explained why using glaciers as an argument was a fallacy. He told us:

Glaciers are formed by the constant snow in the mountains. As the snow builds up, it becomes a glacier by compressing the snow at the bottom into hard ice. After a while, the force of the snow becomes too great for the friction to hold the glacier on the slopes. When this happens, the glacier slides down the mountain. Thus it is growing. After a while, the glacier is spread over a wide surface and the friction holds it in place. Because the lower portion is at a lower altitude and in warmer temperatures, that portion begins to melt away. This means the glacier is receding. After some point, the snow at the top builds up again, and forces the glacier to slide down the mountain again. Thus, the glacier naturally grows and recedes.

A number of sources verify the park rangers explanation You can see this by visiting the following sites:

• Glaciers (animated source -click on "Overview" button, then arrow forward at "Types of Glaciers")
• PBS: Interactive Anatomy of a Glacier
• NSIDC: All about Glaciers

Additionally, the book Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud by Robert L. Park provides an excellent description of this and other scientific hoaxes.

White House Gone Motown!

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Last night, Michelle and President Barak Obama took a well deserved break from their daily chores of tending to: the unrest in the Middle East, the death of 4 American sailors, two wars, closing Gitmo, moving terrorist trials to New York City, suing Arizona, supporting Gay marriage rights, and more, by hosting "The Motown Sound: In Performance at the White House".

This lavish gala was a tribute to Motown founder Berry Gordy and the early performers who shattered the color barriers of the day and became superstars of our culture. As this year's Black History Month comes to a close, the "Peoples House", as it is now called, was opened to a select audience that included young music students from across the country.

In the video below, First Lady Michelle Obama begins the event by welcoming Smokey Robinson, John Legend, Berry Gordy and others to the White House crowd in attendance.





According to Mail Online the event was held in the East Room and funded by the taxpayers. Included in the diverse set of performers and audience were a variety of previous campaign contributors. The official video of the performance will be aired on March 1st on PBS.

To avoid the harsh conservative criticism that the Obama's Super Bowl party received, last night's menu was not published to the public. However, since yesterday was also National Chili Day, we're sure that varieties of chili were served along with health portions of carrots and celery sticks.

We applaud the First Family for recognizing these early music pioneers at a time the world is in turmoil. It is often important to take a break. We look forward to viewing the edited version of the performance on TV and are pleased to see where our tax dollars are going.

Blogversary Contest Extended to March 18th

For the past week or so, I've been writing a number of articles in response to Kay & Pehpot's Blogversary Contest which was initially planned to end on February 28, 2010. But, it has been:

Extended to March 18, 2010

As per Pehpot's post (hyperlink above), there is still both: time to join; and, earn extra points by commenting on contest sponsor & member sites.

When I first wrote about this Contest, I was rather skeptical. But since that time, I've gotten into the spirit, and tried to fulfill many of the requirements for earning extra points.

So, it you want a chance to earn a little extra, then you've got to join now. Besides the possibility of earning some money, you'll also get a chance to visit and read some very good blogs. And, along the way, you'll probably make a few more sincere friends!

Blog Review: Mom Conversations

Introduction

The fourth and last major sponsor of  Kaye and Pehpot's Blogversary contest is the blog:

Mom Conversations

It is written from a mother's viewpoint, and I can only assume that it's author is a mother. The focus of the articles vary from child problems to pregnancy related health topics.

Design

This blog sports a minimal design, primarily consisting of the posts only. Accompanying the written posts are well place navigation menus, tabs,  clouds, and links to recent posts.

This is one site that does not display any ads, from any source. Therefore, the reader is not distracted nor tempted to travel on to another site.

Theme & Content

Presently, the 3 main page blog posts discuss early childhood problems that a new mother may encounter. The post Why Do  Kids Whine - The Whys of Whining discuss the irritating behavior of a whining child. Advice is given on how to cope with this frustration, and especially how to prevent it.

Writing Style & Grammar

Regardless of the topic, the author writes about 6-8 paragraphs on each topic. Thus, the topic is well covered from start to finish. Take, for example, the Training the Picky Eaters article. It begins with a statement of the problem, followed by measures a parent can follow to ensure that the child has a well balanced and healthy diet.

Trivia

Did you know that the habit of fibbing is especially prominent in adolescents? After reading The Truth about White Lies you will learn the which lies are harmful and which are simply part of growing up. What many parents consider to be lies may only be the fantasy expressions of an imaginative child.

Drawbacks

The one problem that I found with this blog was that many of the tabs and category links all pointed to a single article: How to Treat Hemorrhoids - Hemorrhoid Relief. You get there from the Photos tab, the Featured Category, the Health and Fitness Category, and more. I never realized this was such a popular topic.

Recommendation

If you are a new mother, or a parent of facing a stubborn child, Mom Conversations is a great place to begin looking for advice. The articles here are well written, on target, and informative. If you begin reading this blog, you will look forward to the publication of each new article!

Seiko's Diary - Blog Review

Introduction

The third major sponsor of  Kaye and Pehpot's Blogversary contest is a blog titled:

Seiko's Diary

It is written by a working mother who is devoted to her family. Her four children are all girls, and her husband is always helping them out.

Design

The blog uses the "Fashionholic Template", which is fitting to a woman's diary. The background is white with black text, and the titles + links + border are pink.

While the site contains tabbed pages, two of those are RSS feeds. One is a feed of the posts; and the other is a feed of the comments. (The other two tabs are Home and Edit.)

Along the right, is a wide sidebar containing a variety of Link entries, network communities, awards, and other goodies.

Theme & Content

The theme of the site centers on Seiko's viewpoint, wishes, desires, and experiences as a women. Her latest post, Girls Talk: Me As A lover describes her devotion to her husband. From the title, one might think it's about sex. But, it isn't. It's an article about a woman in love with her husband, an touches upon her differences and frustrations.

Writing Style & Grammar

Seiko's writing style is very fluent and descriptive. The CC: Brfeakfast In Bed post shows her wonderful husband cooking breakfast for his hard-working wife.  Seiko expresses her secret desires to enjoy an hour of privacy & silence, and enjoying Breakfast in Bed allows her this luxury while her husband is cooking.

From reading her blogger "About Me" page, we learn that Seiko is in the Marketing Industry and lives in Japan.

While her blog contains a few typo's and grammatical errors, her grasp of English and written expression is extremely good.

Trivia

In the official contest announcement of the 4 major sponsors, it is written that Seiko is a mom of 5 children. However, all her pictures and writings only refer to 4 children.

Perhaps the reason that people think she has 5 kids is that she is often in the pictures with them. And, since she looks so young, visitors would assume she is one of the children too.

Drawbacks

The site has two major drawbacks. First, it contains a music widget containing a list of her favorite songs. These begin playing as soon as the blog loads, and the songs can't be stopped.  As a result, this is annoying, not only because of the noise, but  because it slows down the loading and consumes our computer.

The second drawback is the Entrecard widget. When pressed, we get the "No such user" message. (Perhaps because the music widget violated Entrecards Terms and Conditions?)

Recommendation

Besides the drawbacks, Seiko's Diary is an enjoyable blog to read and visit. Here, you will learn a little bit of what "women think"; watch and learn about a wonderful family; and lastly, learn a bit about another culture!

Anak Ni Kulapo - Blog Review

Introduction

The second major sponsor of  Kaye and Pehpot's Blogversary contest is another blog written by Buraot called:

Anak Ni Kulapo

It is primarily written for the Filipino community and is written in the Filipino Language. Since many of our various blogging communities are from the Philippines, writing in their native language is selectively limiting to a single geographic and ethnic culture.

For this reason, I have no idea what it says, but can pick up an occasional word here and there. Therefore, my blog review is only limited to my opinion, which may be way off base.

Design

The blog template is the "Firebug Theme by Blog Oh! Blog". It is a black background white titles and text. The comments, tags, and links are all in vibrant red, blue, and green shades. The black background provides a very effective to the illustrative pictures.

The site contains 5 seperate pages. The Home page contains the posts. This is followed by a FAQu! page, and others. Ads, Social network widgets, and links to posts are organized on the right-hand sidebar.

In general, the design is very professional looking.

Theme & Content

The theme of the site appears to be irony and humor. When visiting the main page url, the user is greeted with a number of posts on the left. Each has a picture and a description. The May Nag-Text post features a man on the side of a street trying to speak into a huge nokia cell phone. I guess that since phone booths have all but disappeared, they need to be replaced by, what else, streetside cell phones. Quite odd.

Another post titled Juice Ko Po! shows a picture of packaged buns with the brand name Jussipussi. Hmmm, regardless of the language one speaks, most men can immediately see the humor.

Writing Style & Grammar

As an English speaking visitor, I do not understand the Filipino language, thus, I cannot comment on the author's writing style or grammar.

However, the posts are littered with "Quoted" phrases, which are intended to have the reader feel as if someone is actually speaking.

Trivia

Words in different languages can certainly bring a smile to the viewer. If you read the Kahit Gaano Kalaki post, you will immediately chuckle when you see the big bag of Grill Flamed Megapussi. Apparently, pussi is very big in the Philippines.

Recommendation

Anak Ni Kulapo is a blog that everyone should visit. If you understand Filipino, you will experience Buraot's humor first hand. But, if you are like me and can't understand this language, you will be entertained by looking at the pictures and making up your own interpretation!

Blog Review: I Am Buraot

Introduction

As part of  of Kaye and Pehpot's Blogversary contest's bonus requirements, entrants are asked to review the 4 major sponsors. I have chosen to review these in the order of the links they presented, and thus, begin with a review of

I Am Buraot

This blog is written by a skeptical pessimist, who focuses on a variety of antisocial topics ranging from Entrecard, blogspot, to the road to nowhere.

Many fellow bloggers are already familiar with the  Entredropper section of the blog. This is the area where one can register their blog's url, and pick up the "Entrecard generator" widget to paste on their site. It is a free service that the author provides to help folks pop-up and multiple EC sites for the single purpose of saving time in performing the monotonous 300 drops per day.

Design

From the site, we find that I am Buraot  sports a free "Wordpress Agregado Theme". There is a menu across the top, allowing visitors to easily move from section to section.Underneath is the blog Title, followed by the content section and footer.

Of the pages I visited, each page presents a consistent format, making visitors feel comfortable and welcome.

Theme & Content

The theme of the site oscillates between Entercard dropping lists, and philosophical essays.  While the blogger's intent  seems to focus on the essays, it is apparent that the EC dropping list has dominated the content.

Writing Style & Grammar

But, don't be fooled, the author is a polished writer, with a natural gift of expression. One of the most interesting posts that I read was entitled: The Paradox of the Road to Nowhere. It is written in the "first person" and full of imagery. Quite reflective, every reader will relate to the road of life.

Trivia

While it seems that a blog offering a Entrecard Dropping Widget may not be popular, many would be surprised to learn the number of lists that are currently active. At present, there are 47 lists, each containing 10 sites. Wow, that's 470 registered members!

Recommendation

If you haven't already visited this site, you must. The EC widget is displayed on so many blogs that you already know.  And, while you are there, you should visit the home page and read a few of the enchanting posts.