By Rachel L. Sheedy; Kiplinger ~ Oct 28, 2015

Two popular strategies that help married couples boost their Social Security benefits will get the ax if Congress approves a bipartisan budget deal.

See Also: States That Tax Social Security

From Joanna Nesbit; Forbes ~ Oct 28, 2015

While their 84-year-old father recovered at a rehabilitation facility after landing in the hospital with symptoms of a mini-stroke, the Jones (not their real name) siblings took the opportunity to do some cleaning at his house.

Opening the fridge, they were shocked to find layers of mold, hardened food and multiple jars of the same item in varying states of decomposition. They knew solo living had become challenging for their dad, but they didn’t realize the extent of the decline.

By David R. Grube, MD; The Hill ~ Oct 26, 2015

My mom paid a painful price for not completing an advanced directive about her preferences for end-of-life medical care. She was an intelligent and organized woman who had everything in her and my dad’s life planned out and written down. She even drafted her own obituary. Ironically, she never discussed her end-of-life care preferences with my father or her physician son (me), preferring to talk about “more pleasant subjects.”

By Sarah Ferris; The Hill ~ Oct 26, 2015

GOP leaders are pushing structural reforms to Social Security that they believe would avert a 20 percent across-the-board cut in disability benefits next year while saving $200 billion over the next decade by reducing certain benefits.

From “FidelityVoice”; Forbes ~ Oct 22, 2015

December 31 is fast approaching. Have you taken your minimum required distribution (MRD) from your retirement account? Lots of people have not. Be warned: This can be a costly mistake, one that may result in significant tax penalties.

By Amy Baxter; Home Health Care News ~ Oct 22, 2015

Legislation that enables more older adults remain at home instead of moving into a nursing home has passed in Congress. The law expands the Medicare Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) to allow providers to develop pilot programs to serve more people who are at risk of needing a nursing home and certain individuals who are younger than 55.

By Tim Devaney; The Hill ~ Oct 21, 2015

The Department of the Treasury is facing mounting pressure over a proposal to cut retirement benefits for hundreds of thousands of union workers.

Hurtling toward insolvency, the Central States Pension Fund is looking to slash benefits by an average of one-third in order to prevent the program from running out of money in the coming years.

By David Blanchett; The Wall Street Journal ~ Oct 20, 2015

From Northwestern MutualVoice Team; Forbes ~ Oct 12, 2015

Pensions and annuities can be a way of securing a consistent and predictable income during retirement. There are any number of ways to structure them, but one of the key points to think about when setting up a pension or an annuity is how your loved ones will be protected if anything should happen to you.

By Eric Pianin; The Fiscal Times ~ Oct 12, 2015

Former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf has just offered his prescription for addressing the long-term costs of Social Security and Medicare at a time, he says, when the federal debt is on a dangerous upward trajectory and is larger compared with the overall economy than at almost any time in history.

“Therefore, cuts in Social Security or Medicare benefits, or increases in taxes used to finance those programs, will almost certainly be needed to put federal debt on a sustainable path,” Elmendorf wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post.