By Stephen Ohlemacher; The Associated Press ~ Jan 12, 2015

WASHINGTON (AP) — People who owe old debts to the Social Security Administration are getting a reprieve this tax season: The federal government won’t be seizing their tax refunds.

Acting Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin suspended a debt collection program last spring in which thousands of people had tax refunds seized to recoup overpayments that happened more than a decade ago. Members of Congress complained that some people were being forced to repay benefits they received decades ago as children.

By Neale Godfrey; Forbes ~ Jan 11, 2015

Why am I talking to grandparents about the topic of money savvy kids? Because we, as grandparents, have a special relationship with our grandkids and we can really be a positive influence. This is the perfect topic for you to support. The other reality is that we may have more free time than our Millennial children, who are now raising their kids.

From Adam Levin; ABC News ~ Jan 11, 2015

During the holiday season a missed or stolen package can be aggravating, which is doubtless why you eagerly watched for deliveries all December, calling the nanosecond you suspected a problem. Unfortunately, many employers don’t send tracking numbers when the packet of vital documents marked “Important Tax Information Enclosed” hits the mail destined for your home address.

By Jennifer Waters; The Wall Street Journal ~ Jan 11, 2015

With the new year, the Social Security Administration is implementing new rules regarding your income—whether you’re retired or not.

If you’re still working and not collecting benefits, you’ll have to earn more before the government stops withholding payroll taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, or FICA, for Social Security insurance.

This year’s income threshold is $118,500, up from $117,000 last year. The tax rate is 6.2% for employees and 6.2% for employers. If you’re self-employed, you pay the entire 12.4%.

By Lauran Neergaard; The Associated Press ~ Jan 10, 2015

WASHINGTON (AP) — Adjusting medications before someone gets sick enough to visit the doctor. Updating outside specialists so one doctor’s prescription doesn’t interfere with another’s.

Starting this month, Medicare will pay primary care doctors a monthly fee to better coordinate care for the most vulnerable seniors – those with multiple chronic illnesses – even if they don’t have a face-to-face exam.

The goal is to help patients stay healthier between doctor visits, and avoid pricey hospitals and nursing homes.

From Mari Silbey; Light Reading ~ Jan 09, 2015

Following Verizon into the world of multicast LTE, AT&T has announced it will host the first live, on-site demo of LTE Broadcast technology at next week’s college football national championship game.

Multicast LTE, known officially as evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS), uses a slice of spectrum to broadcast content to nearby compatible devices. Instead of sending each user a dedicated stream of content, multicast LTE provides one content stream that users can tune in to, much like a traditional broadcast TV solution. The technology significantly improves bandwidth efficiency and can be used to target content delivery in a specific place, during a specific time period.

From “The Boomer”; Fox Business ~ Jan 09, 2015

When the time comes for checking your financial to-do list, estate planning is most likely the last item you’ll get to—if you get around to it at all. It is estimated 120 million Americans lack an up-do-date estate plan.

Business owners also need to add succession planning to their checklist to ensure an effective transition following the founder’s retirement or death.

The New Year is a great time to organize your assets to avoid family fights and prevent a majority of your estate from going to the government.

Tom Jones, shareholder and chair of the corporate practice group at Chamberlain Hrdlicka (Atlanta), discussed the following essential considerations for estate and succession planning:

By Wendy Davis; Media Post ~ Jan 08, 2015

The Federal Trade Commission hauled AT&T into court last October for throttling the mobile broadband speeds of wireless customers who pay for unlimited data.

This week, the telecom fired back by asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed on the grounds that it’s a “common carrier” and, therefore, not subject to FTC jurisdiction. “The FTC lacks authority to bring suit against AT&T,” the company argues in papers filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The company adds that its entitled to dismissal even though mobile data isn’t subject to common-carrier rules. “The fact that AT&T’s mobile data services are not regulated as common-carrier services under the Communications Act is irrelevant,” the telecom writes. AT&T also says in its papers that it started throttling users in order “to preserve a high quality experience for all of its customers, by preventing heavy users of data from overwhelming the mobile network and degrading service for all.”

By Mark Miller; Reuters ~ Jan 08, 2015

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Since the midterm elections, President Obama has taken decisive action on immigration reform, climate change and relations with Cuba. Now, the new Republican-controlled Congress has handed him another opportunity to act boldly – by leaving a legacy as a strong defender of Social Security.

House Republicans signaled this week that they are gearing up for a major clash over the country’s most important retirement program. In a surprise move, they adopted a rule on the first day of the new session that effectively forbids the House from approving any financial fix to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program unless it is coupled with broader reforms. That would almost surely mean damaging benefit cuts for retirees struggling in the post-recession economy.