Social Security

• Joe the Plumber Speaks:
  After being the star of last night's debate, mentioned conservatively a dozen times, "Joe the Plumber" has come forward. His name is Joe Wurzelbacher, an Ohio man who wants to buy a plumbing business. He had spoken with Obama in Toledo this week, and told him his tax plan would prevent him from buying the business. He said of being the example of the night, "It's pretty surreal, man, my name being mentioned in a presidential campaign." He won't say who he's voting for — if he's registered — "That's for me and a button to know."



• Social Security Benefits to Rise:
  Social Security benefits will go up 5.8 percent for 50 million people next year. It's the largest pay rise in more than a quarter of a century. The increase will begin in January and will mean $63 extra per month for the average retiree. The raise is double increase from January this year.




• EU Firm on Climate Goals:
  European Union leaders are resolved to meet their targets and timetable for addressing climate change, despite objections from some countries. Worries that given the global economic situation cutting greenhouse gas emissions will be too costly has caused some countries to threaten to block the plan. French President Sarkozy says, "The climate package is so important that we cannot simply drop it, under the pretext of a financial crisis."

When rebate checks were distributed to Americans this Summer the IRS only cut checks to citizens whose names and social security numbers matched. The IRS recently announced they would be issuing overdue checks to 250,000 couples that qualified for the stimulus but were overlooked because of mismatched names and social security numbers.

If one person decides to change their name after marriage, the change should be reported to the Social Security Administration so their social security number matches the new legal name. Some couples fail to take this step, and this time the oversight meant they missed out on stimulus checks from the government. Going forward, make sure you're accounted for appropriately by following my checklist for changing your name.

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If you haven't already been convinced that committing to retirement savings isn't really up for argument, consider these statements from the Social Security Administration. The average monthly benefit in June 2008 was $1,084.47, but in 2041 Social Security will only be able to pay 78 percent of scheduled benefits. The Motley Fool has calculated the inflation-adjusted equivalent to be $845.89 per month.

It hurts to see the Social Security payments deducted from each paycheck and know that we won't be receiving much back, but at least we have some warning. There's still plenty of time to get going on saving for retirement so that you can live comfortably in your golden years.

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Think you don't have to worry about Social Security until you have one of those license plate thingies that says, "My Other Car Is a Golf Cart?" Not so according to Students For Saving Social Security. They're on a mission to make young people care about retirement, or at least their paychecks. Although nonpartisan, the grassroots group of college students, advocates a typically conservative solution — private ownership of Social Security accounts.

The "S4" website explains: "our very first paychecks will be taxed from a system that cannot fulfill its promises to us." These students believe it is unacceptable that politicians ignore the opinions and welfare of young Americans when discussing Social Security reform. To see what the recommend, read more