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Ask Rusty: I’m Concerned About Social Security Solvency
Dear Rusty: I retired at age 58. My husband and I worked 40 years of employment each. I had a 401(k) only — no other benefits. We saved, we invested through our financial advisor, and have done okay watching our investments grow (except for the last three years). Neither my husband nor I have taken […]
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Dear Rusty: I retired at age 58. My husband and I worked 40 years of employment each. I had a 401(k) only — no other benefits. We saved, we invested through our financial advisor, and have done okay watching our investments grow (except for the last three years). Neither my husband nor I have taken Social Security; we were both waiting until age 70 to get full benefits. Do you think this is still wise? I’m concerned there will not be any funds in five years when we both turn 70.
Signed: Concerned Senior
Dear Concerned Senior: Your question relates to Social Security solvency, no doubt inspired by the recent spate of media discussion on this topic. Most articles I’ve read promote a “doomsday” scenario and, in fairness, Social Security’s financial issues are serious. The latest report from the trustees of Social Security warned Congress that the reserves now held in Social Security’s Trust Fund (which enable full benefits to be paid) will be depleted as early as 2033. What you may not know is that this is not new news — the trustees have sounded the same warning for decades to multiple Congresses, which have neglected to enact corrective measures. And, unfortunately, Congress is likely to continue to drag its feet for a while because the reform needed is not politically palatable and the impact is still a few years away.
Nevertheless, although Social Security’s looming financial issues are serious, they are not fatal. Congress already knows how to fix Social Security’s financial issues — it just currently lacks the bipartisan spirit and political will needed to do so. The clock, however, is ticking and Congress will be forced to act soon, which we are confident will happen before the Trust Funds run dry. What motivates most politicians is getting reelected and allowing an across-the-board cut to all Social Security (SS) recipients (which would happen if the Trust Fund reserves were depleted) would be political suicide. Therefore, I’m confident that reform will occur in time, and I don’t suggest changing your Social Security claiming strategy over worries about Social Security’s solvency.
Let me further allay your fears by explaining what would hypothetically happen in the worst-case scenario (if Congress doesn’t act and Trust Funds are depleted). If that were to occur, when the reserves are depleted in about 2033, everyone would face an across-the-board benefit cut. Social Security can’t go bankrupt because there would still be about 175 million workers contributing to the program but, since SS (by law) can only pay benefits from revenue received, everyone’s benefit would be reduced by about 23 percent (according to the trustees). Every beneficiary would still get benefits, but only to the extent available from income received. That brings me to your specific question —whether it is still wise to wait until age 70 to claim (or to claim your benefits now).
Ask yourself this question: which would result in a larger monthly payment, a 23 percent cut to your age 70 SS payment amount, or a 23 percent cut to your current benefit amount? The answer, of course, is that your monthly payment would be more if you stay with your current strategy and wait until age 70 to claim (a plan which I assume you developed considering your current financial needs, as well as your life expectancy, both of which are important to that decision).
Again, I do not believe the worst-case scenario will happen. Congress already knows how to restore Social Security to full solvency, and it will almost certainly act in time to avoid an across-the-board cut to everyone’s benefit. The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) has proposed legislation that would restore the Social Security program to full solvency for generations without raising payroll taxes — a summary of which you are welcome to review at: www.amac.us/social-security. AMAC has provided this proposal to various members of Congress for consideration.
Russell Gloor is a national Social Security advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC). The 2.4-million-member AMAC says it is a senior advocacy organization. Send your questions to: ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.
Author’s note: This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). The NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity.
AmeriCU names manager of new Virtual Financial Center
ROME, N.Y. — AmeriCU Credit Union announced it has hired Mark DeCilles as manager of its new Virtual Financial Center. Recently launched, the Virtual Financial Center gives members access to credit-union services online from anywhere with a team able to handle transactions, inquiries, and applications virtually. It offers live chat, audio calls, and video chat.
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ROME, N.Y. — AmeriCU Credit Union announced it has hired Mark DeCilles as manager of its new Virtual Financial Center.
Recently launched, the Virtual Financial Center gives members access to credit-union services online from anywhere with a team able to handle transactions, inquiries, and applications virtually. It offers live chat, audio calls, and video chat.
In his new role, DeCilles will oversee and manage the day-to-day operations at the Virtual Financial Center, building a strong team and focusing on the local community.
DeCilles began his career in hospital administration prior to joining AmeriCU, and most recently served as administrator for the Center for Sight Watertown Eye Center, according to his LinkedIn profile. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from SUNY Brockport and holds a certificate in health-care leadership from Cornell University.
“I am excited to take on this new role,” DeCilles said in an AmeriCU news release. “It is my goal to enhance the member experience and provide our members the right financial services to live life, dream big, and achieve financial success. I am a strong advocate for our community and continue to do so through my personal and professional values. This position gives me the ability to stay connected to our members from anywhere they may be.”
DeCilles has served on several North Country boards including the Town of Brownville Fire District, Watertown Chamber of Commerce, and the NNY Fort Drum’s Association of the United States Army, where he served for 17 years including one term as president.
With assets of $2.7 billion, AmeriCU Credit Union operates 20 branches in Auburn, Camillus, Cazenovia, Cicero, Cortland, Fayetteville, Fort Drum, Herkimer, Liverpool, Lowville, North Utica, Oneida, Rome, Syracuse, Utica, Watertown, and Yorkville. The not-for-profit financial institution has more than 158,000 members across a nine-county region.
Hancock Estabrook adds corporate and tax attorney
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Hancock Estabrook, LLP recently announced that Ryan M. Hartnett has joined as an associate attorney in the Syracuse law firm’s corporate, tax and startup & emerging business practice areas. Hartnett represents a variety of clients in business activities that include mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, business restructuring, and tax disputes and controversies, according
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Hancock Estabrook, LLP recently announced that Ryan M. Hartnett has joined as an associate attorney in the Syracuse law firm’s corporate, tax and startup & emerging business practice areas.
Hartnett represents a variety of clients in business activities that include mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, business restructuring, and tax disputes and controversies, according to a Hancock Estabrook news release. He often counsels closely-held business entities with succession planning, routinely structuring financially viable and tax advantageous transactions.
Hartnett also works with high-net-worth individuals in developing and implementing comprehensive estate and wealth plans that are customized to minimize gift and estate taxes, while furthering non-tax goals, Hancock Estabrook noted.
He received his J.D. degree from Western New England University School of Law and his LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. Hartnett also received an MBA degree from Utica University and a bachelor’s degree from Le Moyne College, according to his biography on the Hancock Estabrook website. He is admitted to practice in New York state and Massachusetts.
Hartnett was previously an associate attorney at Mackenzie Hughes LLP in Syracuse. There, he practiced in all areas of federal, state, and local tax law, focusing on corporate tax planning, employee benefits, estate and gift tax, and tax controversy.
CFCU names new chief production officer
ITHACA, N.Y. — CFCU Community Credit Union recently announced that it has appointed William Crane as its new chief production officer. In this role on the credit union’s executive-leadership team, Crane is responsible for the development, implementation, and oversight of a formal business-development plan for the growth and expansion of the credit union. Crane
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ITHACA, N.Y. — CFCU Community Credit Union recently announced that it has appointed William Crane as its new chief production officer.
In this role on the credit union’s executive-leadership team, Crane is responsible for the development, implementation, and oversight of a formal business-development plan for the growth and expansion of the credit union.
Crane manages territorial activities and the productivity of the sales force, assesses the charter of the credit union for growth and expansion opportunities, and manages the field of membership. He oversees marketing, service excellence, wealth management, project management, continuous improvement, and also has administrative responsibility for the credit union’s internal audit.
Crane also serves as chief information security officer and is on the board of managers of CFCU Technology Partners CUSO (credit union service organization).
He volunteers on the board as well as the audit and property committees of Kendal at Ithaca and serves as a member of the NYCUA Government Affairs Committee.
CFCU Community Credit Union, a nonprofit financial institution with more than $1.2 billion in assets, serves residents in Tompkins, Cortland, Seneca, Cayuga, Ontario, Madison, and Onondaga counties. It operates 14 branches serving more than 82,000 members.
LaBarbera joins Baird Private Wealth Management Utica branch
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — Baird Private Wealth Management announced the addition of Melissa LaBarbera at its Utica–area branch. LaBarbera assists Managing Director Scott George and his clients. She assists with all aspects of client service including scheduling appointments, preparing performance reviews, completing account documents, opening accounts, and facilitating financial transactions. She also manages correspondence, maintains
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NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — Baird Private Wealth Management announced the addition of Melissa LaBarbera at its Utica–area branch.
LaBarbera assists Managing Director Scott George and his clients. She assists with all aspects of client service including scheduling appointments, preparing performance reviews, completing account documents, opening accounts, and facilitating financial transactions. She also manages correspondence, maintains electronic files, and addresses client inquiries and requests.
The office also welcomed Alec Firsching, Matthew Moore, and Ethan Whitehead as temporary associates. They will assist the branch in various capacities during the summer.
With client assets of more than $375 billion, Baird has more than 1,300 financial advisors serving clients from more than 160 locations in 33 states. Its Utica office is located at 555 French Road, Building 2, in New Hartford.
The company is an employee-owned wealth-management, asset-management, investing-banking/capital markets, and private-equity firm. It has more than 5,100 employees companywide.
OPINION: Coming Together to Protect Vulnerable New Yorkers
One of the most important jobs we have as lawmakers is protecting the interests of those in danger. This is something nearly all legislators can agree on regardless of their political background or what region they represent. We must protect those who need it most. Recently, the Assembly minority conference has advocated alongside our majority
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One of the most important jobs we have as lawmakers is protecting the interests of those in danger. This is something nearly all legislators can agree on regardless of their political background or what region they represent. We must protect those who need it most.
Recently, the Assembly minority conference has advocated alongside our majority colleagues for two important measures to keep New Yorkers safe. Bill A.2231, also known as Jacobe’s Law, and bill A.6026, also known as Melanie’s Law, are both born of tragedy, and for that reason they are all the more important to pass into law.
Jacobe’s Law is carried by Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh (R,C–Ballston) and co-sponsored by legislators on both sides of the political aisle. It would require school administrators to contact the parents or guardians of students who are bullied or harassed and was written after 13-year-old Jacobe Taras tragically took his life as a result of being bullied.
Additionally, Melanie’s Law extends orders of protection to all immediate family members of a crime victim regardless of that family member’s age. This bill honors Melanie Chianese, a young woman killed by her mother’s ex-boyfriend. Per statute, the order of protection shielding Melanie’s mother and Melanie’s infant son did not include Melanie as she was deemed ineligible due to her age, 29, at the time she was killed. Assemblyman Anil Beephan Jr. (R,C–East Fishkill) has worked hard to gain traction for this legislation and has co-sponsored it alongside our majority colleagues.
In both instances, these bipartisan bills work to accomplish the same goal: protect the vulnerable. With measures in place to keep parents informed about what goes on while they are not in the direct care of their children and to ensure those exposed to dangerous individuals because of where they live, or who they are related to, are afforded proper protection, we can better identify those who need help and seek ways to insulate them from danger.
I am proud of the work our Assembly minority conference has put into advocating for these bills and the New Yorkers they will ultimately save. These measures represent the best of what we do as lawmakers, which is to come together to guard those who need it most. Together, we can make New York a safer place for all those who live and visit here, and that is, ultimately, the most important thing we can do to serve those who elected us to office.
William (Will) A. Barclay, 54, Republican, is the New York Assembly minority leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses all of Oswego County, as well as parts of Jefferson and Cayuga counties.
OPINION: Immigration policy should serve America’s interests
All eyes have been on the U.S. Mexico border in recent weeks as politicians and pundits assess the impact of changing rules for who can enter the United States. But the fixation on the border can distract from a bigger problem: America’s immigration system hasn’t kept up with the times. We need an immigration policy
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All eyes have been on the U.S. Mexico border in recent weeks as politicians and pundits assess the impact of changing rules for who can enter the United States. But the fixation on the border can distract from a bigger problem: America’s immigration system hasn’t kept up with the times.
We need an immigration policy that advances our national interest, one that reflects our needs as well as our values. It should complement and support American foreign policy. It should respond to the current realities of workforce demands and international migration.
Yet our immigration system hasn’t been seriously updated since 1986. Our approach, which prioritizes family unification, doesn’t properly support an economy that has been transformed by massive technological change and a vast shift to service-sector jobs.
America is a nation of immigrants, and we need immigrants as much now as ever. But we especially need immigrants who can fill gaps in our workforce, including in science and medicine, but also in childcare, elder care, hospitality, and agriculture. The COVID-19 pandemic magnified the importance of these jobs. The need will grow more urgent because of declining U.S. birth rates and the aging of the population.
Nearly 20 years ago, a bipartisan immigration task force that I co-chaired with former Michigan Sen. Spencer Abraham sounded many of these themes. We recommended simplifying and streamlining immigration, creating distinct pathways for temporary, provisional, and permanent immigrants. We proposed a system of secure Social Security cards and worker IDs, along with “smart border” technology to reduce illegal immigration. We called for protecting the rights of immigrant workers and creating a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants already in the U.S.
Those recommendations still stand. We don’t issue enough immigrant visas for temporary work, and the process can be cumbersome for employers and workers. As a recent Brookings Institution report explains, we can have a win-win situation by using immigrants to fill “complementary” jobs that support the creation of well-paying positions for Americans.
But making even obvious changes to immigration policy is challenging. There are many competing forces in play, and positions are highly polarized.
America has long struggled with immigration. Until 1875, there were no real restrictions on who could voluntarily enter the country. Some of the first came with the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese laborers. Immigration surged in the late 1800s and early 1900s, as cities and industry grew and factories needed workers. An anti-immigrant backlash produced the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act, which excluded most immigrants not from Northern and Western Europe.
The pendulum swung back after World War II. One of my first votes in Congress was for the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965, which repealed national-origin quotas and replaced them with a point-based system. But much has changed.
In recent years, poverty, violence, and instability have driven desperate people to try to enter the U.S. in record numbers. Contrary to popular belief, the flow of migrants from Mexico has slowed, but more have arrived from Haiti, Cuba, and Venezuela — often making asylum claims. The Trump administration used Title 42, an emergency health regulation, to expel migrants quickly. That authority expired [recently], but the Biden administration adopted new rules requiring asylum seekers to apply online before entering the country.
Securing the border is important, but we can’t ignore the bigger picture: an immigration system that is long overdue for reform. There are about 45 million immigrants in the United States, most of them here legally. They care for our children and our elderly, cook and serve our meals, and grow our crops. They conduct research, provide health care, and start and run businesses.
We need a sensible, secure, and humane immigration system — for them and for all of us.
Lee Hamilton, 92, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south-central Indiana.
KRISTEN CLARK has been appointed chief risk officer (CRO) at The Bonadio Group. She will oversee the firm’s client services and workforce education and development from her home base at the Syracuse office. As CRO, Clark will oversee risk management, quality of deliverables, and staff education firmwide to ensure the maintenance of client trust and
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KRISTEN CLARK has been appointed chief risk officer (CRO) at The Bonadio Group. She will oversee the firm’s client services and workforce education and development from her home base at the Syracuse office. As CRO, Clark will oversee risk management, quality of deliverables, and staff education firmwide to ensure the maintenance of client trust and satisfaction. Clark has served The Bonadio Group for decades in various leadership positions including management committee member, Syracuse office managing partner, and leader of the firm’s professional excellence division.
TODD KLABEN has been named regional managing partner for Bonadio’s Central New York Region. He will oversee staff in the firm’s CNY region. His role will also include managing the workforce’s DEI, community service, culture, and professional-development programs. Klaben has more than 20 years of experience performing and supervising accounting and tax engagements including audits, reviews, compilations, tax compliance, and consulting. He specializes in working with construction contractors, real-estate development, physician groups, and employee-benefit plans.
JAMIE CARD has been named industry leader for the Bonadio Group’s financial services segment. In this role, Card, who is based in the firm’s Syracuse office, is responsible for the growth, expansion, profitability, and determining where a financial-services client is served best within Bonadio. She works to identify new service-line opportunities and act as the firm leader for everything related to the financial-services industry. Card has more than 20 years of experience and her areas of expertise include: management-consulting services, including technical accounting, risk management and process improvement for both public (including SEC registrants) and non-public companies; assurance services including financial-statement audits, audits of internal control over financial reporting; commercial -loan review services; and mergers and acquisitions.
JACOB BENSON, CPA, has joined FustCharles as a tax supervisor. He will help service the firm’s manufacturing, health care, not-for-profit, and other professional service and family-owned business clients. Prior to joining FustCharles, Benson worked in both private and public accounting where he held various financial positions, Fust Charles said. Most recently, Benson was a tax
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JACOB BENSON, CPA, has joined FustCharles as a tax supervisor. He will help service the firm’s manufacturing, health care, not-for-profit, and other professional service and family-owned business clients. Prior to joining FustCharles, Benson worked in both private and public accounting where he held various financial positions, Fust Charles said. Most recently, Benson was a tax associate at Freed Maxick CPAs, P.C.in the Buffalo area for three years, according to his LinkedIn profile. Benson received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University at Buffalo.
JOHN R. APPLER, a corporate and commercial real-estate attorney, has joined Hancock Estabrook, LLP as a partner in the firm. He has joined the firm’s corporate and real-estate practice areas, concentrating his practice on business law, commercial real estate, and private-equity funding. Appler represents clients in all aspects of their businesses, ranging from daily operations
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JOHN R. APPLER, a corporate and commercial real-estate attorney, has joined Hancock Estabrook, LLP as a partner in the firm. He has joined the firm’s corporate and real-estate practice areas, concentrating his practice on business law, commercial real estate, and private-equity funding. Appler represents clients in all aspects of their businesses, ranging from daily operations that include contract preparation and negotiations to succession planning and mergers and acquisitions. He acts as primary business counsel to a multitude of clients across New York state including professional-service entities, manufacturers, banks and other lending institutions, and technology companies, Hancock Estabrook said. Appler’s real-estate practice involves the purchase and sale of commercial real estate, land and project development, and the representation of landlords and tenants in complex leasing matters.
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