The Savings Game: Reader questions about Social Security

The Savings Game: Reader questions about Social Security

Q. I was married for more than 10 years before my divorce. My ex worked many years under Social Security. If I remarry, will I lose the right to survivor benefits if I remarry?

A. Good question. If you remarry after age 60, you still are entitled to a survivor benefit based on your ex’s Social Security benefit. However, you would be entitled to one benefit out of a possible three: either the survivor benefit based on your ex’s work record, or the benefit based on your own work record, or the Social Security benefit you are entitled to based on your new spouse’s work record, whichever is greater.

Q. My spouse does not plan to apply for his Social Security benefit until age 70. He is 68. I am 65, and worked many years under Social Security. I have not filed for my Social Security benefit yet, because I have not reached my full retirement age, which is 67. My husband’s Social Security benefit will be greater than mine. When should I apply for my Social security benefit?

A. If you apply for a Social Security benefit now based on your work record, it will be discounted because you are applying prior to reaching your full retirement age (FRA). If you wait until 67 to apply, when your husband reaches age 70 and applies for his benefit, you will be entitled to a spousal benefit equivalent to 50% of his FRA benefit. If you apply for Social Security benefits now, your spousal benefit would be discounted slightly because you applied prior to your FRA. read more

Trump’s tax plans: Here’s what to expect for your taxes in 2025 and beyond

Trump’s tax plans: Here’s what to expect for your taxes in 2025 and beyond

By Kemberley Washington, CPA, Bankrate.com

From extending the tax cuts he signed into law in 2017 to ending taxes on tips, overtime pay, Social Security benefits and more, President Donald Trump has never made a secret of his goal to make sweeping changes to the U.S. tax code.

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An AI avatar tried to argue a case before a New York court. The judges weren’t having it

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By LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK (AP) — It took only seconds for the judges on a New York appeals court to realize that the man addressing them from a video screen — a person about to present an argument in a lawsuit — not only had no law degree, but didn’t exist at all.

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The latest bizarre chapter in the awkward arrival of artificial intelligence in the legal world unfolded March 26 under the stained-glass dome of New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division’s First Judicial Department, where a panel of judges was set to hear from Jerome Dewald, a plaintiff in an employment dispute. read more

Chevron ordered to pay more than $740 million to restore Louisiana coast in landmark trial

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By JACK BROOK

POINTE À LA HACHE, La. (AP) — Oil company Chevron must pay at least $740 million to restore damage it caused to southeast Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, a jury ruled on Friday following a landmark trial more than a decade in the making.

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The case was the first of dozens of pending lawsuits to reach trial in Louisiana against the world’s leading oil companies for their role in accelerating land loss along the state’s rapidly disappearing coast. The verdict – which Chevron says it will appeal – could set a precedent leaving other oil and gas firms on the hook for billions of dollars in damages tied to land loss and environmental degradation. read more

Congress has the power to halt Trump’s tariffs. But Republicans aren’t ready to use it

Congress has the power to halt Trump’s tariffs. But Republicans aren’t ready to use it

By STEPHEN GROVES

WASHINGTON (AP) — As stock markets tumble in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, Republicans in Congress were watching with unease and talking of clawing back their power to levy tariffs — but almost none seemed ready to turn their words into action.

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The Republican president is upending longstanding GOP principles like support for free trade, yet despite clear misgivings and a Constitutional mandate to decide tariffs, most lawmakers were not ready to cross Trump. Instead, they were focusing all their attention on advancing the president’s ” big, beautiful bill ” of tax breaks and spending cuts, even as tariffs — in essence, import taxes — threatened to raise consumer prices across the board and push the global economy into a recession. read more