(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

Federal policy on retirement security is one chaotic mess right now.

A worsening customer service crisis at the Social Security Administration has prompted three of its former commissioners to urge the U.S. Congress to fix the annual budgeting process that has starved the agency of the resources it needs to do its job.

Why does the word “old” come to mind for so many of us when the topic of Social Security comes up?  

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

Getting followed on social media could soon gain a new meaning for workers applying for Social Security disability benefits. The Trump administration is working on a plan to let the Social Security Administration (SSA) check up on claimants on Facebook and Twitter in order to root out fraud and abuse in the disability program.

Greetings from Illinois, a state that never tops the rankings of places to retire. We have one of the great American cities, but also polar vortexes and an enormous state budget deficit - and now there is renewed talk about taxing retirement income to help close the gap.

Jill Schlesinger got her start on Wall Street, and that is where she learned a lot of what she knows about the financial world. But she has built a career dishing out personal finance advice by pulling back the curtain on myths about investing, and showing how average people can make a solid plan for retirement.

When Medicare prescription drug insurance was created in 2003, the idea that beneficiaries with very high drug costs should pick up 5 percent of the tab seemed reasonable - but that was well before specialty drugs were invented that carry price tags in the tens of thousands of dollars.