Will this new bill save Social Security?

Hope your week is going well. The gaps in your financial security tend to sit in the places you’re least likely to look. Today’s issue is about three of those places.

On the money today:

Let's get into it.

Government impersonation scams cost Americans nearly $900 million in 2024, with gift cards accounting for more losses than any other payment method. The India ring the FBI just shut down is one piece of a much larger pattern that has been running for years. Read the full breakdown to see exactly how victims were convinced to hand over their savings — and what the SSA says it will never ask you to do.

Have you ever come close to falling for a scam before something felt off and stopped you? Tell us about the moment your instincts kicked in — what the red flag was and what you did next. Hit reply and share. Your story may be featured in a future issue.

It started with a spoofed email that looked exactly like it came from the Social Security Administration. What followed — fake badges, couriers picking up gold bars, and victims handing over their life savings — had been running since 2022. The FBI just pulled the curtain back on how all of it worked.

Why it matters: Americans over 60 lost $445 million to government impersonation scams in 2024 alone, and older adults are more than three times as likely to report losses exceeding $100,000. The tactics used in this bust are still circulating in different forms.

Warren Buffett called inflation “a far more devastating tax than anything enacted by our legislatures.” That was 1977. The math since has only made his case stronger. The average American family holds nearly $63,000 in accounts earning a fraction of a percent while prices climb at 3.7%. Here’s how to close that gap.

Why it matters: For retirees on fixed income, a savings account earning 60 times less than inflation isn’t neutral — it’s a slow drain. Suze Orman recommends retirees keep three to five years of expenses in cash, which means the opportunity cost of getting this wrong compounds year after year.

For years, Social Security reform was the political third rail no one dared touch. That just changed. A bipartisan group of Democratic and Republican senators introduced a bill that would force Congress to produce a fix before the trust fund runs dry in 2032. Experts disagree sharply on whether it will work. Here’s what the plan actually says.

Why it matters: Social Security’s trust fund is projected to deplete by 2032, which would trigger automatic benefit cuts across the board. This bill won’t solve everything — but it’s the first bipartisan mechanism in years designed to force lawmakers’ hands before the deadline arrives.

The correct answer is C) 14.8% (1980). March 1980 marked the peak of a decade of oil shocks and loose monetary policy — and the Fed’s response, hiking rates to nearly 20%, eventually broke the cycle but triggered a recession in the process.