Breaking - UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson shot and killed outside Manhattan Hilton hotel

[Allen Trent]

As an FYI: Starting (if single) at $50,001/yr with social security alone people have taxable income. At the max SS someone can get they will pay taxes on $2,119.00 (if single). Of course that is not a lot of money to have to pay taxes on. BUT if they have other sources of income that gets added to that and they will owe more taxes..

agree with your information...but I think you are incorrect on this point.

Are you using wrong filing or incorrect standard deduction. Someone single over 65 can have $50,001 SS & still have $0 of it taxable & pay no federal income taxes.

They would need to have $60,000 of SS to have $2500 of it taxable, but would still not owe federal income taxes because of how Provisional tax rate is calculated (unless this software is wrong this year)

Some people miscalculate the Social Security Provisional Income calculation. In that calculation to see how much of Social Security is taxable, it only uses 50% of the SS checks plus AGI to determine if the person is over the 50% or 85% level. IE: $50k SS & no other income= 1/2 of $50,000 = $25,000. No SS taxable. IE: $60k SS & no other income = 1/2 of $60k = $30k, so 50% of the checks over $25000 are taxable. So, 50% of the $5,000 excess = $2,500 that is added to taxable income. Standard deduction wipes it away.

A married couple over age 65 could even have $145k of SS checks (if that was possible) & wouldnt owe any federal income taxes nor have to file a tax return. It is because at $145k, only $30k is added to taxable income & with no other income, the standard deduction wipes it all away

 

[Allen Trent]

If the IRS says 30% are paying taxes on their SS then obviously some are in luck when itemizing deductions.

that isnt what the chart I posted was saying. It was saying only 30% of people over age 70 pay any federal income taxes at all, not that they pay taxes on SS.

I believe what you are reading is that X amount of retirees Social Security is "taxable income", but it doesnt necessarily mean they are paying taxes at all. Married Couple gets almost $31k of standard deduction, meaning they could have $31,000 of "taxable income" wiped away. So, SS checks being taxable in the calculation doesnt mean income taxes are owed.

Same for Bank CD interest. That is reported as "taxable income", but it doesnt mean all CD owners pay income taxes on their interest

 

[EckoRomeo]

Interesting that the social security administration and the IRS disagree on what percent of retirees pay taxes on their social security. The SS says, "About 40% of people who get Social Security must pay federal income taxes on their benefits. This usually happens if you have other substantial income in addition to your benefits. Substantial income includes wages, earnings from self-employment, interest, dividends, and other taxable income that must be reported on your tax return." Of course if they itemize that may bring down their taxable income.

Continuing SS says, "You will pay tax on your Social Security benefits based on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules if you:

• File a federal tax return as an "individual" and your combined income*is
  • Between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50% of your benefits.
  • More than $34,000, up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable.
• File a joint return, and you and your spouse have a combined income*that is
  • Between $32,000 and $44,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50% of your benefits.
  • More than $44,000, up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable.
• Are married and file a separate tax return, you probably will pay taxes on your benefits."

Of course the "average SS is well below the amount needed to pay taxes and usually those people don't have other assets - but the average isn't the same as the median split where half the people get less then the median and half get more. An average can be affected by outliers, clusters of people with low SS, etc. Likely the cluster of people who were not paid well and/or didn't work all 35 years and/or had no retirement beyond SS are the biggest group not pay paying taxes on their social security and also bring the average SS amount down. It would be interesting to see the breakdown of percent of people who get in SS various amounts. Or at least the quartile ranges.

As an FYI: Starting (if single) at $50,001/yr with social security alone people have taxable income. At the max SS someone can get they will pay taxes on $2,119.00 (if single). Of course that is not a lot of money to have to pay taxes on. BUT if they have other sources of income that gets added to that and they will owe more taxes..

A May 2024 Federal Reserve document stated that 80% of retirees had other sources of income besides SS (of course this doesn't mean they had enough extra to have to pay taxes): "This included 56 percent of retirees with income from a pension; 48 percent with interest, dividends, or rental income; and 33 percent with labor income". Later in that article they stated, "Most adults had tax-preferred retirement accounts, defined benefit pensions, or other assets that they may be able to tap to meet expenses in retirement. Sixty-seven percent of adults had assets that are specifically designated for producing income in retirement, including the 60 percent of adults who had a tax-preferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan through an employer, individual retirement account (IRA), or Roth IRA, and 29 percent who had a defined benefit pension through an employer"

As a result it would seem likely that most of the people counted in the Federal Reserve research and according to SS 40% would be paying at least some taxes if they had anything in addition to social security (and the small group that has close to max social security). If the IRS says 30% are paying taxes on their SS then obviously some are in luck when itemizing deductions.

What I found sad was that the Federal Reserve found 15% of retirees had to either cash out retirement funds or borrow from them to pay for medical expenses.

Whatever the percentage, this entire tax debate is irrelevant to my initial point that an ever-growing majority of Medicare beneficiaries choose to subject themselves to prior authorizations, denials and networks rather than pay more to be free of those obstacles to health care. What people claim they want, and what people are willing to pay for are two different things.

 

[WinoBlues]

This dude ditches his backpack in the park and then takes all of the evidence and stuffs it into a new backpack and carries it around with him?

New York prosecutors charge suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing with murder, court records show

Police have identified the suspect as 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione. Manhattan prosecutors filed murder and other charges against Mangione, according to an online court docket.

apnews.com

I thought this kid was Ivy...

Educated does not = smart.
Sometimes just the opposite.

 

[Tahoe Ray]

some ivy leaguer friends and family have some splaining to do why they didn't drop the dime on this guy.I mean if a McDonalds employee who has never met him recognized him from the online pics we know someone who knows him definitely did.

From the Guardian:

"The family of Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the 4 December murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, reported him missing in November after he withdrew from social contact following surgery on his back.

Mangione, 26, was reported missing on 18 November, police told the New York Post, after family members became worried that they had lost touch with him. A message from relatives had earlier been circulated to his circle of friends asking for help finding him after Mangione had undergone back surgery a few months previously.

Investigating the suspect's history, one line of inquiry is the chronic back problems that he appears to have suffered since childhood. According to CNN, Reddit posts that match the description of Mangione talked about wrestling with spondylolisthesis, a condition where a vertebra, often in the lower back, slips out of place.

The condition had become much more severe, the Reddit user said, after a surfing accident. "My back and hips locked up after the accident," the user said, causing "intermittent numbness" which left him "terrified of the implications".

Family of suspect in health CEO’s killing reported him missing after back surgery

Alleged shooter, 26, appears to have suffered chronic back problems and withdrew from social contact in November

www.theguardian.com

 

[Special Agent]

From the Guardian:

"The family of Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the 4 December murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, reported him missing in November after he withdrew from social contact following surgery on his back.

Mangione, 26, was reported missing on 18 November, police told the New York Post, after family members became worried that they had lost touch with him. A message from relatives had earlier been circulated to his circle of friends asking for help finding him after Mangione had undergone back surgery a few months previously.

Investigating the suspect's history, one line of inquiry is the chronic back problems that he appears to have suffered since childhood. According to CNN, Reddit posts that match the description of Mangione talked about wrestling with spondylolisthesis, a condition where a vertebra, often in the lower back, slips out of place.

The condition had become much more severe, the Reddit user said, after a surfing accident. "My back and hips locked up after the accident," the user said, causing "intermittent numbness" which left him "terrified of the implications".

Family of suspect in health CEO’s killing reported him missing after back surgery

Alleged shooter, 26, appears to have suffered chronic back problems and withdrew from social contact in November

www.theguardian.com

sometimes even people who have original medicare don't get care they think they deserve because their condition is unique complicated or rare.not saying that is the case here but i have original medicare clients who say there are still undiagnosed or haven't had treatments even after going to the mayo clinic.maybe this guy was disappointed that Dr House was not in his network?

 

[EckoRomeo]

Educated does not = smart.
Sometimes just the opposite.

Educated doesn't mean experienced. Smart people still make mistakes. Being an amateur assassin is an on-the-job training type job that doesn't allow for many mistakes.

 

[Winters Ins Agcy]

This dude ditches his backpack in the park and then takes all of the evidence and stuffs it into a new backpack and carries it around with him?

New York prosecutors charge suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing with murder, court records show

Police have identified the suspect as 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione. Manhattan prosecutors filed murder and other charges against Mangione, according to an online court docket.

apnews.com

I thought this kid was Ivy...

I read he has a degree from University of Pennsylvania. That's Ivy.

 

[EckoRomeo]

sometimes even people who have original medicare don't get care they think they deserve because their condition is unique complicated or rare.not saying that is the case here but i have original medicare clients who say there are still undiagnosed or haven't had treatments even after going to the mayo clinic.maybe this guy was disappointed that Dr House was not in his network?

So, he wasn't denied care? Just had an unsuccessful surgery? This isn't looking like a referendum on health insurance companies after all.

 

[EckoRomeo]

I read he has a degree from University of Pennsylvania. That's Ivy.

Penn doesn't offer an assassin degree.