Another Misleading Headline

Another Misleading Headline
Tom Margenau talks about misleading article headlines and Social Security in this topic sequel. zimmytws/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
Updated:

I don’t know how you folks get by without being scared out of your wits by misleading Social Security stories you read in newspapers or see online. Because I know the subject so well, and because I can decipher the confusing and sometimes scary Social Security-related muck that’s out there, it doesn’t bother me. But I can see where a Social Security layperson could get worried or fooled by so much of what is seen in print or online.

Just last week, I wrote a column in which I tried to clarify the points made in an article that had this headline: “Social Security Mistakes That Could Cost You a Fortune.” Almost all the information in that column was rather mundane stuff that most people already know. And even not knowing it wouldn’t have led to a series of fortune-costing mistakes.

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]
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