Watch it! All that affluence may be going to your head.

From this item in today's WSJ:

By now, many of the 8.9 million Americans who earn more than $100,000 annually have already hit six figures; scores more will do so in the next few weeks. Here's what they may miss if they don't watch their paycheck carefully: A nice-sized raise that appears without warning, then vanishes just as quietly on Jan. 1.

Sound odd? It's a function of tax rules. Most workers have their paychecks docked 6.2% to fund Social Security. But they stop paying that tax on income above a certain level each year. This year, the threshold is $94,200. Next year, it is $97,500.

Once you pass that wage cap you can end up with an extra $500 or more a month in your pocket . . . .

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Nobody rings a bell or sends you an email when this occurs. In fact, salaried individuals with biweekly paychecks who don't watch them carefully may not even notice the change.

You young whippersnappers are spoiled rotten!

Back in the old century, we working stiffs not only noticed when we finished paying our FICA for the year, we spent the preceding months looking forward to our desperately needed "raise."