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Calculating tax on Social Security
Many Social Security recipients are surprised and angry every April when they find out they owe taxes on their Social Security benefits. Why? According to current tax law, up to 85 percent of Social Security benefits are included in taxable…
Memorial Day – A Day to Remember
Memorial Day 2022 is set to see more picnics, barbeques, and social gatherings. But let’s not forget the day is set aside to remember the many Americans who have lost their lives in military service to our country. Throughout our nation’s history,…
Pandering on Social Security Unhelpful to its Financial Problems
Proposals by Democrats are aplenty each congressional session promising enhanced Social Security benefits, whether as cost of living adjustments, one-time payments, or permanent minimum benefit increases. The problem with nearly all, which are intentionally written to be enticing to the…
Creating Disposable Income beyond Social Security in Retirement
Social Security in one’s golden years will only replace about 40 percent of pre-retirement income. As is often the case, it is humbling for retirees to learn the standard of living they were used can be no more. But John…
$1.1 Million: That’s What Must Be Saved to Retire Comfortably
This piece by Yahoo Finance analyzes the Schroders U.S. Retirement survey of 1,000 investors age 45 to 75 conducted earlier in 2022. Working Americans say on average it will take $1.1 million in savings to retire comfortably, but 56% say…
Side hustles are a good complement to Social Security
Work at home opportunities, Uber, and Airbnb have been part of America’s lexicon for years now. Ridesharing and homesharing are providing extra income for lots of people, including many retirees. Since Social Security replaces only about 40% of pre-retirement income,…
A Primer on When to Claim Social Security
Matthew Frankel’s piece is comprehensive here, explaining early, full, and max, retirement ages. As it is now, most Americans choose a “take it at 62 and forget about it” strategy. But that is leaving people with permanently reduced benefits for…
Getting a Higher-than-average Social Security Payment
According to this article, the average Social Security payment for 2022 is about $1,665. “Average,” of course, means that some get a benefit less than that, and some get a higher amount. But the average SS benefit payment is hardly…
As Inflation Soars, So do COLA Predictions
While it’s way too early to accurately predict what the 2023 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2023 might be, the continually rising inflation rate suggests an even higher COLA increase for Social Security recipients next year. Good news? Well,…
Get the Most You Can From Social Security
I suppose everyone wants to maximize their Social Security benefit. After all, Social Security will almost certainly become a very important part of your retirement income. Indeed, nearly 90% of Americans say that Social Security is a “major” part of…