Headlines
The new retirement rule and senior home owners
William Bengen created what is considered the gold standard of retirement strategies: The 4% Rule. The 4 percent retirement rule is a guideline suggesting that retirees can withdraw 4% of their retirement savings annually, adjusted for inflation, to ensure their…
Demystifying Social Security Spouse Benefits
Among Social Security’s myriad regulations, few topics are more misunderstood than spouse benefits. Terminology is important here – “spouse benefits” in Social Security (SS) parlance refers to benefits one spouse can collect from the other’s record while both spouses are…
Repeal of Social Security Benefit Taxation In the News Again
As the reality of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Social Security benefit taxation offset unfolds, renewed interest in permanently eliminating this burdensome tax has shown up in the U.S. Senate. Earlier this week, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) introduced the…
The Social Security Trust Funds Explained
Social Security’s financial picture, dismal as it might be, is typically misunderstood. Those unable to grasp its relationship to overall federal governmental finances characterize it as a “Ponzi scheme.” Others persistently claim that money has been “stolen” or “misappropriated” from…
Social Security Concerns Continue to Plague Future Retirees
Since the 2025 Social Security trustees’ report hit the airwaves a few months ago, quite a bit has been written about the program’s financial future. Not too much of it has been positive, for sure, and a recent survey from…
Why doesn’t COLA Keep up with Inflation?
It happens every year. Here at the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Service we start receiving questions about next year’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) in mid- to late-September. Sometimes the inquiries come from reporters seeking inside information to include in an…
Happy Labor Day, 2025!
The first Monday in September is recognized as Labor Day in America. It has been that way since 1894, when President Grover Cleveland signed the legislation into law. While there is speculation about why that spot on the calendar was selected,…
Should the US require mandatory retirement contributions besides Social Security?
The United States received a C+ in the 2024 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index because it relies heavily on voluntary savings plans. Other countries require mandatory contributions to personal retirement savings. There are two types of retirement plans, and…
Social Security Can’t Go Bankrupt
Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system, with current workers paying for current recipients. As long as people continue to work and pay into Social Security, it can’t go broke. As a matter of law, all revenues flowing into Social Security…
Scams Appear More Legitimate with the use of Artificial Intelligence
With the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), you must be more alert than ever before with emails, texts and phone calls that you receive. The scammers can now duplicate almost anything: Your voice, friends’ and family voices, official looking emails…