Headlines
The case for waiting to claim Social Security
Choosing when to claim one’s Social Security benefit is one of the most important financial decisions most people will make and, shockingly, many people make that decision with little or no knowledge of how the age you claim affects the…
Waiting for official announcement on COLA, but the prediction is…
In October, the Social Security Administration is expected to officially announce its cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The adjustment is calculated based on data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers,…
Did you know your age at filing will affect your monthly Social Security benefit?
Social Security benefits represent about one-third of all the income of elderly Americans, with 48 percent of married couples and 69 percent of unmarried persons relying on them for at least 50 percent of their household income in retirement. Since…
How to plan for the possibility that you may not be able to work as long as you want
According to a new survey from NerdWallet, today’s retirees stopped working at age 59 on average. Some of those individuals, 36 percent, did not plan to retire early they were forced to either because of their health or job loss.…
Claiming Social Security based on breakeven calculations
Most financial experts will tell you not to start your Social Security retirement benefits at age 62; instead let your benefits grow. Many individuals have a difficult time taking that advice. They argue that putting off those earned benefits will…
Making this Social Security mistake could be costing you thousands of dollars
After paying into Social Security throughout your working life understandably you cannot wait to start getting money back from the program. However, too many people rush to sign up for benefits as soon as they turn 62 without considering the…
Social Security for Dummies
The yellow “For Dummies” books were a mega hit in the early 1990s. People loved the way complex topics and issues were explained in easy to understand English. Now enter Social Security, a complex and widely misunderstood program. Having taught high school…
Millennials Underestimate Social Security
The belief that Social Security won’t be there for Millennials (those born between 1979 and 2000) is widespread. But does it match reality? Liz Weston of NerdWallet notes the real fear is that a hopelessness about retirement savings overall will…
Social Security Fix Proposed
Franklin Roosevelt said this of The Social Security Act: “[it] does not offer anyone … an easy life — nor was it ever intended so to do.” Thus from the very beginning in the 1930s the program was only designed…
It’s Myth-busting time again with regard to Social Security
Just because you’ve heard the same line for years with regard to Social Security does not make it true. In fact, misinformation can hamper confidence in the program; it can alter the way political leaders try to deal with the…