Headlines
How the Social Security Administration handles a shutdown
Roughly 60 million Americans rely on their Social Security checks every month to make ends meet. During the recent two-day government shutdown, many retirees and other benefit recipients unnecessarily worried that they would not receive their checks. The attached article…
The 4 percent withdrawal rule flaws
What if you were told the “4 percent withdrawal rule”, one of the most common guidelines people use to plan for retirement is wrong? This rule states you can withdraw 4 percent of your portfolio in first year of retirement,…
Divorce Can Be Complicated…Especially Considering Social Security Strategies
“Gray divorce”–the scenario where couples age 60 and over choose to end their marriage–is no longer uncommon. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of divorces by adults in this age bracket has doubled over the past…
Health Care Affordability and Social Security Benefits–A Comparison
Half of Medicare beneficiaries’ average Social Security income is projected to be consumed by out-of-pocket health costs by 2030, according to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. This projection is up from 41% found in the prior survey edition…
The Case for Working Longer & Delaying Social Security
Columnist Justin Fox of The Blomberg View, in a post on www.pressherald.com, analyzes the content of a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper titled “The Power of Working Longer.” The article, and the working paper, study the tradeoffs between savings…
File Early or Wait–The Debate Continues
In a post on www,seekingalpha.com, Senior Editor Gil Weinreich delves into the complexities of the nagging question facing folks in their early 60s,,,Do I claim Social Security benefits at the earliest possibility (age 62) or wait to Full Retirement Age…
The Plight of Millennials Heightens the Importance of Fixing Social Security
A new brief by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College outlines the problems faced by the population segment called “Millennials” (those with birth dates from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s to early 2000s) in planning the their eventual…
National Retirement Risk Index Shows Slight Improvement
The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College reports that the National Retirement Risk Index, the triennial measurement that assesses the number of working-age households that are statistically on track to maintain their standard of living in retirement, showed slight improvement…
Your Financial Needs in Retirement–The Proverbial Moving Target
So, how much of a nest egg do you need to have a comfortable retirement? Sounds like a fairly simple question, doesn’t it? Well, if you don’t consider all the variables ahead of you it can be as simple as…
Paying income taxes on your Social Security benefits
It’s an unfortunate reality, but chances are pretty good that at least a portion of your Social Security benefits – perhaps up to 85% – will be considered taxable. Benefits only actually became taxable when, back in the 1980’s, Congress…