Headlines
A Primer on Claiming Strategies for Married Couples
One of the more mystical areas of Social Security law has been the file-and-suspend, restricted application rules previously available to married couples. Although these rules were substantially altered with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, there are still some strategic moves…
A Tool to Assess the Strength of Your Retirement Savings
The Motley Fool’s Maurie Backman, in a post today on fool.com, introduces a tool designed to help future retirees understand how well their accumulated savings will meet their spending needs in those later years. Her article addresses recent survey results…
Social Security survivor’s benefits – Who gets what and when?
Although the rules governing Social Security survivor’s benefit are somewhat complex, these benefits can spell the difference between poverty and financial stability. While survivor’s benefits are based on the earnings of the deceased spouse and age of the survivor when…
Best Retirement Ever
What does it take to have the best retirement possible? In Rob Russell’s column appearing on the Forbes website (www.forbes.com), he lists the top five habits that every retiree should adopt to make their journey to and through retirement so…
Some Things to Consider if You Plan on DIY Your Retirement Plan
Are you a DIY type of person? Do you google how to fix your car, paint your house, or play the guitar? Have you tried googling retirement planning? In Charles Ragonese’s column appearing on the Kiplinger website (www.kiplinger.com), he lists…
What’s the Rush? Things to Consider Before Filing for Social Security Benefits Early
It is one of the most important decisions you will make when planning your retirement: when to begin taking your Social Security benefits. Although Americans are beginning to recognize the financial benefits of waiting for their full retirement age, many…
Tips in Avoiding Leaks in Your Retirement Plan
Some Workers will tap their 401(k) plans in the form of a loan or a withdrawal, or they may cash out when an emergency strikes. Plan providers call these “leaks.” As we all know, when water is leaking under the…
Seniors’ heathcare costs taking a bigger bite out of retirement
With healthcare costs rising as much as they are, seniors are losing more and more buying power for their retirement dollars. And with Social Security making up a large percentage of many seniors’ income, COLA increases unfortunately aren’t keeping pace…
Here’s how to add a lot of money to your Social Security benefit
“Timing is everything” as the old adage suggests, but that is especially true if you’re trying to decide when to start your Social Security benefits. If you can afford to wait and if you expect to live a long and healthy…
COLA increase probable, but don’t count on getting the whole thing
Although the final numbers won’t be known until October, the current inflation trend points to a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) of about 2% for next year. But don’t count on seeing the whole amount of the increase because, with rising…