Headlines
The “myths” of Medicare, versus the reality
Including myths such as “Medicare is broke” to “Medicare covers all healthcare costs”, there are a lot of misconceptions about America’s largest healthcare program. Want to know the truth about what Medicare covers, what it costs, and Medicare’s funding problem?…
Men’s Health and Social Security
(Source: Social Security Administration) Father’s Day is a perfect time for focusing on health education and awareness, disease prevention, and family. Social Security encourages you to support fathers and friends everywhere in their efforts to stay healthy. The right balance…
The Cloud Over Social Security
In days gone by, the thought of retirement usually brought with it visions of leisure, comfort, and enjoyment for those later years. Things have changed these days, though, and the convergence of some serious factors have cast a bit of…
Retirement Planning’s “Big Question”
The closer one gets to the point of Social Security eligibility, the bigger the question of “When should I retire?” looms. While it’s a basic question, it’s anything but simple, and there are strong and lasting implications associated with it.…
Social Security Benefits Losing Ground to Health Care Costs
HealthView Services (HVS ), considered to be a leading producer of health care cost-projection software, forecasts that health costs for today’s workers will at some point eclipse their Social Security benefits. Driven by a projected health care cost inflation rate of…
Younger Folks Banking on Social Security?
The results of a recent Gallup poll provide an indication that younger workers may be offsetting their absence of savings with a reliance on Social Security for their retirement years. In fact, as reported by Maurie Bachman in a post…
Support for Delaying Social Security Benefits
Much has been publicized about the benefit of avoiding the impulse to file for Social Security benefits at the earliest possible point (age 62). The obvious benefits include a larger monthly benefit when you do file and the availability of…
2018 COLA Speculation: Maybe a Good News/Bad News Story Ahead?
If CPI-W numbers in the early months of 2017 are any indication of what will happen in the July, August, and September period, the possibility of a higher Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2018 may be in the cards for…
Ways to Increase Your Social Security Benefit
A study conducted by The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that, without Social Security income, the estimated poverty rate among seniors would be expected to spike above 40 percent; however, with Social Security income, the senior poverty rate…
How the Social Security COLA Process Works
The Social Security Administration annually evaluates inflation data to see if a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is warranted. This is done as an effort to keep retirees’ purchasing power constant from year to year. In Matthew Frankel’s column, he gives…