Headlines
Married Couples versus Single Person: More Social Security Filing Options
David Freitag, a financial planning consultant for MassMutual Financial Group states: “A single person only has to consider nine different scenarios when claiming retirement benefits. For married couples, the available options for filing strategies grow to 81.” Tom Anderson, a…
Help for deciding when to take Social Security benefits
Your “full retirement age” (somewhere between 66 and 67, depending upon when you were born) is the age at which you will receive 100% of the benefit you are entitled to from a lifetime of working. Although you become eligible…
Seniors’ Social Security benefits outpaced by living expenses
It’s certainly no secret to millions of Social Security beneficiaries, but benefit increases in recent years haven’t kept up with the increase in the cost of their daily living. Seniors’ healthcare expenses have risen substantially, while Social Security COLA increases have gone…
A Financial Planner’s strategy for Social Security
Planning for your own Social Security can sometimes be a vexing exercise, so knowing which strategy a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) has adopted might be helpful, especially if you plan to continue working through your 60’s. In this article appearing at AL.com (Alabama),…
HR 2552 would eliminate income tax on Social Security benefits
Last month, Rep. Thomas Massie re-introduced H.R. 2552, which would eliminate income tax on Social Security benefits. In this article which appears in the (KY) Courier-Journal, Rep. Massie explains that taxing these benefits amounts to double taxation because FICA payroll contributions,…
Tips on applying for Social Security benefits
There are three ways to apply for your Social Security benefits – by phone, in person, or online- but the information you’ll need to provide differs depending upon what kind of benefits you are applying for. And it’s important that…
Social Security’s “greatest secrets”
Although there aren’t any real “secrets” in the Social Security program (it’s all right there at SSA.GOV), its complexity often means that some of the most common rules from which people can benefit are hidden in plain sight. From how…
You’re finally retired!! Now what?
The excitement builds to a crescendo in the months preceding when you actually retire, but what happens when that day you’ve been anticipating for so long actually arrives? This Forbes article by Robert Laura offers some very practical advice for…
Should you wait until your full retirement age to start Social Security?
Yes, I know that it’s very, very tempting to apply for your Social Security benefits “because you can”, and you may even harbor some doubt which leads you to take the money now in case it’s not there later. In…
What do you want in your retirement?
Far from the old dream of a rocking chair on the porch, today’s retirees are looking for a lot more than their predecessors. With retirement now often being 25 to 30 years of post-career living, and with longevity now much better than…