Headlines
GOP Bill Would Protect Social Security If Borrowing Limit Hit
The House on Thursday passed legislation that would require the Treasury to continue payments to Social Security’s trust funds in the event the statutory limit on borrowing is reached. Split on party lines, the bill now passes to the full…
Advocates for Medicare Subscribers Facing Potential Increase Push for Alternative
The 30% of Medicare recipients facing a roughly 50% premium increase in 2016 are being aided by advocates and organizations representing federal and state government workers. As decision time approaches, the advocacy efforts are focusing on a one-time solution to…
Some Retirement Financing Tips for the “Silent Generation”
A great deal of media attention these days focuses on “Baby Boomers” and “Millennials” when it comes to planning for retirement. But what about the “Silent Generation”…those already well into their retirement years and still needing to sustain a financial…
What Remarried Widows and Widowers Need to Know About Social Security Benefits
Mary Beth Franklin, a contributing editor at InvestmentNews and a nationally recognized expert in Social Security claiming strategies, provides an analysis of strategies for remarried widows and widowers to maximize their Social Security benefits. In an article posted on www.investmentnews.com, she provides insights into several…
Congress Back in Session…Spending Issues to Dominate Activity
Congress re-convenes today with a heavy schedule of work ahead of it. The looming possibility of a governmental shutdown, coupled with major domestic and foreign policy issues currently on the table, promises to keep lawmakers engaged between now and the…
Labor Day Thoughts…When will you retire, or will you retire?
You may have noticed, either in the media or from conversations with friends and family, that a fair number of people are forgoing the traditional “retire at 65 (or 62)” approach in favor of extending careers. For many, it’s a…
Non-working spouses…some ways to improve retirement prospects
A recent survey by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement highlighted the financial shortfall facing non-working spouses, indicating about than half of the respondents are not confident about having a comfortable retirement. Emily Brandon, senior editor for Retirement at U.S.…
A Case Study: The Perils of Claiming Social Security Early
In this response to a submitted Q&A item, Robert Powell (editor of Retirement Weekly and a USA Today contributor) provides a case study explaining the implications of an early Social Security claim coupled with the impact of the Government Pension Offset…
Working longer may not be the answer…
Researchers have developed a methodology for assessing the risk of extending one’s working years as a part of financial planning for retirement. Called the “susceptibility index,” it’s a measurement of how well the skills needed to remain viable in a…
University of Michigan study dispels ACA notion of increased retirements
A conference paper presented recently by Helen Levy, Research Associate Professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, Ford School and School of Public Health, provided a synopsis of retirement statistics that differs from the Affordable Care Act’s assumption that…