Headlines
A Primer on When to Claim Social Security
Matthew Frankel’s piece is comprehensive here, explaining early, full, and max, retirement ages. As it is now, most Americans choose a “take it at 62 and forget about it” strategy. But that is leaving people with permanently reduced benefits for…
Getting a Higher-than-average Social Security Payment
According to this article, the average Social Security payment for 2022 is about $1,665. “Average,” of course, means that some get a benefit less than that, and some get a higher amount. But the average SS benefit payment is hardly…
As Inflation Soars, So do COLA Predictions
While it’s way too early to accurately predict what the 2023 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2023 might be, the continually rising inflation rate suggests an even higher COLA increase for Social Security recipients next year. Good news? Well,…
Get the Most You Can From Social Security
I suppose everyone wants to maximize their Social Security benefit. After all, Social Security will almost certainly become a very important part of your retirement income. Indeed, nearly 90% of Americans say that Social Security is a “major” part of…
Social Security and the Effect of Inflation
As just about everyone dependent on Social Security will attest, your SS monthly dollars won’t buy as much now as they once did. Inflation causes a fairly constant rise in consumer prices, but is especially damaging when it is unusually…
Social Security for Divorced Women
In his own inimitable fashion, retired Social Security employee and now-columnist Tom Margenau takes on the question of Social Security benefits for divorced women. In this Arizona Sun Tucson.com article, Mr. Margenau points out that divorced women are entitled to…
Rep. Posey Introduces Bill to Modify Social Security’s Earnings Test
Rep. Bill Posey (R- FL 08) recently introduced the “Senior Citizens Inflation Relief Act” (H.R. 7692), calling for an increase to the limit on earnings for those drawing Social Security benefits prior to their full retirement age (FRA). The bill…
Social Security COLA Watch, 2023 Version
Since the most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers were released earlier this week, the airwaves have been popping with projections of what next year’s cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security beneficiaries will be. Here’s one example. Many of these projections…
A Perspective on Social Security’s Solvency Crisis
Several weeks ago, we commented on the results of a survey by financial services company Nationwide suggesting that 71 percent of adults believe Social Security would run out of money in their lifetimes. Whether you believe that or not, it’s…
A Critical Review of “Your Social Security Statement”
The Social Security Administration has been making substantial strides in improving the format of one of the most important pieces of information available to those planning their retirement finances–“Your Social Security Statement.” It’s available in two formats: (1) the online…