Headlines
Capping COLA: What Would it Mean for Social Security Solvency?
Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is, naturally, in the news these days. The announcement of an across-the-board 2.8% increase beginning in January has generated quite a bit of commentary, including criticism for its inability to help seniors combat inflation.…
Perspectives on the Taxation of Social Security Benefits
President Trump has led the most recent charge to rescue Social Security beneficiaries from the pain of income tax assessments, but that’s certainly not the first time the thought has emerged. Through the years, many have argued that including a…
Delaying Benefits to Age 70–The Argument Rages
Claiming Social Security benefits at age 62–the earliest possible age to collect retirement benefits–is still the most popular choice for those aging into the system. More than a fifth of new filers choose that option, despite the reduction from their…
Understanding the 2026 Social Security COLA: What Seniors Need to Know
After weeks of anticipation and a two-week delay, the Social Security Administration has announced the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026. Beginning in January, recipients will see a 2.8 percent increase in their monthly benefit payments. This yearly adjustment is meant…
Understanding Social Security for Divorced Spouses
Divorce is usually traumatic and sometimes acrimonious, but such emotions are absent from Social Security’s rules governing benefits for divorced spouses. If the marriage lasted at least 10-consecutive years, benefits from a former spouse are the same as if the…
Demystifying Medicare
Medicare, part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society,” was first enacted in 1965. As it has evolved over the decades, Medicare now consists of four unique “parts,” each designed to provide specific healthcare insurance coverage to American seniors. “Original Medicare”…
Demystifying Social Security’s “Earnings Test”
Social Security’s “Earnings Test” These days, working throughout one’s sixties and into and even beyond one’s seventies is very common. Recognizing that reality – and considering another which shows that most people today claim Social Security benefits in their early…
Demystifying Child-in-Care Spouse Benefits
A Spouse Can Get Social Security Benefits Before Age 62 Most couples know that age 62 is the normal minimum age to apply for Social Security spousal benefits. But many are not aware that spouse benefits are available to spouses…
Demystifying Your Social Security Benefit
Your Social Security Benefit Winston Churchill famously described the Soviet Union as “a riddle inside an enigma wrapped in a mystery.” That is also an apt way to describe your Social Security benefit, or so it seems when trying to…
Preserving your purchasing power
We have all heard the phrase “purchasing power,” but what does it mean to the average pre- and post-retiree? Purchasing power is “the value or buying capacity of your fixed retirement income in the face of inflation.” We have also…