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7 little-known Social Security benefits
In the first season of “Friends,” Rachel Green looks at her first paycheck as a waitress and asks, “Who’s this FICA guy, and why is he getting all my money?” That’s one hard lesson about Social Security. Another is that…
Washington fiddles while the economy burns
The dust has settled for the time being on the government shutdown but there has been NOTHING done to address the United States debt crisis. We need a call to action to save our country. This includes every mom and…
Planning retirement? Don’t forget Medicare costs
The potential costs and benefits of Medicare have a huge impact on retirement planning. For most folks, health-care costs are among the largest they will face in their retirement years. And, contrary to what many believe, Medicare is not free. You do have to “pay…
Retire, then work — what boomers face in later years
There was a time when Tom Sadowski thought he’d stop working after turning 65 earlier this year. But he’s put off retirement for at least five years — and now anticipates continuing to work afterward. In an illuminating sign of changing…
New budget-cut options include military pay, veterans
Military members, retirees and veterans have a few more reasons to be wary of politicians who say their top priority is to cut federal spending. The Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday released a report of more than 100 options for reducing…
Social Security decisions after divorce
The average length of a marriage in the United States is about eight years, but longer-term marriages are not immune from breakups. For this latter group, divorce can have an even more profound impact on long-term financial plans as the…
Medicare eligibility signals the end of middle age
Today, I became old. The Federal government told me so. An official letter from the Social Security Administration announced my eligibility for Medicare. The envelope also contained a red, white and blue Medicare card. The patriotic color theme continued in a 32-page…
Scannable VA cards put veterans at risk of identity theft
Anyone with a smartphone and a bar code app can scan any VA identification card issued since 2004 and the cardholder’s Social Security number immediately pops up on the screen. Tampa businessman and Army veteran Barry Landau wants answers. “I didn’t…
Toomey focuses on veterans
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is leading a pair of efforts he hopes will improve employment opportunities and speed up access to disability benefits for national guard soldiers and reservists who’ve returned from Iraq and Afghanistan wars. His employment plan entails the construction…
New generations will redefine retirement
The power of stories is vastly underestimated when it comes to economics, managing money and other aspects of everyday life. Earlier this month, I attended a talk on big data and employment by Patrick Riley, chief executive and co-founder of…