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Your Lifetime Earnings Record, and How It Affects Your Social Security Benefit
Many don’t realize that their lifetime earnings history is used to compute their Social Security benefit – specifically, the highest earning 35 years of earnings you’ve had over your lifetime. Your earnings in those years are adjusted for inflation, totaled…
You May Get a Smaller Social Security Benefit Than You Expect
What do you expect to get from Social Security? Most will probably say they have no idea, but nearly everyone will say they want to get the most possible. Regardless of how close you are to actually retiring, it would…
Advice From a Retired Social Security Expert
Tom Margenau enjoyed a long and successful career with the Social Security Administration and, now retired, writes a regular Social Security & You column for the Arizona Start media outlets. Tom’s articles are always enjoyable and an easy read, sometimes…
Sometimes, Claiming Social Security Early is the Right Move
Most advisors, present company included, often advise delaying your claim for Social Security benefits as long as possible so that you can get a higher monthly amount. But, most advisors will also concede that there are certain situations when claiming…
A Big COLA Increase? Not So Fast
Here we go again – various pundits trying to look into their crystal ball and predict what next year’s Cost of Living increase will be. On top of the 5.9% increase awarded for 2022, some are suggesting that the next…
Social Security Benefits Can Be Lost!
Most of us believe that once we claim our hard-earned Social Security benefits, those benefits are ours to keep forever. And, that’s largely true, except that things you do or don’t do can, indeed, cause you to lose some or…
“Long COVID” and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are notoriously difficult to get, with about 2/3rds of all SSDI applications being initially denied by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Further, as a result of imposed cost efficiency mandates, the wait time to…
Social Security Never Meant To Be Sole Source of Retirement Income
There’s little question that Social Security is a very important part of America’s retirement scene, with about 50% of households aged 65 or over relying on Social Security for at least half of their retirement income. Indeed, Social Security accounts…
Benefit Replacement and Bend Points Explained
How much pre-retirement income will Social Security replace? That may be the most important question one should ask before starting benefits? Adam Levy covers that issue and shows a chart. The general answer is around 40%, though it’s less of…
Biggest Benefits Change in Over 40 Years Coming in 2023
There has been no substantive change in the law as it pertains to Social Security, and none is expected in 2022. Yet next year will bring a major change, namely the highest cost of living adjustment (COLA) in 40 years.…