Latest News
Retirement Perspectives: Have the Golden Years Become a Luxury?
In a post yesterday on Business Insider, reporter Jordan Parker Erb poses the question of whether a growing retirement crisis has become “a luxury many workers can’t afford.” From the steady disappearance of defined benefit pension plans to the extended…
Immigration Emerges in the Social Security Debate (Again)
In an analysis of GOP presidential candidate Trump’s recent remarks about Social Security’s looming financial crisis, The Motley Fool’s Sean Williams cited the candidate’s campaign position on the program as “flawed” and pointed out several fundamental points omitted from its…
SSA Moves to Soften the Impact of Overpayment Recovery
Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley, facing up to the Agency’s mounting public criticism on the procedures used to recover overpayments, recently made good on his vow to eliminate one of the “heavy-handed” practices previously used. Before O’Malley’s announcement, the Agency’s…
Understanding Social Security’s Marital Benefits–An Important Element of Retirement Planning
Social Security can be a complex area, with its thousands of rules, regulations, and options that should be understood to make the best claiming decision for each individual’s situation. While there is the immediate option of spousal benefits and the…
New bill endorses CPI-E as a means to avoid steady loss of seniors’ purchasing power
At last week’s Aging Committee hearing on preserving and protecting Social Security, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) summarized the newly-introduced Boosting Benefits and COLAs for Seniors Act as intending to “help seniors contend with rising costs by changing the way that Social…
Here’s Social Security’s Payment Schedule
Social Security sends out millions of benefit payments all month long and, obviously, payments to all beneficiaries are not made on the same day each month. Fact is, the Social Security Administration has a very specific schedule for who gets…
Social Security Revamps Process for Collection of Overpayments
Much has been reported lately about how overpayment of benefits due to Social Security’s slowness catching errors has created financial hardship for many beneficiaries. Social Security’s newly appointed Commissioner has taken steps to mitigate the issues related to collection of…
Planning for Retirement – Here are some helpful ideas
Retirement planning can be intimidating, especially if you are mid-life looking at the horizon and wondering what you can do to better your chances of comfort in your golden years. But retirement planning is more than simply “crunching the numbers”…
Social Security for Divorced Spouses
“Your ex is worth twice as much dead than alive” proclaims one Social Security pundit, and guess what? That is true. Although there are specific criteria which must be met for a divorced spouse to be eligible for benefits from…
About Medicare Advantage Plans
No doubt about it – many seniors have selected “Medicare Advantage” as their preferred type of healthcare plan. Essentially, Medicare Advantage replaces the federal government’s “original Medicare” with healthcare coverage from a private insurance company. Medicare Advantage plans usually offer…