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Turning 62 in 2022? If yes, your FRA is now 67
We’ve reached the last year of progression on Social Security’s full retirement age–a progression that started some time ago for those born in 1943 and took the conventional full retirement age from 65 to 67. So for now, 67 is…
Social Security Claiming Strategies and the Implications of Divorce Situations
Social Security is complicated enough for basic retirement planning, but throw in a divorce situation and the level of complexity goes up another order of magnitude…or so it seems. So, if you’re in a divorce and planning for your eventual…
Your Primary Insurance Amount id a Changing Factor
One of the most basic factors in determining one’s Social Security benefit is the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), a number resulting from analysis of your cumulative work history. As your earnings are reported to the Social Security Administration, either by…
A Pessimistic View of Social Security’s Long Term Viability
As many of our readers are aware, we’ve commented repeatedly through the years on the need for legislative action to resolve the Social Security program’s impending solvency crisis, often citing various proposals for Congress to consider and even, occasionally, suggesting…
Clearing Up the Confusion on Taxability of Stimulus Payments
As tax season presses on, many seniors have held their breath on whether or not last year’s stimulus payments will affect the calculation of their modified adjusted gross income for federal tax purposes. Fortunately, the answer is that these payments…
A Reality Check for Future Social Security Beneficiaries
As you probably know, the long-term future of Social Security is in some jeopardy due to the much-talked-about solvency crisis. But for the moment, let’s put that aside and consider a different type of hypothesis…one in which you reach the…
Attention: Married Couples Planning for Social Security…Here are Some Thoughts to Consider
There are quite a few ways to approach Social Security benefits, and for married couples, there are some specific options that need to be considered to ensure that benefits are being arranged strategically for maximum effectiveness. The Motley Fool’s Maurie…
A perspective on Social Security’s future
In a particularly contemplative piece, journalist Tom Purcell offers thoughts on the future of Social Security in the face of the impending solfuturevency crisis and the persistent viewpoints regarding the assessment of FICA taxes. Purcell’s comments also offer thoughts on…
Applying for Benefits at 62? Here are two key rules you need to understand.
As we’ve said many times, age 62 is the most popular age for folks to begin their Social Security benefits. This remains true even though monthly benefits are substantially discounted from full retirement age benefits–a discounting that is permanent for…
Careful planning can help you avoid falling into a retirement disaster
Here’s a frightening statistic from the 2020 Retirement Confidence Survey: “About one in four American workers have less than $10,000 stowed away for retirement.” As a consequence, it’s likely that many of these future retirees are destined to have a…