Latest News
Rethinking Your Retirement Savings Needs
Most investment articles you read will talk about how retirees should assume they’ll need about 80% of their pre-retirement income to live comfortably in their so-called golden years. Those same articles often suggest using the infamous “4% rule” when it…
Social Security Strategies for Married Couples
Finding an optimum Social Security claiming strategy is hard enough for a single person, but even more difficult for a married couple. Married partners are well advised to coordinate their individual claiming so as to maximize their benefits as a couple, not…
How Do Social Security and your 401(k) Fit Into Your Retirement Plan?
In this Yahoo! Finance article, author Rebecca Lake discusses how Social Security and your employer 401(k) plan can work together to help you achieve financial comfort during retirement. Most large employers offer a 401(k) tax-deferred savings program, and many employers match employee contributions at least…
Understanding the Medicare Late Enrollment Penalty
If you don’t enroll in Medicare when you first become eligible at age 65, you may end up paying a Late Enrollment Penalty, which will raise your Medicare premium for the rest of your life. That penalty can apply to…
Understanding the Social Security “Disability Freeze”
Although the title of this article is misleading using the word “Jelly,” what it is actually about is a Social Security rule known as the “Disability Freeze.” For those who collect SS Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for a time and later return to…
Do Higher Earnings Mean a Higher Social Security Benefit?
Well, the obvious answer is “yes,” but there are also some limitations. First of all, only those earnings under the annual Social Security “wage base” count for purposes of calculating your SS benefit. Second, high earnings for only a few years…
Pandemic Worsened Retirement Challenges For Women
Most financial advisors will agree – women face more daunting retirement challenges than their male counterparts, and the COVID-19 pandemic only made matters worse. The reasons retirement planning for women is more difficult are pretty well known – the so-called gender…
Retirement Mistakes That Hurt You
Most of us have dreamed of a retirement filled with endless leisurely days pursuing hobbies and activities not possible while were working. Proper planning is key to achieving that dream, but neglecting a just few simple factors can throw a…
How To Do “Better Than Average” with Social Security
Included in Social Security’s annually released Fact Sheet is that in 2021 the “average” Social Security beneficiary received $1,565 per month. That’s not a lot, especially if you, like most Americans, rely on Social Security for a major portion of your…
Will Your Social Security Payment Beat the “Average?”
The much heralded news about the 2022 5.9% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) reveals that the new “average” Social Security payment will be $1,657 per month. But “average” means that some beneficiaries will be paid less than that and some…