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How the 2022 COLA Will Affect the Average Couple
Viewed by most as an historic event, the 2022 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) of 5.9% is the highest increase in decades. But what will that increase mean to the average senior couple who have been already paying inflated prices…
Interesting Pandemic Anomaly – Delayed Claiming of Social Security
A Washington Post survey has revealed a surprising dichotomy from what economists expected – the number of people choosing to delay claiming their Social Security benefits went up during the COVID-19 pandemic, even while the number of people retiring from work rose. That was exactly the…
Social Security “Work Credits” Will Cost a Bit More in 2022
Social Security eligibility is determined by how many “work credits” (sometimes called “quarter credits”) you have. To be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits on your own, you’ll need to accumulate at least forty (40) credits over your lifetime and,…
When is it Wise to Claim Social Security at 62?
Deciding when to claim Social Security can be confusing. Most professional advisors suggest you wait as long as possible because your benefit continues to grow until you are 70 years old, so the longer you wait the more your benefit…
“Spooky” Halloween Facts About Social Security
Right on the heels of Halloween, this Motley Fool article by Maurie Backman relates some spooky things about Social Security – that if you claim too early your benefit will be permanently cut by as much as 30%, and that Social…
More Support for the “Don’t Retire Early” Argument
The argument on whether to retire early or late is a back-and-forth debate, which news posts repeatedly advocating pro and con positions. Here’s another one, this one highlighting three key reasons why the ever-popular early retirement decision can produce some…
Viewpoints on Future Retirement Life
“Middle-class Americans are struggling to accumulate sufficient financial assets during their working years,” said Tyler Bond, manager of research at the National Institute on Retirement Security. That quote, appearing in a CNBC post by Kate Dore, CFP puts a pretty broad…
COVID-19 Notch–Bullet Dodged
For the past two years, there were persistent concerns about how the National Average Wage Index (NAWI) would affect people turning 62 during the pandemic years. The concern, of course, was that the NAWI is a factor in setting the…
Planning for Social Security’s Demise
Cyberspace is awash with reports and projections of Social Security’s disappearance in the early part of the next decade, and financial pundits across the country continue to chime in with accounts of the program’s worsening situation. Without question, Social Security…
Halloween’s Approaching, and Here’s Some Scary Stats (About Social Security, Anyway!)
ThinkAdvisor’s Ginger Szala, in the spirit of the pre-Halloween days, takes a look at some fairly tormenting statistics about our Social Security program in an article posted on their website. Ranging from trust funds potentially running dry in little more…