Latest News
COLA Watch 2022: Looking at the Potential Bump in Dollars
For the past several weeks, the airwaves have been peppered with projections of the largest Social Security cost-of-living adjustment in about 40 years. Whether you look at that as good news or bad news, the fact remains that a substantial…
Another Reason to Defer Filing for Benefits
Inflation can be a bad thing on many fronts but, believe it or not, it can have a beneficial impact on one’s eventual Social Security benefit says Rate.com’s Carla Fried in a post today on Bakersfield.com (CA). “Every year between age…
The Question of SSA Field Office Availability
Despite mounting pressure from Congress, Social Security’s field office are continuing their policy of disallowing walk-ins. Although in-person appointments are available–but limited to “critical situations”–there seems to be a mounting level of frustration in the eyes of the general public.…
Attention Veterans: Medicare Advantage Changes Coming
An article posted today on the Kern Valley Sun (Lake Isabella, CA) website provides a brief summary of Medicare changes that provide opportunities for Veterans to take advantage of Medicare Advantage plan provisions previously not available to them. “The plans…
Understanding Full Retirement Age…and What it Means to Your Monthly Benefit
One of the key factors that needs to be given full consideration in retirement planning is one’s full retirement age (FRA). While it’s generally known that filing before one’s FRA will give you reduced benefits potentially for a greater number…
COLA Watch 2022: Inflation Eased a Bit in August, But Still Points to a High 2022 Adjustment
Wall Street Journal reporter Gwynn Guilford, in an article posted on their website, notes that inflation has cooled slightly in August, but added that that may simply be a “head fake” with respect to CPI statistics for the coming months. What…
Social Security 101–Some Bssic Terminology
Many of the articles we re-post on this site (and some that we create ourselves) often include acronyms and terms that tend to be very basic to Social Security, and often the mistake is made that it is assumed everyone…
State-Level Taxation of Social Security Benefits–It’s Important to be Aware
If the potential for relocation is in your retirement plans, you need to be aware of how the places you’re considering moving to look at taxable income. Since the issue of federal income tax on benefits is often an unwelcome…
Early Filers Beware…Taking Benefits at 62 Can Have Consequences
One of the frequent statements we hear is “Social Security? What’s to know? You turn 62, you take it.” And with the pundits and uninformed “experts” repeatedly talking about the program’s solvency problem and labeling it an impending “bankruptcy,” it’s…
Retirement Rules are Changing for Upper Earners
Well, the money has to come from somewhere, doesn’t it? House Democrats yesterday proposed a series of rule changes–most of which will go into effect in 2022–designed to limit the use of selected retirement account strategies presently used by higher-income…