Latest News
Suspension of Benefits – Clearing Up Some Misunderstanding
Larry Kotlikoff, Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, provides some clarifying information on the subject of beneficiaries’ ability to suspend Social Security payments at full retirement age. The clarification is offered…
Social Security Procedures for End-of-Life
An important thing to know is how to handle Social Security-related matters upon the death of a spouse or someone in your care. The proper flow of benefit payments at the end of one’s life is generally not well understood,…
The Often Misunderstood Subject of Spousal Benefits
Veteran columnist Tom Margenau fields a multitude of questions about Social Security, and has done it for a long time. We frequently re-post his material on this site as an additional service to readers, similar to our weekly “Ask Rusty” Q&A…
Social Security Tools for Educators
Everyone needs to understand Social Security, and the SSA seeks to help those in a position to help spread the word by providing an educator’s toolkit that can serve as a basis for developing lesson plans for the classroom. From graphics…
Getting the Most Out of Social Security
Nothing really new here, just a few reminders that there are ways you can ensure that you will be maximizing the benefits available to you from Social Security. The Motley Fool’s Selena Maranjian offers three basic facts that everyone should be…
A Plug for “my Social Security Accounts”
“my Social Security is your online gateway to Social Security. It provides interactive and secure access to many Social Security online services. Creating an account gives you the control to check your Social Security Statement, change your address, verify your reported earnings, estimate…
Social Security and Retirement Reality
For many, thoughts of retirement financing focus largely on relying on Social Security benefits to carry them through their later years. Unfortunately, there are some fundamental realities that make this an untenable situation for a lot of folks. First, there’s…
Planning for Retirement – Thoughts on Avoiding Mistakes
Planning for retirement is not an easy thing. There are many missteps one can take along the way that could detract from reaching the goals you’ve set, and it’s often good to consider sage advice from those knowledgeable in the…
Your Social Security Benefit – How to Beat the Average
Roughly $1550 per month…that’s the average Social Security Benefit payment these days. So, how can you set yourself up to exceed that figure when you reach retirement? There are some basic factors on which you can focus to achieve a…
About Medicare’s “three day rule” for Skilled Nursing Home Coverage
As if Medicare’s various rules regarding healthcare aren’t already complicated enough, the so-called “three day rule” adds yet another level of confusion for those needing skill nursing care. The base rule is this: for Medicare to cover your stay in a…