Latest News
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…
The Impact of Illegal Immigrant Amnesty on Social Security and Medicare
The House Judiciary Committee today will be taking up the issue of amnesty for illegal immigrants, a population that includes “essential workers,” holders of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) status, and so-called “dreamers” who arrived at the age…
Social Security – Beating the Monthly Average
Social Security’s average monthly payout to beneficiaries is, at mid-year in 2021, $1557 per month. By design, the program is structured to provide about 40% of a retirees’ income level prior to retirement, an amount that would likely be insufficient…
401k Plans Do Have Some Downsides
For many folks, the ability to contribute to a 401k plan for retirement savings is a blessing, especially when there’s a generous employer match involved. The ability to defer compensation and avoid current taxation can enable future retirees to accumulate…