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“Gig Workers” – Make Sure You Understand the Path You’re Electing
Moving from payroll-based employment to independent contracting has many desirable features, not the least of which is the element of control over when you work and what you work on. But if you’re contemplating a move in this direction, it’s…
Retirement Planning – Sorting Through the Noise
Northstar Financial and Retirement Planning Zach Jenkins and George Fossing, in a recorded interview posted on foxcarolina.com, cover a variety of fundamentals future retirees need to consider while there’s still time to take action. From portfolio diversification to ensuring the availability of…
Key Retirement Pre-Planning Tips
Retirement is a dream for many people…one that always seems to be way in the future. And then, suddenly, it’s staring us in the face. Now what do you do to get ready? As Mary A. Durra, Vice President and Senior Financial…
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…