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Can you improve retirement security through a Bridge Strategy?
Using a “bridge strategy” for retirement planning may sound complex, but it’s actually quite straightforward. In simple terms, the concept involves using other financial assets (such as savings or low-yield investments) to cover current living expenses and defer claiming Social…
Social Security Insolvency and the Steadily Unfolding Fertility Rate Problem
The 2025 Social Security Trustees Report didn’t offer any new insights into a long-established problem. The key upshot from the report is that the insolvency date moved a bit closer than projected a year ago. For most who follow this…
GAO Calls Attention to Unresolved Cybersecurity Issues
Citing the potential for sensitive personal data to be jeopardized due to inattention to a series of open recommendations tied to cybersecurity and information technology management, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently warned Social Security Administration officials of the…
Changes in data collection could affect 2026 COLA calculation
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently eliminated three cities from the data sampling used to calculate its inflation numbers. Is this a big deal, and could it affect the calculation of Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026 (and beyond)? According…
Rethinking your decision to file for Social Security.
The gloomy 2025 Board of Social Security trustees report may have nudged you to think about filing for benefits before your full retirement age. If so, you might want to rethink that decision, says the writers at The Motley Fool.…
Paper checks slated to cease in a few months
The roughly half million Social Security beneficiaries still receiving paper checks will be required to convert to an alternative by September 30 to comply with President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14247. The Executive Order, titled “Modernizing Payments To and From…
Do you qualify for a Medicare Special Needs Plans?
Individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid coverage are referred to as Medicare dual-eligible. The individual can enroll in a Special Needs Plan (SNP) where a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan coordinates the care plan designed to provide targeted care and…
A Lack of Social Knowledge Can Create a Big Problem!
What you don’t know can hurt you, especially when it comes to Social Security decisions. That’s a simple fact that we deal with routinely at the AMAC Foundation Social Security Advisory Service. For example, being unaware of the earnings test…
Dissecting the Social Security Earnings Test
The Social Security Earnings Test severely limits the ability of early retirees to earn income without having their benefits reduced. Because of this provision, many older Americans are forced out of the workplace when they would otherwise continue contributing to…
Garnishment of Social Security benefits, and how it occurs
For the past year or so, quite a bit has been written about the clawing back of overpaid Social Security benefits. Most recently, of course, there’s been the back-and-forth about the limit on how large a portion of a monthly…