Latest News
Waiting until 70 to Claim SS Isn’t Always the Right Move
Nearly all Social Security Advisors will tell you that waiting until you’re 70 years old to claim is how you maximize your monthly Social Security benefit. That’s sound advice, if all of your personal circumstances align to suggest that delaying…
Couple’s Age Difference Calls for Careful SS Planning
Most advisors warn that a married couple should always take a holistic view of their Social Security planning – one that considers the best strategy for them as a couple. Never is that more true than when there is a significant…
Social Security’s Online Services
In today’s connected world, Social Security has kept up with the trend to offer more and more services online. The Social Security Administration’s website – www.ssa.gov – offers a complete repository of the agency’s rules and regulations, including tools for estimating…
SS Hearing Judge Ruling on Disability Claim Reversed by Federal Court
As an instructional example how Social Security’s appeal process works, this Rueters article by Barbara Grzincic demonstrates that a denial of SS disability benefits need not end one’s quest. The normal SS appeal process includes four options – 1) Request for…
Social Security – a Key Element of Your Retirement Plan
Social Security was never designed, nor intended, to be a retiree’s sole source of income. The Social Security formula intentionally computes your benefit to be no more than 40% of your pre-retirement income. So even though you will need to have…
Inflation May Result in Highest COLA in Decades
Inflation is all over the media these days, but it only takes focus on the higher prices you’re paying for everything to know that inflation is soaring. A short trip to the supermarket, with a stop to fill your gas tank, tells…
New Commissioner Takes Control of Social Security Administration
Coincident with the controversial firing of Commissioner Andrew Saul, President Biden appointed Kilolo Kijakazi as Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA). The move, of course, elicited predictable praise from Democrats and substantial criticism from Republicans, but who is this previously obscure…
Medicare Issue? Here’s Who to Contact
Although the Social Security Administration provides some administrative services on behalf of Medicare, it’s important to understand that Social Security and Medicare are two entirely separate programs. Because of this administrative link, however, it’s hard to know which agency to…
A Corporate Bogey – Delayed Retirement
The new reality in the corporate world is that employees are now often delaying their retirement plans. This new phenomenon, partly resulting from longer life expectancies and generally better health while aging, creates an interesting dilemma for corporate executives – added employee expense.…
Financial Advisors and Social Security Advice
In this interesting Forbes piece by David Rae, himself a Certified Financial Planner, the financial community is taken to task for not offering clients sound advice on Social Security matters. Based on a study revealing that the COVID-19 pandemic has induced severe…