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Understanding RMDs and the Impact on Retirement Financial Planning
For many folks, it’s that time of the year when the issue of required minimum distributions (RMDs) from tax-preferred retirement savings plans (IRAs, 401ks, etc.). One consistent word of advice from financial planners, of course, is DO NOT FORGET to…
Social Security and Your Housing Costs – Some Key Things to Know
Many seniors grapple with the budgeting process, faced with a fixed income and an annual Social Security benefit cost-of-living adjustment that may not completely compensate for general price increases. Since housing costs are a substantial part of the overall financial…
Retirement Strategies: Thining About a Bridge Strategy to Maximize Monthly Benefits?
While it may not work for everyone, using a “bridge” strategy to align IRA redemptions with Social Security claiming decisions might offer a pathway to higher monthly benefits in later years. Deferring the decision to claim Social Security benefits is…
SSA Releases 2024 Veteran-related Statistics
In a post issued yesterday by the Social Security Administration, we find that Veterans account for roughly 13.5% of all beneficiaries. The average monthly benefit for those 7.7 million Veterans now stands at $1,879, with about 5.9% falling below federal…
Attention Veterans: SSA Provides Extensive Support
Veterans Day is fast approaching, so now’s a good time to refresh your knowledge of the Social Security Administration’s services available to military Veterans and those on active-duty. A public service announcement posted on theportlandbeacon.com provides information on these services…
Senirs’ Growing Reliance on Social Security Benefits
The steadily eroding financial future of Social Security is popping up more frequently these days in a wide range of media outlets, and there’s no doubt that Congress’s strategy of kicking the can down the road is nearing its end.…
My Social Security Accounts Soon to Require Revised Log-in Procedure
If you created your Social Security account online before September 18, 2021, and haven’t updated it recently, you will need to do so relatively soon. SSA has established a new access method for personal accounts: it requires the creation of…
WEP and GPO in the News, Again.
As the 118th Congress winds to a close, the ongoing saga of Social Security’s Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) continues to pop up in the media. Today’s roundup of news reports includes a Yahoo!News post by…
Social Security’s Looming Insolvency and a Call for Answers
Many people keenly aware of the funding crisis facing Social Security in less than a decade have been distressed by the primary candidates’ lack of serious discourse on the issue in this presidential election cycle. And nowhere is this distress…
Key Social Security Changes Set to Hit in January
The 2025 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announced last month is generally known at this point, but there are two additional key changes that folks need to keep in mind. For example, the annual limit on taxable earnings increases starting in January,…