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The Pandemic Dilemma For Those Turning 60 in 2020
As has been reported in several recent articles, the pandemic creates a special dilemma for those turning 60 in 2020, because of the way that Social Security calculates benefits. Such calculations are done using “bend points” in the year you…
Will the “Stimulus” Payment Be Taxed?
The short answer is no – the recent economic relief payment, or “stimulus check,” will not be considered as part of your income for income tax purposes, nor will it count toward your income limitations when deciding if you Social…
Choosing A Representative Payee in Advance
A “representative payee” is sometimes used for Social Security recipients who become incapable of handling their own financial affairs, or minor children who are eligible for benefits from a parent. The Representative Payee receives the beneficiary’s Social Security payment, but…
The Changing Retirement Landscape
“Baby Boomers,” that generation of American now entering the retirement phase of their lives, are poorly equipped financially to spend decades in the so-called “golden years.” Most boomers haven’t saved nearly enough, and many are still working, trying to catch…
Retire? Or Go Back to Work? A Perplexing Pandemic Question
These are definitely uncertain times. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in about 45 million Americans being added to the unemployment rolls as businesses shuttered while the crisis was in full swing. But as the crisis subsides and companies start to…
A Shifting Attitude: Most Millennials Don’t Expect SS to be a Major Source of Their Retirement Income
In a stark contrast to reality for today’s Social Security recipients, only a small percentage of America’s younger generations think that Social Security will be a major source of their retirement income. In fact, in a recent Transamerica survey, only…
The Importance of Understanding Candidate Positions on Social Security
In a post on www.ibtimes.com, reporter Christy Bieber stresses the importance of understanding and evaluating the positions being taken by presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe BIden on Social Security. Although the subject of Social Security’s long-term financial picture seems to…
The Continuing Retirement Savings Dilemma
The retirement savings patterns of Baby boomers–those born from 1946 to 1964–are again in the news, again being cited as a cause for alarm. “Many baby boomers don’t have nearly enough money to retire,” says Yahoo Money reporter Dhara Singh in a…
More on the Social Security Tax Issue and the Impact on Social Security and Medicare
As we’ve pointed out frequently on this site, the push to suspend payroll taxes as a means to help stimulate the U.S. economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is an unsound idea when considered in the long-term funding…
Paying Federal Income Tax on Social Security Benefits: A Problem Likely to Grow
It catches many folks by surprise. And many consider it an unfair double-taxation problem. What we’re talking about, of course, is the fact that more than half of retiree households fall into the bracket where a portion of their benefits…