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Millennials Are Making This Risky Move With Their Retirement Savings
Withdrawing or borrowing money from their 401k plans is becoming all too common among Millennials. A recent report from The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found this cohort most likely of any demographic group to tap into their retirement accounts; about one in three have done…
What your 21% cut in Social Security benefits means in detail
As Christy Bieber notes, with an average benefit of just $1,503 per month in 2020, a retiree today barely stays above the poverty level. Deduct $316, which is 21%, and seniors would become paupers practically overnight. But that is the scenario all retirees…
The Only Way That Social Security Pays Retirees Nothing
Brenton Smith, who writes nationally on Social Security issues, reviews a sometimes talked about concept where workers who want out of the Social Security program would be free to leave. He explains this is an impossible choice given how the program…
Social Security ‘Retirement Test’ Gets a Failing Grade
Tom Margenau gives a thorough explanation of the origins, the rationale, and the annual earnings test in practice. It is sometimes called the “retirement test” or as the author puts it, the Social Security earnings penalty, of which he is no…
Half of Retirees Pay Tax on Social Security Benefits
Despite a 2017 tax reform law, half of retirees pay income tax on their Social Security benefits, and that number has been the same for the past several years. The numbers may grow, as the thresholds for when tax kicks…
Why some may need to rethink waiting until age 70 for Social Security
Maurie Backman explains why it’s financially best to wait until age 70 to collect Social Security benefits. It’s simple, really. Waiting until the maximum retirement age of 70 maximizes the monthly benefit one will receive for the rest of one’s…
Supplemental Security Income explained
Christy Bieber explains Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a plan low income retirees may need if Social Security alone plus other savings is not enough. SSI is a means-tested, or income based program, as per below, for low-income retirees, the blind,…
10 Social Security Rules Everyone Should Know
U.S. News dives deeper to explain each of these ten Social Security Rules to Remember: Most workers contribute a 6.2% payroll tax; earnings that exceed $137,700 in 2020 aren’t taxed by Social Security; thirty-five years of earnings are factored into your Social…
Another stimulus check? Most likely NO.
Any talk of a second round of stimulus checks is likely wishful thinking, as the Senate is not even poised to vote on The HEROES Act passed by the Democrat House. Extending enhanced unemployment benefits by six more months, as…
Is another 0% raise in the offing?
David Rae writing in Forbes reviews how the Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) is calculated. He admits it is too soon to know for sure what it will be, as the announcement will not come until mid October. …