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Claiming at Age 62 means a smaller Social Security payment for life
Boiled down to the essential, the age at which you claim Social Security has a big impact on how much your benefit will be. It all starts with what your benefit will be at your full retirement age (your “FRA),…
What is the Most Popular Age to Claim Social Security?
How much your Social Security benefit will be is determined by a complex formula which uses your lifetime earnings history, your year of birth, and the age at which you claim. And, unfortunately, most individuals have surprisingly little idea of…
Oh No! Yet Another Social Security Scam Method
Well, if nothing else, those who seek to scam you out of your money are creative. Stories abound about how scammers posing as representatives of Social Security call on the telephone to try to extract your personal information, or get…
Social Security Change Supported By All But 1 Candidate
Sean Williams explains how Social Security is and will run deficits from this year (2020) through 2035 when all project past reserves will be exhausted. Across the board cuts of 23% for all will occur without reform before then. A…
Ignoring Social Security Paints False Wealth Inequality Picture
Inequality remains a fiercely debated subject among economists and academics who seek to answer the question– does it matter? The CATO Institute is out with an academic study that concludes “that studies estimating wealth inequality without accounting for Social Security would both exaggerate the…
Be aware of Social Security myths
Edward Jones Investments has a piece out that covers four myths related to Social Security. Each of these is false and the article in The Herald Journal explains why. Myths: Always take Social Security early; When you claim Social Security won’t…
9 ways to ‘life hack’ your way to larger Social Security benefits
Robert Powell writing in USA Today writes about how to optimize Social Security monthly benefits. While not rocket science, Americans pay too little attention to such an important issue or worse, make devastating mistakes when signing up. The 9 “life…
3 Social Security Myths That Could Cost You Big Time
Katie Brockman reports on a survey from Nationwide that found 91% of Americans age 50+ don’t know what factors influence the maximum benefit amount they can receive. She reports in this article on three myths that could further confuse folks and costs…
5 Facts About Social Security Benefits People Don’t Know
People may have a vague sense that Social Security’s financial health isn’t what it was. That point about looming across the board cuts coming for all in 2035, absent reform, is but one of five points made in this Motley…
No magic fixes for Social Security
This MarketWatch opinion piece by Alicia Munnell lays out the stark choices to fix the financial health of Social Security as benefit cuts or tax increases, with the author preferring the latter. Charts are included to illustrate the options. But…