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Retirement Savings–Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Saving for those retirement years is not a simple process, and there are several mistakes that are fairly easy to make. The consequences of missteps in the saving process can be severe, as explained in this fool.com post by Kailey Hagen.…
Millennials and Their Role in Saving Social Security…An Opinion
Citing “incredibly economically impactful things” that the population segment referred to as “millennials” will unleash in the years ahead, Bill Smead of Smead Capital Management suggests in a post on forextv.com that the Social Security funding problem will be corrected through…
Planning Your Financial Future, Decade by Decade
Just like saving for retirement, planning for a solid financial future is a daunting task. In a post today on www.cantonrep.com, an OSU Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Educator Melinda Hill takes a look at specific tasks younger folks need to consider as…
Looking Inside the “Gig Economy”…Some Things to Think About
It’s been estimated that by next year, about 40% of the U.S. workforce will be employed in the “gig” economy–a working arrangement where the worker is considered to be an independent, non-payrolled employee. While this offers benefits in the form…
The Reality of Living on Social Security
“Many people expect their living costs to drop dramatically once they retire, but many seniors don’t see all that substantial a decline.” This quote from The Motley Fool’s Maurie Backman puts into perspective the erroneous assumption many future retirees make when…
Social Security-based Scams…The Importance of Due Diligence
It was once a seasonal thing, this emphasis on scams and fraud operations based on Social Security data. No longer. It’s now a constant, year-round situation, and a post on tylerpaper.com by contributor Leo Rossler drives this point home. In addition to discussing…
Social Security Myths and Misunderstandings
The AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Service has, for the past several years, sought to unmask the popular myths surrounding this massive program (see this article from earlier this year as an example). Despite these efforts, the misunderstandings remain pervasive,…
More Commentary on the Inadequacy of Social Security’s COLA Calculation
Financial Planning’s Paola Peralta, in a post on https://bic.financial-planning.com, offers additional commentary on how seniors fall behind in the inflation race with a 1.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Citing health care premium increases of 5.6% as an example, Ms. Peralta notes, “Expenses for…
Retirement Savings: Doing the Math
Just about daily, we see articles lamenting the statistics indicating that Americans are not financially prepared for retirement and, worse, aren’t doing much about it. Savings rates seem to be much lower than they should be to build an adequate…
FICA Tax Limit for 2020 Also Announced
Although much of the hoopla and teeth-gnashing this week related to the 1.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security beneficiaries (and specifically it’s drop-off from 2019’s 2.8% increase), the Social Security Administration also announced the wage base limit for 2020.…