Latest News
Stealing Social Security benefits of someone who died
A rather macabre report by WHIO (OH) reporter Kate Bartley reveals a disturbing trend of Social Security fraud – concealing a beneficiary’s death in order to steal the deceased’s Social Security benefits. In this case an Ohio woman’s granddaughter discovered and…
Good advice on investing; hyperbole about Social Security
Though the hyperbole is quite over the top using terms like “a future without Social Security” and “in case Social Security disappears” (not a reality), this US News & World Report article by contributor Maryalene LaPonsie nevertheless provides a great…
Social Security 2020 COLA: An early prediction
Okay, so reality is that it’s way too early to make an accurate prediction of what next year’s Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) will be for those collecting Social Security benefits. After all, COLA is determined by the results of…
Here’s how to plan for your retirement
Most of us know, at least intellectually, that we need to plan for retirement. But do we know how and where to start? Probably not, which is why this article by Liz Weston, appearing at NerdWallet.com, is especially timely and…
Retirement Savings: Good news, bad news
America is suffering, as has been widely reported in the media, a “retirement crisis”, because most Americans are woefully short on the savings plan they’ll need to retire comfortably. But it seems like the first quarter of 2019 has revealed…
Plan to take Social Security at 62? Think again.
Age 62 is the most popular age at which a majority of people claim their Social Security benefits. Sure, that’s largely because age 62 is when you first become eligible for benefits, but claiming as soon as you can is usually not…
Trustee’s report good news, but doesn’t eliminate Social Security’s financial woes
The recently released Social Security Trustee’s report (available elsewhere on this website) brought with it a clean breath of air in that the projections for the program’s insolvency were extended a little. But that doesn’t mean that the problem has…
Social Security touches the lives of most Americans
Few would question that Social Security is America’s most popular, and most beneficial benefit program. The program touches the lives of nearly all American’s whether that be workers who pay into the system, retirees who have reached their golden years,…
An SSA warning about phone scams
We’ve published many articles on this website about scammers posing as Social Security representatives, but the pervasiveness of the problem bears frequent repeating. In this Walterboro (SC) Live article by the Social Security Administration’s Public Affairs Specialist Tony Williams, the author…
Alarming misconceptions about Social Security
In an alarming study conducted by the National Retirement Institute, nearly half of Americans planning to retire in the next 10 years view Social Security as their primary source of future retirement income. Yet the average Social Security benefit check…