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Social Security Disability and Work
The inability to engage in substantial gainful activity is the general criteria to apply for Social Security Disability benefits. This article by Rachel Hartman takes readers through the specific and detailed guidelines for eligibility as well as how to apply. …
Tortoise & Hare: Who gets more Social Security?
Michael Taylor has some fun here explaining exactly how Social Security benefits are calculated using one’s annual income and number of years in the workforce. In this light-hearted example, who would get more in retirement, a hare would earned the maximum salary (currently $132,900)…
Want a big Social Security payout? Wait until 70.
Just 3% of Social Security beneficiaries wait until age 70, the maximum age, to start benefits. That’s a shame according to Maurie Backman, because delaying until age 70 yields one the highest payout possible, for the rest of one’s life. In fact, monthly…
Not the time to expand Social Security given its finances
In this article by Watchdog, Bethany Blankley criticizes The Social Security 2100 Act as proposed by Rep. John Larson (D-CT) as the wrong time to expand Social Security benefits to the wealthiest demographic group at the expense of raising taxes on…
A Primer on Social Security Survivor Benefits
Social Security is most well known for the retirement benefits that one collects as long as one contributed by working ten years in a lifetime. But survivor benefits are a less well known and even less well understood part of the program. When…
Taking Benefits at 62? Three reasons this may make sense.
Age 62 is the earliest one can apply for Social Security retirement benefits, and data shows that most people do start them at or around that age. The literature is ripe with reasons to delay benefits, chief among them to…
Will my Social Security benefits start automatically?
No, is the short answer to Social Security benefits starting automatically. A person must sign up, mainly because there is no magic, single age to start them. As long as you have 10 years (40 quarters) of work history, you can…
Heavy Debt in Retirement? Don’t Panic…Think Strategically
Many retirees find themselves facing heavier-than-expected debt loads when entering retirement. “The average American owes $6,354 on credit cards, according to Experian, but many retirees and soon-to-be retirees owe even more, on average.” And many senriors still carry mortgage into their…
Combating advertising fraud in Social Security. Medicare
The Social Security Administration’s Elaine Popejoy, in a post today on www.pantagraph.com, provides an explanation of measures that SSA has taken to protect folks from unscrupulous advertisers. She goes on to explain what one should do in situations where they believe…
Beware of the Medicare Scammers
You may have received one of those calls from someone purporting to represent Meducare and offering you a “free” piece of medical equipment (walker, brace, etc.)..many of have. As the editors of the Herald-Dispatch advise, first – don; take the…