Latest News
No More Talk; Time to Act on Social Security Reform
Ken Morris, Vice-President of the Society for Lifetime Planning, wrote this opinion piece for the Media News Group. Morris notes the looming insolvency of The Social Security Trust Fund in 2034, a fact displayed at the bottom of all benefit statements…
The Social Security Payroll Tax Does Not Hit All Income
The Social Security payroll tax brings in over 87% of the revenue in order to fund Social Security benefits. Sean Williams writes here about the seven sources of income NOT subject to the 12.4% payroll tax (split evenly between employee…
Health is a key factor in deciding when to take benefits
You can take Social Security retirement benefits at age 62, 70, or any age in between. Every person should put ample thought into the decision, because the age at which one files for benefits will generally dictate how much monthly…
Retirement Withdrawals & Social Security: Be Strategic
Social Security benefits are taxed above a certain threshold, so it is important for all beneficiaries to know what these limits are in order to avoid or at least minimize income taxes on benefits. It is often best to withdraw…
How Delaying Filing Can Produce Benefits in the Long Run
As the late Tom Petty crooned, “The waiting is the hardest part.” When it comes to filing for Social Security benefits, many would agree, since the impulse to grab the money at the earliest possible time is pretty strong. But as…
COLA Watch: 2020
It’s way too early to project what the numbers will show when it’s time to post the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2020, but at least one source is saying a return to the zero COLA days might be in…
Social Security Scams and Identity Theft In The News
It seems like just about every day, we learn of another security breach resulting in the release of personal information that can be used by fraud perpetrators and scam artists to target us. For example, check out these two articles…
Beware of Scammers Pretending to be Social Security
(Source: Social Security Administration) In the digital age, frauds and scams are an unfortunate part of doing business online. During the holiday season, Social Security has traditionally seen a spike in phishing scams, and we want to protect you as…
Social Security’s Insolvency – An Essay
Columnist Alan Beideck, in a post on www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com, takes a look at the Social Security insolvency dilemma, boiling the matter down to a simple conclusion: “…future receipts/revenues of the program will not meet the program’s future expenses.” As he points out,…
Retirement Finances: Three Basic Mistakes That Can Do You In
Whether its misjudging your ability to spend in retirement, or mismanaging your investments, there are some fundamental (and common) missteps that can negatively impact your retirement dream. A third item–also very common–is to not preparing for the taxation issues that…