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Monitoring Your Earnings Can Really Pay Off
(Source – blog.ssa.gov) You work hard for your money. You’re saving and planning for a secure retirement. Now you need to make sure you’re going to get all the money you deserve. Regularly reviewing your Social Security earnings record can…
Tips to boost your Social Security benefits
As the new year approaches, it pays to be strategic. Whether you’re close to retiring or years away from it, the moves you make in the coming year could improve your benefits. The attached article gives three tips you can…
How big will the average Social Security benefit check be next year
As we prepare for the new year, a few changes will be headed to Social Security recipient’s way. Of course, the most notable is the largest increase in year-over-year benefits since 2012. To find out what does this 2.8 percent…
The Double Edged Sword of Taxing Social Security Benefits
Social Security benefits are subject to income tax for middle and upper income taxpayers. But as Liz Weston points out in this piece, when benefits were made taxable in 1983 and then further in 1993, the brackets were never indexed for…
My benefits got cut. Welcome to WEP.
It’s a little known and even less well understood provision that affects a small number of people who worked in some public sector jobs and had at least ten years of employment in the private sector. It’s the Windfall Elimination…
What’s New in 2019 for Social Security?
Tom Margeneau’s comprehensive piece here looks at all the major changes to Social Security for 2019. There are no substantive changes in the law, but there are a number of adjustments due to inflation. In addition to the across the…
Early Withdrawals from IRAs? Possible, but usually ill advised
There are some limited exceptions that allow one to withdraw money from a traditional IRA or the earnings from a Roth IRA (contributions can be taken out at any time) without paying a 10% penalty, though income tax ism still…
Social Security & Income Taxes: Know the Rules & Plan Ahead
It can be a shock to learn you have to pay income taxes on Social Security benefits. Not all people do, so knowing the thresholds is key to understanding whether tax is due or not. The IRS determines who is required…
Social Security for those who worked little or not at all
We’ve all likely heard that Social Security benefits are a product of having contributed during one’s working years, namely the highest 35 years on record. That is true. But what if you never worked? Perhaps you spent the prime working years…
A Good Social Security “Tip Sheet” Going Forward
Social Security is a complex program for sure. This piece by Selena Maranjian highlights five things one should know about this vital program, one which sends monthly benefits to 63 million Americans. First, know your full retirement age. Second, know…