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Taking Social Security at age 66 versus 70
Writing in Forbes Magazine, Laurence Kotlikoff, professor of Economics at Boston University refutes a recent MarketWatch article advocating one should take Social Security benefits at age 66 rather than age 70, given Social Security’s financial problems. Kotlikoff acknowledges Social Security’s long term…
Beware banking too heavily on Social Security in retirement
Social Security was never designed to be one’s sole source of income in retirement. Currently, benefits replace only about 40% of pre-retirement income. Where will the difference come from? In this article Maurie Backman stresses the importance of 401k plans and…
Social Security for the six-figure income earner
Social Security is a universal program, meaning that all who contribute can expect to benefit, as long as basic criteria such as having 10 years of earnings, among others, being met. This article by Selena Maranjian of The Motley Fool discusses the…
You Social Security “full retirement age”, and how it affects your benefit
When the Social Security program was first enacted, everyone had the same “full retirement age” of 65, and that was the age at which you could collect the full amount of benefit you had earned from your lifetime of working.…
Today’s retirement: Not like the old days!
The entire retirement landscape in American has changed. Years ago, working for the same company for a lot of years rewarded you with a pension to help sustain you in your golden years, but those traditional defined benefit retirement plans…
You can’t live comfortably on Social Security alone
With an average annual benefit of about $17,000, the average recipient cannot live comfortably on Social Security alone. After all, Social Security was never intended to replace any more than 40% of your pre-retirement income, and most financial planners will say…
Taking SS benefits at age 70 versus age 66
According to the latest Trustees’ report, Social Security could be facing benefit cuts up to 21% if the Trust Fund goes dry in 2034. That has led some to suggest that in the face of potential benefit reductions, taking Social…
More Discussion on Social Security Reform
Former presidential appointee and current senior policy fellow at the Bloustein School of Planning and Policy, Rutgers University Richard Keevey shares some thoughts on approaches to reforming Social Security in the face of its looming insolvency problem. After discussing the Congressional Budget…
Disability and Social Security Spousal Benefits
The question of how a spouse’s SSDI benefits relate to the ability to apply for benefits on the other spouse’s work record is one that arises frequently. Newsday’s Lynn Brenner provides an analysis of these two types of benefits coincide, including…
Envisioning Retirement…A Way to Help You Get There
A recent Capital Group survey sheds light on the power of imaging in one’s mind what a desirable retirement will be, noting that “When people envision how they want to live in their retirement years, they are motivated to save…