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Starting Social Security Well After Age 62 has Benefits
In 2016 about 60 percent of new Social Security recipients began taking benefits before their full retirement age, with around one-third starting them at age 62, the earliest age possible. While some people may take benefits early due to the negative news about…
Bernie Sanders’ Social Security Bill: Good intentions, but makes shortfall worse
Sen. Sanders of Vermont is out with a new bill on Social Security. Sean Williams of The Motley Fool summarizes the bill in this article. In short, the bill would significantly improve funding for offices and for the agency to…
Labor Day, Women, and Social Security: How are they connected?
Americans celebrated Labor Day on Monday, September 3rd. It’s the unofficial end of summer, a day for cookouts and barbecues, the last chance to hit the beach, and of course a day to honor laborers. But, as Lynda Waddington notes in this historical…
Chained CPI: Taking a Look at the (Fuzzy) Math
It’s a not a new concept, but it just keeps coming around for discussion–the shift away from CPI-W for Social Security cost-of-living calculations in favor of a “Chained CPI” approach. As you’ll recall, the logic behind this proposal is that…
Older Workers Face Obstacles in Finding Employment
Much of the financial advice floating in the air these days makes it sound sort of easy. Go ahead, retire, and find a less stressful job to supplement the drop in earnings. Perhaps even embrace the “gig economy,” where one…
COLA Watch: Some Ups and Downs, Maybe?
While some news accounts are predicting Social Security cost of living adjustments (COLAs) in the 3% range for 2019–highest since 2012–others are discussing the potential for a drop in certain Medicare premium rates. In the coming days and weeks, we’ll see…
Protecting Your Child’s Social Security Number
The consumer credit reporting agency Experian reports that the average age for identity theft involving children is 12, a statistic that can cause enormous problems for parents. In an article posted on gazette.com, reporter Katie Pelton outlines some of the warning signs that parents can…
Watch Out for Social Security Surprises
For those of you looking ahead to retirement and the big step of collecting you Social Security benefits, there are a few basic points you need to be aware of so you don;t encounter some unfortunate surprises when you arrive.…
More Thoughts on 401k Changes
In somewhat of a correlating report on President Trump’s “Strengthening Retirement Security in America” Executive Order (see today’s Headline Post), CNBC Personal Finance Reporter Sarah O’Brien offers conjecture on what might be happening this fall in the area of 4o1k regulations.…
Trustees Report Talking Points
The 2018 Social Security Trustees Report has been out for a few months now, and its contents and projections have been hashed about in a host of news articles. So, while just about everybody interested in the subject is clearly…