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Social Security Will Survive – A Reality Check
Russ Wiles updates his column here noting that reports and polls showing decreased confidence in Social Security are not entirely founded in reality. He notes that benefit cuts will indeed occur if no action is taken by Congress before 2034, the…
Will my Grandchildren get Social Security? Yes, but…
Perhaps it goes back to a Pew Research Center survey that asked Millennials whether they believed Social Security would be there to provide them a benefit at retirement, and a majority (51%) said no. Or perhaps it is the yearly Trustees…
Retirement planning: Starting age as important as value of assets
Mitch Goldberg addresses retirement by suggesting it’s more important to know the age one wants to retire and work backwards from that point. Life expectancy for women is now over 80 and about 79 for men, more than 15 years higher than…
Think You Know the Basics of Social Security? Take This Quiz
The Social Security Act was passed in 1935 with several additional changes to the law over the years. The most recent changes of consequence were in 1983 and 1993. But, even though 61 million Americans are currently receiving monthly benefits,…
Social Security’s Costs: Are We Better off Without it?
Social Security payroll deductions consume a large component of workers’ paychecks at 12.4%. This amount is split equally between employee and employer, with self-employed individuals paying the full amount themselves. For many, this is more than they pay in federal income tax. …
Picking the Right Social Security Age: Not an Easy Decision
Sean Williams notes the difficulty in selecting the right age to claim Social Security benefits as an imperfect science coupled with luck. But one should at least know the four factors used in determining monthly benefits, so as to try to make the…
Delaying Social Security reform imperils next generation’s future
This article is an edited transcript of a conversation between David Branaccio and Arun Muralidhar, founder of MCube Investment Technologies, on the dangers of not acting on Social Security reform soon. The two discuss the Social Security Trustees report from June 2018. …
File for benefits early or late? Try “on time”.
What does it mean to file for Social Security benefits “on time”. While there is no single right time or one-size fits all answer, this article examines the issue, including the idea of “holding off a little” past early retirement at 62…
WV Attorney General Warns About Social Security Phone Scam
To never give out a Social Security Number over the phone is a refrain we have all probably heard before. It is worth repeating, however, in light of a new phone scam going around. Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia’s Attorney General, is warning…
Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid cuts are only way to balance the budget
Stating that “what we can afford is considerably less than what we want”, Professors Antony Davies and James Harrigan opine that some cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are unavoidable, as these three programs alone represent over half of…