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Social Security for Family Leave? It’s Controversial.
Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill that would allow parents to cash in a portion of their future Social Security benefits early to finance family leave. The proposal is to give new parents the option to take at least two…
Some seniors not signing up for Social Security benefits at all
In this Social Security and You column, Tom Margineau addresses three issues from readers. Two wrote in that they never applied for Social Security benefits, despite one being age 73 and the other 85, mainly because they felt they did…
Who is the typical Social Security beneficiary?
Social Security provides benefits to 62 million Americans each month. But who are they? Sean Williams of The Motley Fool looks at three metrics to get to who the “average” or “typical” recipient is. In short, it is a 70-year…
Your birthday and Social Security–not necessarily one in the same
When it comes to Social Security, even one’s birthday is not as straightforward as one would think. As Jim Blankenship of Kiplinger’s notes, “bureaucracy can add an interesting twist to such a simple concept.” To understand all the rules before…
Economic boom not enough to solve Social Security’s problems
Those who like economic forecasting, numbers, and aggregate data will enjoy this piece in The Motley Fool. While acknowledging Social Security’s troubles and the looming insolvency by 2034, Sean Williams asks if it could be that the economic boom and…
Spouses need to coordinate to maximize benefits
Among Lee Conrad’s round-up of recent retirement news he argues that spouses should coordinate their Social Security claiming strategies to maximize the amount of retirement benefits they will receive. This article first appeared in Kiplinger, A report shows that 82%…
Means-testing a viable solution to Social Security and Medicare’s funding problems
This opinion piece notes the problems associated with funding Social Security and Medicare for the long term. Congress chose not to act when the problems were noted years ago and continues not to act. The annual Trustees reports for each…
When to Withdraw From Your IRA Before Claiming Social Security
Christine Benz from Morningstar.com interviews IRA expert Ed Slott in this video and transcript. Slott discusses instances where it may make sense for retirees to pull money from their IRAs and delay applying for Social Security, the opposite of what…
Social Security: employers have to follow the rules
Adam C. Uzialko of Business News Daily takes employers through the basics of Social Security and Medicare, how to comply with the rules, and penalties in this informative article. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) lists the obligations when it…
Grabbing Social Security as early as possible has downsides
With some articles and experts saying take benefits as early as you can and others saying to wait as long as possible, it’s no wonder Americans ageing into Social Security are confused and bewildered. Maurie Backman focus on these three…