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Your Retirement Budget: Do You Have One?
The answer to that question, for way more than half of the 1000 participants in a Bankrate.com survey, is no. When asked to gauge how much they’d need to have accumulated in order to fund their retirement, the response “I don’t know” was…
You’ve Worked Hard for the Money — Now Protect It!
(Source: Social Security Administration) Most of us work hard to save and plan for our retirement. But there are people who work just as hard to take it away from us. Who are they? Phone scammers. While I was working…
Social Security: Understanding is Not Just for Seniors
Young folks need to know about Social Security, too, because like or not, they will come a day when they’ll need it. And one of the most important things younger workers can do is keep tabs on the information being…
Got 60 Seconds to Spare? Watch this Video to Maximum Your Social Security Benefits
MSN’s GOBankingRates website provides a quick revue of some fundamental tips that can help you get the most out of Social Security. The tips are basic, and you’ve probably heard them before, but the video is a decent primer or at…
Another Look at the Social Security’s Mythical Bankruptcy
The Motley Fool’s Sean Williams give us yet another look at the pervasive myth of Social Security’s “bankruptcy.” While he acknowledges that the impending exhaustion of the programs Trust Fund balance “is no laughing matter,” he goes on the explain…
Retirement Gap Widening
There appears to be a widening gap between the retirement ages for college graduates and the retirement ages for high school graduates, according to a study by Matt Rutledge reported on marketwatch.com. The reasons appear to be related to health issues, changes…
Spousal benefit goofs, health sharing plans and retirement healthcare costs
In this Los Angeles Times article by Liz Weston, the author answers several questions about Social Security and Medicare, including the reasons why a spouse may not have been getting half of the other spouses’ benefit amount, why health sharing…
Millennials’ Retirement Plans and Savings Statistics–A Disconnect?
The results of a new TD Ameritrade study of roughly 1500 young adults indicate that millennials–those with birth dates from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s/early 2000s–on average look to age 56 as their intended retirement age. When weighed against oft-reported…
The 2018 Lay of the Land for Couples and their Social Security Benefits
On average, married couples drawing Social Security benefits in 2018 will receive a combined $28,080, according to a post by The Motley Fool’s Todd Campbell. In addition to explaining the process used to determine benefits, Campbell’s post covers some of the…
New Medicare Card Format Introduces New Vistas for Crooks
Yes, your Social Security number has been removed from your Medicate Identification. No, that doesn’t mean the scammers will stop using it as an avenue to get at you. In fact, as reported in this post on The News-Enterprise by…