Latest News
Getting your 2017 Social Security benefit statement
Well, it’s tax time again, and although you should have already received your 2017 for SSA-1099 (or SSA-1042S), perhaps you lost it and now need another copy to file your 2017 income tax return. Well, you don’t need to call…
Your Social Security check: Bigger or smaller; it’s your decision
Your “full retirement age”, as defined by Social Security is the age at which you can get 100% of the benefit you’ve earned over a lifetime of working, and for anyone retiring today that age is somewhere between 66 and…
Budget deal includes some long-sought Medicare changes
Largely lost in the partisan hyperbole about the newly approved Budget Deal is the fact that some long sought improvements to the Medicare program were included, which will materially help those who are chronically ill. These include changes to provide…
More bad news about Equifax
In the wake of last September’s announcement by Equifax that the personal data of over 145 million consumers have been compromised comes more bad news that the hack of their data base was even worse than originally reported. In addition…
Social Security for previously undocumented immigrants who become permanent residents
Often a hot-button topic of discussion, Social Security retirement benefits for permanent residents may be payable even if they were previously an “undocumented immigrant” who nevertheless paid their income and Social Security payroll (FICA) taxes using an Individual Tax Identification…
Freelance workers can collect Social Security too
There are certainly a lot of advantages to being a freelance worker, not the least of which are that you can pick the projects you work on and you don’t need to deal with the sometimes stressful and often mundane issues…
Retirement risks, and how to avoid them
Even if you’re a dedicated planner who has put many hours of thought and research into your eventual retirement, after you have actually entered your golden years you must still be vigilant with the same dedication you used to create your…
Beware of Social Security “fraudsters”
It’s a sad fact of life today, but living in our electronic world – while efficient – also opens the door for identity theft, scams, and other generally repulsive acts by cyber-criminals. Senior citizens are, unfortunately, quite often the target of…
Need assistance? Here’s how to connect with Social Security
With over 61 million people already relying on it, and thousands more about to be each day, the Social Security Administration is an oft-needed source of information for a large number of American citizens. With such a huge constituency, it’s no wonder…
A new retirement income strategy called Spend Safely in Retirement
According to a recent report, most Americans have access to the best retirement income generator around: Social Security. The researchers at the Stanford Center on Longevity, in collaboration with the Society of Actuaries, found that Social Security meets most planning…