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Understanding Social Security Disability
Social Security’s disability program, known as “SSDI” (Social Security Disability Insurance), is one of the most misunderstood segments of the nation’s entire social insurance program. Unfortunately, we hear almost daily from American’s frustrated because their application for SSDI benefits has…
Young Americans: It’s Never Too Soon to Save for Retirement !
Time is, inarguably, one of the most important factors for building a sizable retirement nest egg. That is the word from countless older Americans who have neglected saving in their younger years, only to now find themselves lacking the financial…
Mitigating Income Tax on Social Security Benefits
It’s a particularly vexing problem, and one which catches many Social Security beneficiaries unaware – Social Security benefits are taxable if your income from all sources is high enough. What that means is if you have a lot of income…
The Best and Worst Ages to Claim Social Security
Spoiler alert: there is no one best of worst age to claim, because everyone’s personal situation is different. Nevertheless, research has shown that the most popular ages at which benefits are claimed (62 and 63) are usually not the best…
Social Security Disability: The Facts
In his own inimitable way, retired long time Social Security employee Tom Margenau tackles the myths surrounding Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Most prevalent among the misconceptions are that SSDI is easy to get, that a lot of people…
A Burning Question: When Should You Claim Social Security?
There is an 8 year window during which you may claim your Social Security retirement benefit, starting at age 62 and ending at age 70. Actually, claiming at age 70 isn’t mandatory, but there’s no reason to wait longer because…
Social Security: It’s Here to Stay
It may be somewhat of a “good news – bad news” situation, but make no mistake – Social Security isn’t going bankrupt and will be here for you in your golden years. So what is the bad news? Well, for…
The Role of Life Expectancy in Retirement Planning
“How can you plan for your retirement if you don’t know how long it will last?” A profound question, indeed, if you consider that your goal should be to have a large enough nest egg so that you don’t run…
Who is most (least) prepared for retirement?
A recent Vanguard survey found that 85 percent of Gen Z’ers surveyed said retirement benefits were a chief concern in their job hunts. Both Gen Z and millennials are saving more in their workplace retirement plans than previous generations due…
When someone dies
Social Security retirement benefits are paid in the month following the month for which they are due. It’s important to understand that Social Security only pays benefits for a specific month if the beneficiary was alive for the entire month.…