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Some thoughts about Social Security’s finances, and the latest scam
Nationally syndicated financial columnist Michelle Singletary gets questions every day about retirement, and they almost always include concerns about Social Security’s financial problems. In this column appearing in The Washington Post, Michelle talks about Social Security’s purported “death spiral”, as…
A novel approach to Social Security’s financial woes
It’s pretty well known that Social Security’s Trust Funds are facing depletion in about 17 years, and there’s no shortage of opinions and ideas on what to do about it. But with Social Security being “the third rail” of American politics, progress…
How much will my Social Security benefit be?
Social Security was never meant to replace all of your salary from your working years, so it makes sense that your benefit will be less than you were earning while you were working. But if you’re about to retire from a…
2.2% COLA increase in 2018? We really don’t know yet
Yes, the Social Security trustees, in their recently released annual report, did project a 2.2% COLA increase for 2018. But reality is that COLA is determined annually by measuring a specific Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) in the 3rd quarter of each…
Medicare HI Trust Fund needs Congress’ attention too
With so much publicity about Social Security’s future financial woes, it’s important to also realize the Medicare’s HI (Hospital Insurance) Trust Fund is also having financial difficulties. The HI Trust Fund supports Medicare’s Part A (hospital) coverage and, according to…
Should you use a Retirement Planner?
While a lot of people may drift gradually into their retirement years guided by their own instincts and fairly limited financial knowledge, there are a lot of good reasons to engage a professional retirement planner to help you navigate the complexities of…
Retirement Savings: They should last as long as you do
Target mutual funds, which let you choose a desired retirement age and manage your investments aimed at that target, have historically used 65 for a planned retirement age. But since longevity has increased so greatly and since so many more people…
It’s time to demand that Social Security be fixed!
While the media are hysterical about the whole Trump/Russia thing and Congress has itself tied up in knots over healthcare and tax reform, the recent report from the Trustee’s of Social Security, which paints a fairly dire picture of the program’s…
Warning: Social Security fraud scheme
We carried a warning about this on our website last week, but it bears repeating: There’s a new fraud scheme being perpetrated on unsuspecting seniors. It takes the form of a phone call from someone impersonating a Social Security employee…
Time to Review Your Beneficiary Designations
Many of us didn’t give our beneficiary designations much thought when we first made them or we made them years ago and a lot has changed since then. What many people don’t realize is that those designations are binding and,…