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When to Snag Social Security Benefits at Age 62
Experts almost universally state to delay benefits as long as possible to garner the highest amount each month for life. But, a majority of Americans continue to defy that advice and claim before full retirement age (now 67). But when…
Social Security Isn’t as Great as People Think
It might take actually receiving benefits to realize the limits of America’s most popular social insurance program, but Maurie Backman covers three important features here. First, your benefits won’t come close to replacing your income in full. Figure about 40%…
Use Social Security To Multiply Your Retirement Savings
Jamela Adam notes that $1,827 per month is the average Social Security retirement benefit in 2023. With the right strategy, recipients can use these funds to multiply their retirement savings and achieve the comfortable retirement lifestyle they desire. Adam has these five…
Good News/Bad News on 2024 COLA
A Social Security dollar simply isn’t what it used to be is the theme of this Sean Williams piece. The announcement of the 2024 cost of living adjustment (COLA) is still over two months away, but it is shaping up…
Thoughts on Avoiding the Age 62 Filing Impulse
Statistically, filing for Social Security at the earliest possible age (62) has always been popular, and still about a third of all new filers are that age. The proportion of early filers has been declining in recent years, doubtless because…
Attention, Millennials: Don’t Give Up on Social Security!
The popular media hasn’t been kind to Social Security in the recent past, using words like “bankrupt” and phrases like “the money has been stolen” to suggest where the program is headed in less than a decade. It’s unfortunate that…
Social Security Response Times Threatened
BusinessInsider.com reporters Ayelet Sheffey and Juliana Kaplan, in a post on their website, reported on concerns expressed by the American Federation of Government Employees about the impact of $183 million cut in funding for the Social Security Administration operations in the recently…
Exploring the Concept of “Unretiring”
So much of the financial news today focuses on ensuring a pathway to financial comfort in retirement. Social Security’s insolvency trajectory aside, there’s quite a bit of rhetoric in the media about saving to reach that goal post or career…
Social Security Reform: A “Rocks and Hard Places” Story
Everyone who has been tracking the progression toward insolvency facing Social Security knows the broad scenario…without Congressional action, the Trust Fund reserves reach zero in less than a decade from now and benefits face an across-the-board cut of more than…
Thoughts on Retirement…From The Mouths of Those Who’ve Done It
Experience-based accounts are usually the best guidelines for someone interested in learning about what’s ahead. And when it comes to the scary world of retirement, all the preliminary planning espoused in the media often takes a backseat to those who…