Latest News
COLA Watch: We’re in the Homestretch for a 2024 Figure
We’re now in the third quarter of the year, and the projections for 2024’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment are starting to come into focus. Remember, of course, that each year’s COLA calculation results from comparing the third quarter average Consumer…
Thoughts for Millennials on the Future of Social Security
Those Americans categorized as Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, have some logical concerns (or at least questions) about the role that Social Security will play in their future. In fact, many in this demographic cohort are not…
Privatization of Social Security…An On-again/Off-again Issue
Quite a bit has been written on the subject of privatizing Social Security funding via stock market investment, and for many years, the basic premise has been a volatile issue for governmental administrations. Take, for example, President George W. Bush’s…
Dealing With Hypocrisy: A Rebuttal to Complaints About Medicare Premiums and WEP/GPO
Creators Syndicates’ Tom Margenau, in a post on Tucson.com, uses his extensive experience as a Social Security Administration official to address two fundamental (and frequently recurring) complaints voiced by program beneficiaries questioning rulers that, in their opinion, are unjust. Margenau…
Social Security, Economic Stability, and the Relationship to Senior Women
A post today on the National Women’s Law Center website examines the role that Social Security benefits play in ensuring the financial support of women in their retirement years. Specifically, the article explains that while women comprise more than half…
Will the new Alzheimer’s drug put pressure on Medicare premiums?
The FDA approved the drug Leqembi, and Medicare will cover the new expensive new drug that promises the slowing the advance of Alzheimer’s disease. Although the last Alzheimer’s disease drug caused Medicare Part B premiums to rise an incredible 14.5…
There’s a clear advantage to claiming Social Security at a certain age.
Are you aware that the age you file for your Social Security benefits matters? You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62 but at a reduced amount. However, if you delay taking your benefits…
Social Security comes with its own rules and stipulations
Retirement planning involves coordinating your retirement savings vehicles, such as pensions, annuities, 401(k), IRAs, Thrift Savings Plans, and Social Security. Most individuals who have paid FICA taxes on their wages may qualify for Social Security benefits based on their own…
Are You Financially Prepared to Retire?
When you retire is not a good time to start planning for your future, as should be blatantly obvious. Optimally, retirement planning should begin early in your career, and include a disciplined savings strategy for one very important reason –…
About the “Maximum Social Security Benefit”
Of course, everyone would like to get the maximum possible Social Security benefit, and each year the Social Security Administration defines what that maximum amount can be. But honestly, the eligibility bar is very high to achieve that maximum benefit,…