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6 Top Retirement Issues at Stake in the Presidential Election
The U.S. News piece here sums it up best with this: the best presidential candidate for retirees may depend on what issue concerns you most. Both candidates have proposed policies that could increase inflation. Neither tackles the long term solvency…
Need to Save More for Retirement? You’re Not Alone
With Social Security replacing a mere 40% of pre-retirement income on average, there is an urgent need for those still working to save more– much more. This Kiplinger piece highlights some of the results of Bankrate’s latest Retirement Savings Survey. Findings…
Average Gen X-er Does Not Have Enough Saved for Retirement
Generation X are those born between 1965 and 1980, and that cohort is approaching retirement. Kaili Killpack’s piece here uses recent data from Fidelity, which found the financial outlook for the average Gen Xer is concerning. Fidelity reports the average…
Retirement Income Sources to Supplement Social Security in 2025
To state that Social Security alone was never meant to be lived on is an understatement, though many do not get that message in time. Kailey Hagen notes four sources of income that one could call on to add to…
The 2025 COLA Could Be a Double-Edged Sword for Retirees
Sean Williams explains that the consensus forecast for the upcoming announcement of Social Security’s 2025 cost of living adjustment (COLA) is shaping up to be about 2.5%. This reflects lower inflation over the past year. Slowing inflation helps nearly all,…
Claiming Benefits Early…Not Always a Bad Move
Most financial counselors will advise clients to defer filing for Social Security benefits as long as possible, but at least until reaching full retirement age. This strategy will ensure that your monthly benefits payment will avoid the reduction accompanying the…
Explaining the Intracacies of Medicare Filing in a Disability Situation
Medicare is complex. Disability is complex. Consequently, intersecting the two can be fairly complicated. Toni King, author and columnist on Medicare and health insurance issues and leader of the “Toni Says” team, offers insights in how best to navigate the…
Social Security’s Lump Sum Death Benefit (LSDB)
Current Social Security rules allow for a one-time death benefit ($255) to be paid to a decedent’s spouse, minor children living in the same home, or a child who has developed a disability at age 21 or younger. If the…
SSA Issues Alert for “Long-Con” Scams
Fraud situations involving Social Security beneficiaries in the past have generally focused on simple telephone contacts. It seems these days that a new more elabortate kind of scam is hitting the airwaves, and their labeled “long-con” portions. As explained in…
Rumor Clean-Up Time: Illegal Immigrants and Social Security
Without question, the issue of immigration is foremost on the minds of many Americans these days. The 2024 presidential election cycle consistently creates commentary about the state of our immigration system, the policies associated with it, and the financial impacts…