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What are your expectations about Social Security?
Trouble with most expectations is that reality often doesn’t turn out to be as great as expected and, when it comes to how Social Security fits into your retirement plan, high early expectations will likely leave many Social Security beneficiaries…
Social Security 101 – The Basics
Social Security is the most important retirement insurance program in the United States, with over 65 million beneficiaries. For the most part, those beneficiaries are retired workers who have earned their monthly payment, but spouses, survivors, and dependent children can…
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Social Security administers two types of disability programs – one which protects workers from losing their income before they are ready to retire (this is called “Social Security Disability Insurance” or “SSDI),” and another which assists needy Americans including aged…
Stretching Your Social Security Income
Especially in these times of high inflation, stretching every dollar of your retirement income is important. Fact is, most people who collect Social Security say it represents a major portion of their retirement income and, sadly, for some it is…
Retiring? Here’s where to stash your nest egg
Retirement should be a time of relaxation, and worries about your nest egg shouldn’t be keeping you up at night. The best way to avoid such stress is to make sure your retirement savings are safe and providing you with…
How to get a higher than average Social Security benefit
The average Social Security beneficiary receives a little over $1,800 per month, or about $22,000 per year, in benefits. Of course, “average” means that a lot of people earn less and some people earn more but, in any case, it’s…
Social Security for Divorced Spouses
Social Security is an extremely complex program, by its nature spawning many misconceptions about who is eligible for benefits, and when those benefits can begin. The rules surrounding Spousal benefits, in general, are some of the most difficult rules to…
The Easy Way to get more Social Security
Here’s an important fact – Social Security will not replace more than 40% of the income you had before you retired, so unless you plan to drastically scale back on your living expenses after you retire (and for most that…
Supplement Social Security with these 3 sources of income
Since Social Security replaces a scant 40% of pre-retirement income, retirees inevitably will find they need other income to survive. Savings can fill the gap of course. Maurie Backman suggests these sources: a CD ladder to take advantage of rising…
How Much Money Should You Be Saving Every Month at 50?
At age 50 people are just over a decade from beginning Social Security. To that end, Christy Bieber states by the time you are 50 years old, you should have saved about six times your annual salary for your retirement.…