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Some tips for overcoming the “gender pay gap”.
It’s pretty well known that women on average earn only 78 cents to a man’s dollar, and that can add up to a huge monetary disadvantage for women planning their future retirement. This Forbes article by Elle Kaplan describes some steps…
Technology Bundles: They can hurt your retirement budget
Seems that more and more companies these days are bundling their technology services and selling those bundles, including features that seniors don’t want or need, to unsuspecting retirees. That means that you could end up paying more for unneeded services,…
Only a small COLA increase, but other Social Security changes too in 2017.
Yes, the COLA increase was tiny and probably won’t do much to help seniors on a fixed income, but there are a bunch of other Social Security changes that will kick in for 2017. Some of these are helpful,…
Social Security help for Wounded Warriors
As we approach Veteran’s Day, we remind those who have risked their lives in service to our country that Social Security is a resource they can depend upon for support. Especially for those wounded warriors who return home with injuries,…
Some who want original Medicare may be automatically enrolled in an Advantage plan instead.
Even though a person nearing Medicare enrollment age wants original Medicare for their healthcare coverage, some insurance companies may automatically enroll them in a Medicare Advantage plan. This could happen when a person’s pre-Medicare provider also offers Medicare Advantage and…
Retirement benefits rules changing in 2017.
There are some changes coming in 2017 that can affect your retirement benefits, including requiring financial planners to make recommendations on what’s best for you, rather than for their commissions. This, along with other “tweaking” of the rules for Social Security,…
Why is your COLA increase so low? Here’s an analysis.
On the heels of a few zero increase years since 2009, Social Security recently announced that the COLA for 2017 would be a paltry 0.3%, amounting to an average of about $5 additional benefit. So why was this increase so…
When should a single person begin Social Security benefits?
“When should I retire?” is the most frequently asked question from those thinking about taking their Social Security benefits. There’s a lot of advice available but much of it focuses on married couples or divorced spouses, and the decision criteria…
More doctors are shying away from Medicare.
Recent surveys of American doctors show that more and more of them are considering getting out of Medicare all together, or to stop taking any new Medicare patients. While over 90% of doctors surveyed said they now accept Medicare patients, only…
Many thinking about retirement have a rough road ahead.
There’s a lot of discouraging news out there, what with the Social Security program’s health at issue, defined benefit pension plans becoming a thing of the past, small retirement nest eggs and large amounts of debt. Far too many of…