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How the Social Security Administration Could Help Claimants
In the wake of the recent report detailing the shortcomings of the Social Security Administration’s employees there has been much discussion on how the process of claiming for Social Security could be improved. The first problem lies in the availability…
Retirement & Financial Planning – Achieving Tranquility
It’s been called one of the most anxiety-producing aspects of life…planning for financing your lifestyle in retirement. Recognizing this, Jeff Reeves writing for USAToday has produced an article outlining some things to think about that can make this process a bit easier…
The Importance of Planning for Social Security
Contrasting the level of thought that went into Social Security decisions many years ago to what the situation looks like today, John Napolitano takes a look at today’s decision making climate in an article posted on www.doverpost.com. Read the article here… …
Retiring with no savings? Here are some locations you can look at.
As the popular media continually points out, there is a fairly large percentage of the population close to retirement with only Social Security as their main (in some cases, sole) income source. Money Magazine’s Aaron Crowe takes a look at some location options,…
How Much Has Medicare Spent on the EpiPen Since 2007?
(By Juiette Cubanski, Tricia Neuman, and Anthony Damico for Kaiser Family Foundation) The latest example of high and rising prescription drug prices to attract significant media and public attention relates to the EpiPen, an auto-injector containing the drug epinephrine which…
The Housing Market and Retirees
Many are entering retirement owing a huge amount of debt on their homes. This could result in dire financial straits for retirees, and could cause the loss of a home. In fact, housing debt for retirees is rising faster than the…
Competition in Medicare Advantage, Part D, and “Extra Help”:
(By Grace-Marie Turner for Galen Institute) Seniors are beginning to get fliers in the mail alerting them to the upcoming open season for enrollment in Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. Both programs rely on competition and…
Medicare Advantage Plan Switching: Exception or Norm?
(By Gretchen Jacobson, Tricia Neuman and Anthony Damico for Kaiser Family Foundation) About one in ten Medicare Advantage plan enrollees (11 percent) in 2013 voluntarily switched to another plan in 2014 (Figure 1). Another two percent of enrollees voluntarily switched…
The Social Security “Do-Over”–Understanding the way it Works
One of the more common misconceptions is that you can change your mind after filing for Social Security benefits, repaying the money and then waiting till a later date to re-start. Like many things in life, this is true, but…
Social Security’s Death Master File Hits the News Again
With about 9,000 Social Security recipients mistakenly classified as deceased each year, it’s a more frequent problem than many realize. In this account of what happens when a beneficiary’s financial accounts are accessed after a mistaken classification, you can get…