Full retirement age
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…
Knowing the Retirement Age Chart is Key
Citing updated data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), Sean Williams notes Social Security lifts 21.7 million people out of poverty annually, nearly 15.4 million of which are aged 65+. The CBPP estimates that the poverty rate…
Important milestones to remember while retirement planning
There is no strict retirement age in the United States; however, there is one to begin collecting your Social Security benefits. You can start your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62; however, you are entitled to full…
Social Security mistakes you’ll want to avoid
Social Security can be confusing; however, it is a program that addresses many situations. There are high-income workers and low-income workers, early retirees, and late ones. Plus, there are children, spouses, ex-spouses, and widows and widowers to consider. So, it…
How to fix Social Security before benefits are cut
Many Americans think since Congress resolved the debt limit crisis by suspending it until 2025, all is well with the federal funding of government programs. That is not the case. For the past thirteen years, the Social Security program has…
Don’t wait until you’re 70 to take Social Security
Financial planners say to wait until 70 to file for your Social Security benefits. If you wait until age 70, your monthly payments will be 24 – 32 percent higher than the benefits you would have received at your full…
Candidate Pence on Social Security Reform
Former Vice President and 2024 presidential candidate Mike Pence, speaking in a recent CNN Iowa town hall, essentially disagreed with the stance voiced by Donald Trump and Joe Biden on Social Security reform, noting that making no changes is not…
Ask Rusty – How Will Working Affect My First Year’s Benefits?
Dear Rusty: I retired from working in January of this year and have since claimed Social Security. I didn’t work at all in February or March, but I began a part-time job in April. I’m very confused about how Social…
Looking at a Full Retirement Age of 70–A Supportive Viewpoint
Perhaps one of the most incendiary components of the argument over the looming Social Security solvency problem is the thought of moving the program’s full retirement age (FRA). Currently set at age 67 for those born in 1960 or later,…
Ask Rusty – I’m Approaching 65 – Should I Claim Social Security?
Dear Rusty: I am fast approaching 65 (in August) and plan to continue working full time. I would like to know the implications of that, and about drawing Social Security. Same question for my husband who is past his full…