seniors
Trustee’s Report confirms: SS Benefit Cuts are on the horizon (unless Congress acts soon)!
The Trustees of Social Security do an annual assessment of the Social Security program’s financial health, and the 2026 report (which reflects status as of the end of 2025) was finally released recently on June 9th. Disturbingly, the program’s financial…
What you should know about potential Social Security shortfall
According to the 2026 Social Security Trustees report released earlier this week, the fund is now expected to begin depleting by the fourth quarter of 2032. At that point, the fund would be able to pay 78 percent of scheduled…
Achieving a better distribution of Social Security benefits
In the continuing discussion of the best way to solve Social Security’s financial shortfall, Alicia H. Munnell argues that a key goal should be achieving a more equitable distribution of benefits, not just closing the funding gap. To judge fairness,…
A comfortable retirement is not all about the money
Experts remind us that to have a comfortable retirement, you need to have saved at least $1 million, but is that all it takes to have a comfortable retirement? Some experts forget that your lifestyle plays an important role in…
The latest estimate of the 2027 COLA
The Social Security COLA is an annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment designed to ensure that benefits keep pace with inflation. The Social Security Administration uses inflation data from the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The formula…
Simple solutions for regaining financial stability
The latest report from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies reports that over 50 percent of retirees say they left the workforce sooner than planned. Even if you retired early by choice, there may be consequences that you were not…
The results of claiming Social Security early
You can start receiving Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but doing so reduces your monthly payment for life. Although the reduction is permanent, age 62 is still the most popular age to start Social Security benefits.…
The risk of underspending in retirement
Recent surveys indicate that 58 percent of seniors worry their money won’t last through retirement, and nearly two-thirds of Americans are more concerned about running out of money than dying. However, financial advisors caution retirees not to overcompensate by underspending.…
The consequences of Social Security insolvency
In 2025, about 69 million Americans (one in five) receive Social Security benefits each month, totaling roughly $1.6 trillion in annual payments. This includes retired workers, disabled workers, survivors, and their dependents, who would be affected if the Social Security…
Ask Rusty – Why Don’t We Have a minimum Social Security Benefit?
Dear Rusty: I think we should have a Social Security baseline of $2,500 for each person. When I retire, my Social Security benefit will not be enough to survive. There are many of us who worked low paying jobs all…