seniors
How to achieve more than the average benefit amount
Social Security beneficiaries, 37 percent of men and 42 percent of women, receive 50 percent or more of their income from Social Security. Also, among the elderly Social Security beneficiaries, 12 percent of men and 15 percent of women rely…
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…
Improving Your Fraud Protection Through Digital Precautions
Over two million fraud cases were reported last year, and that may be just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Many are not reported, possibly because of embarrassment or just not knowing what to do. The best course of action…
Some Perspectives on Retirement
There’s a fair amount of gloom and doom floating around the airwaves when it comes to retirement planning. From the hand-wringing about Social Security’s solvency problems to the persistent reports that future retirees are not saving enough to support their…
The Creeping Arm of Taxation, and How Seniors Are Affected
By now, many older Americans have either filed their 2022 federal tax returns or are preparing to do so, and have come to grips with the fact that more and more of their Social Security benefit is spilling into the…
A Look-ahead at Next Year’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment…It Won’t be Pretty!
Social Security beneficiaries are still catching their breath from last year’s big run-up in inflation, using the extraordinary 8.7% COLA to fill some of the holes in their monthly expenses. The 2023 COLA was the largest in four decades, providing…
A call for “common sense” reforms to Social Security
Former vice president Mike Pence, a likely 2024 presidential contender, is advocating for “common sense reforms” to Social Security and Medicare. Speaking to university students, “if we act in this moment with the support of this generation, we can introduce…
Next-year’s COLA may be lower
Recent data shows spending among older Americans has increased. This increase in spending may be due to this year’s historic cost-of-living increase, the largest in almost four decades. However, while older Americans may have received a hefty cost-of-living increase, that…
Social Security benefits may not increase as much next year
Approximately 70 million Americans–Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries–saw an increase of 8.7 percent in their monthly benefits in 2023. According to new research from the Bank of American Institute, the cost-of-living adjustment for 2023 was one of…
Did you receive an overpayment notice from the Social Security?
Yes, the Social Security Administration does make mistakes. How does this happen? There are a few reasons, but usually, the overpayments occur due to an individual not notifying Social Security of changes happening in their life. So how does Social…