Social Security
Citizen Activists Join the Fight to Ward Off Social Security Insolvency
In an interesting display of public attention to the looming insolvency problem facing Social Security, union representatives and retiree activists in Wisconsin are focusing on the program’s current operations and its future. For the past two months, a regiment of…
Your Monthly Social Security Benefit Payment–the Benefit of Waiting
One of the reasons often cited for claiming Social Security benefits at the earliest opportunity is the rumor of the program’s impending “bankruptcy.” With the proliferation of explanations hitting the media in recent weeks, it’s hopeful that the false assumption…
Dealing With a Social Security Myth…The Claim that Too Many Get Unearned Benefits
You’ve probably heard the comment, or perhaps seen it on a social media site…Social Security would be in better shape if people who haven’t contributed would stop getting benefits (or some version of the same argument). As discussed in a…
Are Retirement Savings Beginning to Feel the Effects of Inflation?
With the threat of long-term inflation now a part of retirement financial planning, and with Social Security’s looming insolvency problem and accompanying uncertainties, the criticality of building that “nest egg” for later years is building steadily. And to make the…
Dispelling the rumors
We have all seen those social media posts warning that Social Security benefits will cease to exist in 2035; they are false. What is true is that even if Congress does nothing about the insolvency issue, Social Security will still…
Women want a secure retirement
In a recent report published by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), more than three-quarters of women surveyed said the typical American worker doesn’t earn enough to save for a secure retirement. The survey also concluded that women want…
The best age to begin your Social Security benefits
You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, you are entitled to full benefits when you reach your full retirement age. If you delay taking your benefits from your full retirement age up…
Will Medicare Part B premiums wipe out COLA
After the government released the inflation rate for April, Social Security analysts began to estimate the cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) for 2025. As you may know, the Social Security Administration bases its COLA each year on average annual increases in CPI-W from…
Counting on Social Security
The 2024 Social Security Trustee report found if Congress does not act, the combined trust fund reserves will be depleted by 2035. At that time, the income coming into the program will only be able to pay 83 percent of the…
Baby Boomers lack of retirement savings
Baby boomers have changed the face of the U.S. population for more than 70 years and continue to do so as more enter their senior years. According to a recent study, over half of boomers have little saved for retirement…