Social Security
Taking Benefits at 62? Three reasons this may make sense.
Age 62 is the earliest one can apply for Social Security retirement benefits, and data shows that most people do start them at or around that age. The literature is ripe with reasons to delay benefits, chief among them to…
Will my Social Security benefits start automatically?
No, is the short answer to Social Security benefits starting automatically. A person must sign up, mainly because there is no magic, single age to start them. As long as you have 10 years (40 quarters) of work history, you can…
Better to plan for Social Security’s 2034 crisis now
The year 2034 is reported in any article explaining the financial problems facing Social Security. That is when benefit payments will be cut automatically by about 21% unless Congress passes reform before then. The amount sent to beneficiaries in 2018…
Social Security & the rest of one’s nest egg
Over 62 million people are receiving monthly Social Security benefits in 2019. This informative piece by TD Ameritrade explains the very basics of Social Security and how individuals can maximize their benefits. It also explains how Social Security might fit in…
The Continued Ignoring of Social Security’s Problems
The Oklahoman Editorial Board writes here that both parties continue ignoring any changes to Social Security, despite the program facing partial insolvency by 2034. Morgan Stanley’s December report suggested that faster growth should delay Social Security’s insolvency “perhaps by decades.” …
Social Security PLUS – A Voluntary Companion Benefit
In my nearly 15 years teaching high school economics classes, no single lecture ever garnered higher interest and attention than the one I dubbed, “How to Be a Millionaire by 45”. With “Pay Yourself First” written on the whiteboard behind…
Social Security from A to Z
Social Security is widely known for paying retirement benefits, but the program is complex and encompasses so much more. Selena Maranjian’s piece here explains how Social Security is funded, the challenges going forward with the program, how to apply, maximizing benefits,…
Social Security: Take Now or Later?
It is often the biggest decision one could make in a lifetime, one without an easy answer. Should one take Social Security benefits the earliest age of 62, full retirement age (66 or 67 depending on birth year), or maximum…
The political party responsible for Social Security’s financial instability is…
Well, it’s both of course. As Sean Williams writes in this piece, neither party has fully addressed the looming partial insolvency due to occur in 2034, when benefits will have to be cut 21% across the board. Past surpluses are preventing…
The Social Security Restricted Application
Tom Hager explains the goals of the restricted application: maximize the high earner benefit, coordinate the benefits between the spouses, and maximize the survivor benefits. To take advantage of the restricted application one must have been born before January 2, 1954…