Social Security
Brace for the all important COLA announcement October 11
Over 62 million people receive Social Security benefits, of which more than 43 million are retired workers. Over 60 percent of retirees are reliant on Social Security for a majority of their monthly income, and 1/3 depend on their checks for virtually all of their income (90…
About the all important “break-even age” when collecting benefits
James Lange, writing in Forbes Magazine, hits on the question most have when thinking about claiming Social Security benefits. That is, should one grab every penny possible at age 62 or wait to get a higher amount later? It’s a…
Opinion: Using Social Security for Parental Leave is a Bad Idea
Alicia Munnell argues against passage of Senator Marco Rubio’s “Economic Security for New Parents Act” in this MarketWatch piece. The bill would create an option for new parents to use a portion of their Social Security benefits for parental leave…
Public Employees, Social Security, and Government Pension Offset
Many public employees in the 15 states not covered by Social Security often get a rude awakening at retirement time due to two provisions called the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Both provisions were intended to treat…
Social Security Scam Warning
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is issuing a warning about callers claiming to be from the SSA who declare your Social Security accounts have been suspended due to suspicion of illegal activity. It may be a real live person or a robocaller. The caller then says that…
Social Security & Reform: Can we tax our way to a solution?
In this very comprehensive analysis, Dan Caplinger of The Motley Fool takes a hard look at how Social Security is currently funded and what it would take to address the solvency issue solely by adjusting its taxes. Caplinger notes the…
Donald Trump’s Social Security check
Sean Williams of The Motley Fool writes a captivating piece that speculates what the president may be collecting, though it is not known for sure if Donald Trump claimed benefits at age 62, 70, in between, or even at all. By…
A “real” raise is in the works for most Social Security recipients in 2019
The cost of living adjustment (COLA) that will take effect in January 2019 will be announced this month for Social Security recipients. Educated guesses by mthose who follow the issue pegs the increase at 2.7%, which is about $38 a month…
Take Medicare at 65 but maybe wait on Social Security
Maurie Backman of The Motley Fool answers the important question about whether one should take Social Security benefits at the same time as signing up for Medicare with an, “it depends.” Unless working and covered by an employer’s health care plan,…
Reform ideas to achieve a higher Social Security benefit
Forbes contributor Teresa Ghilarducci points out that most older workers have inadequate savings for retirement. It is well known that Social Security is not enough for most retirees to maintain their living standards. Ghilarducci therefore suggests Social Security should become more…