Social Security
A few ways to boost your Social Security benefits
You can begin 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 to…
A brief look at spousal benefits
A spouse can choose to retire as early as age 62 but doing so may result in a benefit of as little as 32.5 percent of the worker’s primary insurance amount. But what if you never paid into Social Security;…
How much will Social Security benefits increase in 2023?
The Social Security Administration will release the 2023 cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) on October 13th. Many experts are projecting that it will be the largest increase since 1981. The COLA has only gone above 7 percent five times since 1975. So, what…
Simpler ways to increase your benefits
Social Security benefits are much more modest than many realize; the average Social Security retirement benefit in January 2022 was about $1,614 per month. The maximum Social Security benefit in 2022 was $4,194 per month; however, only a fraction of…
Taxes can take a significant bite out of your nest egg
There is one area most retirees miss, and that’s taxes. Taxes can take a significant bite out of your retirement savings and investment income from a taxable brokerage account. However, you can have tax-smart investments and retirement accounts to reduce…
We’re finally through the transition
You can begin your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62; however, you are entitled to full benefits when you reach your full retirement age. But, the 1983 Amendments phased in a gradual increase in the age for…
The Social Security Expansion Act
Without Social Security benefits, about 4 in 10 adults aged 65 and older would have incomes below the poverty line, according to official estimates based on the 2021 Current Population Survey. Social Security benefits provide at least 50 percent of…
Can Social Security recipients catch a break?
The 2023 Social Security Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA) may be the highest ever received by most Social Security beneficiaries alive today. The projections for 2023 COLA at around 8.7 percent is the biggest since 1981 when beneficiaries received an 11.2 percent…
What day will the officials announce the 2023’s COLA increase?
The Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA) is to ensure that the purchasing power of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is not eroded by inflation. It is based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage…
Another estimate on the 2023 COLA increase
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1 percent in August. So, what does that mean to Social Security recipients? Mary Johnson of The Senior Citizens League has updated her…