Social Security
Required Minimum Distributions & Social Security
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are the one drawback to retirement plans like the 401k and traditional IRAs. While the law was recently changed to increase the age that RMDs must begin to 72, the distributions can push people’s income up…
Auto-IRAs Can Help Retirees Delay Claiming Social Security
This well researched issue brief from The Pew Charitable Trusts provides a viable strategy for those seeking to maximize the amount they receive each from Social Security for the rest of their lives. Most know that each month’s delay increases…
It’s Time to Revisit Social Security’s Early and Delayed Claiming Formulas
Journalist Mark Miller writes in Morningstar that it may be time to revisit the delayed credits and early claiming penalties with Social Security. Both were designed in the 1950s, and as he notes, “the underlying actuarial factors have changed. Interest…
Why do so Many Make the Wrong Social Security Decisions?
Bob Carlson writing in Forbes notes that a mere 4% of people make the optimum claiming decision when it comes to Social Security benefits, according to a study by financial services firm United Capital. Carlson explains the program’s financial problems…
Are SeLFIES a solution to the retirement crisis?
Is there a retirement-saving product that offers the best of Social Security, a defined benefit plan, and an annuity? According to Robert Merton and Arun Muralidhar, the answer is yes. They are the creators of SeLFIES – Standard-of-Living indexed, Forward-starting,…
Time to Adjust Social Security Benefits to Help Lower-income Workers?
This excellent piece by Scott Burns summarizes findings from a study from the Boston College Center for Retirement Research . The key takeaway is that both lower AND higher income people claim Social Security benefits too early. This early claiming…
Spousal Benefits 101 - A Primer
Social Security is a complex program, and the myriad of rules and regulations are beyond confusing to a great many people. Throw in the issue of spousal benefits, and we get to the almost incomprehensible. But, Sarah O’Brien of CNBC…
How does declining U.S. fertility affect housing sales, Social Security and college?
Lois Collins takes a fascinating look at Social Security through a sociological lens in this piece. That birth rates are declining and have been for years is not really new news. American women are predicted to average 1.78 children over…
Gen Z and Millennials Continue to Lack Faith in Social Security
Polls have suggested for more than a decade that younger Americans do not believe the Social Security program will be there for them. Megan Leonhardt of CNBC writes here on a study by Northwestern Mutual’s 2020 Planning & Progress. It…
Social Security and Death: What Happens Next?
When someone receiving Social Security benefits passes away, most people know that monthly benefits must soon stop. But when? Who notifies who? You may wonder how the government knows to stop sending that monthly money. What if there is a…