Social Security
Essentials of The 2019 Social Security Trustees Report
This fourth week of April 2019 is being dominated by release of the annual Trustees Report on Social Security. Little has changed to improve the long-term financial problems facing this program due to changing demographics, but there are a few takeaways…
What If I Sign Up for Medicare Before Social Security?
Maurie Backman notes that signing up for Social Security before Medicare matters little as far as the mechanics of it all. Age 62 is currently the most popular age to file for Social Security, even though seniors have between ages 62 and 70…
Beware these retirement planning myths
Kailey Fralick’s article here tries to steer those planning for their golden years away from three common misconceptions that could doom their ability to have a stable, secure retirement. To begin, people in their 20s and 30s think retirement is so…
Social Security: Moral Right But Not Legal One
This opinion piece by Mike Plunkett explains a little known but important Social Security case of Flemming v. Nestor. A main point of the majority’s opinion in the case is frequently noted as something of the order that “the government has no…
Lower retirement costs by spending less – see how here
This article by Maurie Backman notes that retirement is more expensive than people think. Nearly half of older households wind up spending more money, not less, during their first two years of retirement. However, these five steps can be taken to reduce your retirement costs…
Fifteen years to Social Security retirement fund insolvency
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) is a non-partisan watchdog agency in Washington DC that frequently comments on issues related to the federal debt, runaway deficit spending, and reform of entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. In…
Do these 15 things with an on-line Social Security account
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been shifting its resources online for current and future beneficiaries for years now. This is the list of 15 things you can do online with an account, and to read the full piece by…
Social Security as a sole retirement lifeline? “Fuhgeddaboudit!”
It may seem hard to believe, but even in 2019 too many Americans are not saving enough for retirement. Consider that an unfathomable 45% of Boomers have zero set aside, and perhaps worse is the belief that Social Security will sustain retirees…
Answer these three questions before filing for Social Security
Deciding when to begin collecting Social Security benefits is among the most important life decisions one can make. Maurie Backman suggests asking these questions: 1.) Am I at full retirement age (now age 66 and 67 for those born in 1960…
Social Security headed for “life support?”
“Life support” is not all that far-fetched a reality for the program that 63 million people rely on for a monthly benefit. Social Security is bumping up against issues that have been known for decades– namely, unfavorable demographics. People are…