Social Security
Ask Rusty – Spousal Benefits and Enrolling in Medicare
Dear Rusty: I will be 65 In March. Husband will be 61 In August. If I started collecting Social Security now would I only be able to collect on myself? My husband plans on collecting at 62. Will I be…
What to do if you claimed Social Security too early
People generally are aware that waiting to collect Social Security past age 62 raises one’s monthly checks permanently. Yet most people elect to begin receiving checks at or close to age 62. But what if you decide that you made…
A Primer on Social Security Survivor Benefits
Social Security is most well known for the retirement benefits that one collects as long as one contributed by working ten years in a lifetime. But survivor benefits are a less well known and even less well understood part of the program. When…
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,…