Social Security
Slashed lifetime benefits - a heavy price for claiming Social Security early
Maurie Backman stresses that people filing for Social Security retirement benefits at the earliest age of 62 need to have all the information to make as informed a decision as possible. Few know you will lose 6.67% of your benefits…
What will Social Security look like in 2035?
Social Security’s Trust funds (surpluses accumulated over the past several decades) will be exhausted in 2035. Across the board cuts of around 20% will occur for all beneficiaries at that time absent congressional action before then. Dan Caplinger notes the…
Bernie Sanders on Social Security: 10 things the self-described Socialist believes
Sean Williams of The Motley Fool lists presidential candidate and Independent Vermont Sen. Sanders’ views on Social Security. For much more detailed information on each, click here for the full article. The list of 10: 1. Sanders doesn’t believe Social…
Social Security going bankrupt? Well, not exactly.
Social Security is not on the verge of bankruptcy, though future cuts of 20% in benefits for all are a real possibility due to changing demographics. The program can never truly go broke as long as workers are making payroll…
Why pessimism on Social Security could come back to bite Millennials
Mark Miller of Reuters worries that the young have been conditioned to think Social Security will not be there for them when their retirement time comes around due to all the talk of Social Security’s financial problems over the longer…
A Social Security hybrid plan could help more people save for retirement
Numerous studies show Americans are not saving enough for retirement. At the same time, the Social Security Trustees report insolvency will occur in 2034 or 2035, with 20% or more benefit cuts across the board for all recipients. What then…
Straight talk on Social Security - even if the truth hurts
Cal Thomas’ candid op-ed in Townhall addresses the drivers of budget deficits and our $22.3 trillion national debt. In this piece, he summarizes and evaluates The Heritage Foundation’s “Blueprint for Balance: A Federal Budget for Fiscal 2020,” which is based…
Proceed with caution before starting Social Security benefits at 63
Maurie Backman of The Motley Fool states unequivocally that if you file for Social Security at age 63 with a full retirement age of 66, you will lose about 20% of your monthly benefit amount. Filing at 63 with a…
The 13 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Retirement Savings
John Iekel summarizes testimony given by Andrew Biggs, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, to the House Budget Committee on May 15, 2019. Biggs’ list of “facts, figure and ideas” were enlightening not just to members of Congress but…
A primer for accessing Social Security on-line
John Bair explains how to access your Social Security information from the Social Security Administration (SSA) in this short piece in The Legal Examiner. For starters, the SSA’s Retirement Estimator gives users an estimate based on their actual Social Security…