Social Security
Social Security and Age 62: Three Things to Know
It is literally one of the most important decisions one can make in retirement, and perhaps even in one’s lifetime– when to take Social Security benefits. Imagine realizing years after electing to receive a monthly Social Security payment for life at age…
COLAs – Do they really “keep up” with actual inflation?
Paul Solman’s brief piece here in Making Sense examines whether annual Social Security cost of living adjustments (COLAs) actually keep up with “real” inflation? The shortest answer is this– not entirely. This year’s COLA is predicted to be higher than most from the past…
Changes in the law in 1983 mean Americans are retiring a bit later
This Bloomberg article by Peter Orszag notes that one of the effects of the 1983 law that made significant changes in Social Security is that Americans are now retiring and taking their benefits later. This contrasts with other anecdotal evidence from the Great…
Clamping Down on Social Security Fraud – What YOU can do
Social Security fraud is such a problem that the Social Security Administration along with its Office of the Inspector General announced last week that it will be opening three new units to investigate and prevent fraud specifically related to the…
Social Security Trustees – who is overseeing this important program?
This year’s Social Security and Medicare reports found both programs in deteriorating health. The insolvency date for Medicare is 2026 and 2034 for Social Security. But in 2018, for the first time in 36 years, Social Security’s expenditures will exceed its annual income,…
Brace for the all important COLA announcement October 11
Over 62 million people receive Social Security benefits, of which more than 43 million are retired workers. Over 60 percent of retirees are reliant on Social Security for a majority of their monthly income, and 1/3 depend on their checks for virtually all of their income (90…
About the all important “break-even age” when collecting benefits
James Lange, writing in Forbes Magazine, hits on the question most have when thinking about claiming Social Security benefits. That is, should one grab every penny possible at age 62 or wait to get a higher amount later? It’s a…
Opinion: Using Social Security for Parental Leave is a Bad Idea
Alicia Munnell argues against passage of Senator Marco Rubio’s “Economic Security for New Parents Act” in this MarketWatch piece. The bill would create an option for new parents to use a portion of their Social Security benefits for parental leave…
Public Employees, Social Security, and Government Pension Offset
Many public employees in the 15 states not covered by Social Security often get a rude awakening at retirement time due to two provisions called the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Both provisions were intended to treat…
Social Security Scam Warning
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is issuing a warning about callers claiming to be from the SSA who declare your Social Security accounts have been suspended due to suspicion of illegal activity. It may be a real live person or a robocaller. The caller then says that…