Social Security
Couples need better communication on Social Security & retirement
A Fidelity couples retirement study finds a stunning failure of communication between spouses when it comes to retirement. Despite the fact that anyone can fund out his or her future benefits on Social Security’s website, 60 percent of couples and 49 percent of…
Social Security Reserves Being Depleted. Action needed now.
Sean Williams notes that in 2034, Social Security’s trust funds are projected to be exhausted. But that is all the more reason Congress and the president should address the looming shortfall sooner rather than later. Failure to act will mean…
Social Security payments after death of a spouse
There are a myriad of rules and regulations regarding Social Security benefits, and they are quite complex to the layperson. In this post, Phillip Moeller describes what happens to the Social Security benefits both spouses were receiving when one dies. …
Social Security Will Survive – A Reality Check
Russ Wiles updates his column here noting that reports and polls showing decreased confidence in Social Security are not entirely founded in reality. He notes that benefit cuts will indeed occur if no action is taken by Congress before 2034, the…
Will my Grandchildren get Social Security? Yes, but…
Perhaps it goes back to a Pew Research Center survey that asked Millennials whether they believed Social Security would be there to provide them a benefit at retirement, and a majority (51%) said no. Or perhaps it is the yearly Trustees…
Can’t Wait Until 70 to Start Benefits? The Next Best Time is…
Experts are near unanimous when they say starting Social Security benefits comes down to the key question of how long one expects to live. But, as Lorie Konish of CNBC notes, for a lower earning spouse, it generally does not pay to wait to claim benefits…
Social Security’s Costs: Are We Better off Without it?
Social Security payroll deductions consume a large component of workers’ paychecks at 12.4%. This amount is split equally between employee and employer, with self-employed individuals paying the full amount themselves. For many, this is more than they pay in federal income tax. …
Social Security Broke? No. In Trouble? Yes.
Steve Vernon describes the fears about Social Security’s demise as unwarranted, given that the 2018 Trustees Report is essentially the same as the 2017 report. But, of course, we are one year closer to that 2034 year of insolvency. Still,…
The Impact of Stopping Work Before Claiming Benefits
In a Q&A post on forbes.com, contributor Larry Kotlikoff answers a question from a reader who left the workforce at age 63 but has not yet filed for benefits. His question dealt with the impact that this early exit from the…
Don’t Let Reports of Social Security’s Demise Guide You
The long-term solvency of Social Security has been in the news quite a bit lately. Attention on the issue ramps up with each year’s publication of the Social Trustees Report and the dire warnings contained in it–forecasts of the program’s…