Social Security
Seniors and the Student Loan Debt Crisis
The numbers are frightening…according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the number of older Americans with student loan debt, much of which is attributable to loans they’ve co-signed on behalf…
More Thoughts on Filing at Age 62
The ongoing debate on the merits of deferring one’s Social Security filing date generates a fair amount of press, with some arguments explaining why it can be appropriate to file early and others strongly advocating waiting until full retirement age…
Social Security Benefits and Health Care Expense Trends: A 2019 Respite?
Bernice Napach, senior writer at ThinkAdvisor, provides an analysis of current statistics on Social Security benefits and the portion that is consumed by health care costs. Following a jump in 2018, a year in which the Senior Citizen League reports…
Retirement Decisions and How They’re “Framed”
“Framing”…are ensuring that all aspects of a decision are clearly understood, is critical to the success of financial decisions you’ll make for retirement. Using Social Security filing as an example, economics editor for American Public Media’s weekly “Marketplace Money” show…
The Multiple Phases of Retirement
Bruce Helmer and Peg Webb, financial advisers at Wealth Enhancement Group and co-hosts of “Your Money” on News Radio 830 WCCO on Sunday mornings, take a look at life in retirement, breaking this life phase into three separate sub-phases. From…
The Growing Impact of Benefit Taxation
It’s an annoying part of the Social Security landscape, but also a likely permanent one. We’re talking about the taxation of Social Security payments to beneficiaries with income exceeding limits that haven’t been changed since 1993. This means, of course…
Scams, scams, and more scams…You need to be Advised!
It seems there’s a never ending series of frauds being perpetrated across the country these days, and Social Security beneficiaries are often targeted in these situations. Just today, for example, the news streams brought attention to two such scams in…
Spousal benefits – it requires thought and a good conversation
Diane Pearson, a wealth advisor at Legend Financial Advisors in Pittsburgh stresses the importance of being diligent when it comes to spousal benefits. Spouses are generally entitled to an amount equal to half of the higher earner’s benefits. Once the…
Social Security for Family Leave? It’s Controversial.
Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill that would allow parents to cash in a portion of their future Social Security benefits early to finance family leave. The proposal is to give new parents the option to take at least two…
Some seniors not signing up for Social Security benefits at all
In this Social Security and You column, Tom Margineau addresses three issues from readers. Two wrote in that they never applied for Social Security benefits, despite one being age 73 and the other 85, mainly because they felt they did…