Social Security
Social Security’s Problems Should be Above Politics and Pandering
A plethora of bills are routinely introduced in every new Congress, mostly by Democrats, promising higher benefits, whether in the form of cost of living adjustments, one-time payments, or permanent minimum benefit increases. The problem with all of the proposals,…
Twelve Question Social Security Quiz – Getting Benefit Questions Wrong Could Cost You
Lorie Konish of CNBC has a piece here that recaps results of a recent survey from MassMutual based on when one should claim Social Security, generally regarded as the biggest retirement choice one will ever make. It was a 12-question true-or-false quiz given…
Seniors Report Social Security COLAs Not Enough to Pay Higher Costs
It’s a familiar refrain from seniors that their Social Security benefits just don’t keep up with rising overall prices. Benefits do increase every January 1st based on an inflation formula, but Josephine Nesbit of Yahoo Finance cites a survey from…
Rethinking Social Security – Without Higher Taxes
AMAC’s National Spokesperson, Bobby Charles, laments that few politicians want to touch Social Security. With all the talk in the Biden Administration about tax increases, this piece from 2019 is being republished in its entirety here as way to get…
Did Congress steal Social Security money? NO!
It’s one of the most pervasive myths pertaining to Social Security– that Congress stole program funds for wars, social welfare spending, or a host of other programs. As such, we are republishing a piece about this urban legend gone wild here, though…
Required Minimum Distributions & Social Security
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are the one drawback to retirement plans like the 401k and traditional IRAs. While the law was recently changed to increase the age that RMDs must begin to 72, the distributions can push people’s income up…
Auto-IRAs Can Help Retirees Delay Claiming Social Security
This well researched issue brief from The Pew Charitable Trusts provides a viable strategy for those seeking to maximize the amount they receive each from Social Security for the rest of their lives. Most know that each month’s delay increases…
It’s Time to Revisit Social Security’s Early and Delayed Claiming Formulas
Journalist Mark Miller writes in Morningstar that it may be time to revisit the delayed credits and early claiming penalties with Social Security. Both were designed in the 1950s, and as he notes, “the underlying actuarial factors have changed. Interest rates have…
Why do so Many Make the Wrong Social Security Decisions?
Bob Carlson writing in Forbes notes that a mere 4% of people make the optimum claiming decision when it comes to Social Security benefits, according to a study by financial services firm United Capital. Carlson explains the program’s financial problems but…
Are SeLFIES a solution to the retirement crisis?
Is there a retirement-saving product that offers the best of Social Security, a defined benefit plan, and an annuity? According to Robert Merton and Arun Muralidhar, the answer is yes. They are the creators of SeLFIES— Standard-of-Living indexed, Forward-starting, Income-only Securities, an idea…