Social Security

Why aren’t more people talking about how to save America’s retirement plan? Hey — did you know…? You’d think the looming crisis in America’s main retirement plan would be a bigger topic of discussion. The Social Security trustees, after all, just said the plan is now $20 trillion in the hole and will run out…

Shifting to CPI-E would involve a lot of pain for not much gain This fall, Social Security is likely to announce a 6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2022. Such a large COLA — the biggest in 40 years (see Figure 1 below) — is likely to reignite the debate over whether the government is using…

Let’s say you’re married and your spouse is younger than you are. When’s the best time to file for and receive the highest-possible benefits? The quick answer: It depends. One easy way to max out benefits is for the higher-earning spouse to wait as long as possible to claim. You can file as early as…

2022 COLA could be highest paid since 1983 Social Security beneficiaries might be in for the highest cost of living adjustment (COLA) in nearly four decades, according to new projections. The latest estimate from nonpartisan senior advocacy group the Senior Citizens League puts the 2022 COLA, which will be announced in October, around 6.2%. “The estimate…

Key Points Social Security’s main revenue source is expected to decline in the coming years. The program can tap its trust funds in the near term, but eventually, they’ll be depleted. While Social Security’s future is somewhat uncertain, the program won’t be shutting down anytime soon. Millions of seniors today get a large chunk of…

Social Security benefits make up a substantial amount of income for millions of retirees, but your monthly checks were never designed to replace your income entirely during your senior years. Although Social Security was only intended to make up around 40% of pre-retirement income, nearly one-quarter of married couples and close to half of unmarried…

On paper, Social Security’s spousal benefits might seem simple enough to understand. But that’s not the case according to Elaine Floyd, the director of retirement and life planning at Horsesmouth, a New York-based company that helps financial advisers advise clients and manage their practices. “What we seem to be dealing with the most these days…

If you haven’t reached retirement age, be warned: Social Security has some pretty quirky rules. And that’s just the way the government works from time to time, says Jim Blair, a former administrator for the agency who now works with Premier Social Security Consulting, You might think, for instance, that you’d receive your check on…