Fox News
Social Security Recipients to Receive 3.6 Percent Increase, First Since 2009
Some 55 million Social Security recipients will get a 3.6 percent increase in benefits next year, their first raise since 2009, the government announced Wednesday.
2011-10-19
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Smart Money Magazine
10 Things Social Security Won't Tell You
The secret of bigger benefits, and the truth about the agency's bottom line.
2011-09-06
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Fox Business
Social Security: It’s All in the Details, Boomers
Deciding when to start receiving Social Security benefits is one of the most critical decisions a retiree can make.
2011-02-28
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Forbes
The Big Decision: When To Take Social Security
When should you apply for Social Security? It’s a simple question with no simple answer. In fact, coming up with the perfect answer requires you to be part actuary, part financial planner and part fortune teller. Still, you can make a better decision if you take the time to understand some of the twists in how benefits are calculated.
2011-02-15
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Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch
Tips on applying for Social Security benefits
Getting ready to apply for Social Security benefits? - Here are eight things that you need to know:
2010-10-24
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San Francisco (CA) Examiner
Social Security Administration offers a second chance to early retirees
The once obscure regulation that it is possible to reconsider your decision about when to start drawing Social Security payments has been in many newspapers of late. It's as if all the financial gurus have gathered and decided to write about the little known rule that states it is possible to repay Social Security - and start over.
2010-08-29
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U.S. News & World Report
10 Things You Didn't Know About Social Security
Almost all Americans pay into the system, and Social Security is the largest source of income for citizens age 65 and older. Yet this huge entitlement has many facets, some of which are not widely known. Here are 10 things you may not know about Social Security:
2010-08-09
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Forbes
Get A Bigger Social Security Check Now
Repay and reapply for higher benefits before it's too late. This ''loophole'' could close soon.
2010-07-19
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U.S. News & World Report
12 Ways to Fix Social Security
The Social Security program faces a long term financing shortfall. The trust fund’s reserves are currently projected to cover payments until the end of 2037. A U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging report released today outlines the policies Congress could institute to eliminate Social Security’s projected deficit. ... Here’s a look at the potential Social Security fixes.
2010-05-18
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U.S. News & World Report
The Best Life - Your Guide to Social Security, Part Three
Understanding how Social Security works should be an essential part of your thinking as you plan for your later years. Those were the years we used to call retirement. Now, as the recession moves into its third year, they may be the years when you contemplate continuing to work. And as you labor, you may wonder what ever happened to your retirement dreams.
2009-12-31
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U.S. News & World Report
The Best Life - Your Guide to Social Security, Part Two
Here is the second of three columns explaining how Social Security benefits are determined, and how they are affected by changing wage and inflation levels.
2009-12-30
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U.S. News & World Report
The Best Life - Your Guide to Social Security, Part One
Social Security is our most important retirement benefit. Never intended as a source of primary retirement income
2009-12-29
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Newsweek
Gaming Social Security
Increasingly sophisticated retirees are figuring out how to get the most out of the system. ... Conventional wisdom says that workers should hold off as long as possible before claiming their Social Security benefits. Every month they hold off until they reach age 70 means a fatter monthly check over the long term. But now, experts and some sophisticated seniors are looking deeper into the finer points of the program and finding other strategies that can optimize retirees' benefits.
2009-10-26
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MarketWatch
Make your Social Security choice wisely
Many Americans take Social Security early, at age 62, because they really need it. They're in poor health or unemployed or both. Others take benefits early because they're worried they'll lose out on what's rightfully theirs if benefits are reduced. But few people try to figure out the best age to take Social Security -- and that's a serious mistake. Even though it's challenging, calculating the best time to take benefits is well worth it, especially given that Social Security represents about one-third of the average retiree's income.
2009-10-15
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Seattle (WA) Times
Social Security vs. annuity income
Scott Burns answers a question regarding increased Social Security income versus an annuity.
2009-09-20
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Smart Money Magazine
Social Security's New Math
Come January 2010, seniors may do a double take after seeing their Social Security checks. The two to three percentage-point increase in benefits they usually get each year won’t be there. ... Still, anxious seniors should keep in mind that they will actually come out ahead of inflation. “In a sense, older people are going to do fine because the cost of living is down and they’re not going to have their benefits cut,” says John Laitner, the director of the Retirement Research Center at the University of Michigan. Here is the good and bad about a flat COLA.
2009-09-17
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U.S. News & World Report
Tips on Social Security Claiming Strategies
People nearing retirement naturally have a lot of questions about the best ways to claim Social Security benefits.
2009-09-03
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MSNBC
Retirees fear shrinking Social Security checks
The news that Social Security benefits will likely be frozen next year dismayed many older Americans, who said they feared that rising expenses for medication and other necessities would drive them into retirement poverty.
2009-08-25
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Santa Rosa (CA) Press Democrat
Early Social Security can cost later
Many Americans are living on the edge these days, and that means more are opting to take Social Security early. The potential consequences for them down the road are troublesome.
2009-08-07
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Lakeland (FL) Ledger
Time Social Security Benefits to Needs
Collecting Social Security as soon as you are eligible is a tempting proposition — but experts agree you should try to resist if you can.
2009-07-13
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U.S. News & World Report
6 Ways to Maximize Your Social Security Payout
Here are a few potential claiming strategies that could significantly increase your Social Security income for the rest of your life.
2009-06-22
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U.S. News & World Report
The Recession May Be Causing Baby Boomers to Claim Social Security Early
Most baby boomers say they plan to work during the traditional retirement years. But that doesn’t mean they’re able to find work. The Social Security Administration reports a surge in early retirement claims this year.
2009-05-29
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ABC - Money
When Should You Collect Social Security?
Forget about your investments for a moment. Yes, I know, your portfolio has lost more than 30 percent in a year, but chances are there's another critical financial issue that you've spent a whole lot less time thinking about. That is when and how you will collect Social Security retirement benefits. Make the wrong choice, and you could lock yourself into 30 years of reduced income. Make the right choice, and you could more than make up for what you've lost in the past year's market turmoil.
2009-05-26
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New York Times (NY)
Social Security Is Not Expected to Rise
For the first time in more than three decades, Social Security recipients will not get any increase in their benefits next year, federal forecasts show. ... In theory, low inflation is good for people on fixed incomes. But it is creating political and policy problems for Congress, which is just learning of the implications for Social Security and Medicare.
2009-05-02
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U.S. News & World Report
Billions in Social Security Not Being Claimed
Married couples are leaving nearly $10 billion on the table that they could be claiming from Social Security each year, according to a new study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
2009-04-30
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U.S. News & World Report
Social Security Merits Support, Not Disdain
Social Security does face longer-term financial pressures, but the program has been given a bum rap by ideologues of all stripes who seize on it as an example of Washington's financial irresponsibility. ... The program is in robust fiscal health compared with the nation's twin medical entitlement programs--Medicare and Medicaid. And with some relatively minor fixes, Social Security can be placed on a healthy financial footing.
2009-03-18
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Forbes
The Longevity Dividend - Make 70-year-olds feel young, and you keep them around longer.
The original justification for retirement was that by the time people reached a certain age, they were worn out and used up and deserved a few years of dignified leisure in their decline. But that idea is already changing as lives extend, and medical developments on the horizon suggest that it might change a lot more. Could we save our troubled pension systems by developing ways to keep people healthy, and working, much longer?
2009-03-11
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Dallas (TX) Morning News
Deferring Social Security benefits often makes sense
In general, it is good to defer taking Social Security benefits if it is financially possible. This is particularly true if you are still earning wages between age 62 and your full retirement age. Your full retirement age depends on the year you were born.
2009-03-05
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USA Today
Social Security unveils new online application for benefits
The Social Security Administration, envisaging the near-future prospect of 10,000 baby boomers applying for benefits every day, has put together a new online service that will allow people to get their benefits without ever traveling to a Social Security field office.
2009-01-07
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Boston (MA) Globe
It's probably your most valuable retirement asset, but how much do you know about it?
It's one of the biggest if not the biggest asset for millions of Americans in or near retirement. Despite a global financial crisis, it has kept all its value. But we have little practical knowledge of this asset - assuming we even think about how to get the most out of it. I am taking about Social Security retirement benefits, which should be a major component of any retirement plan.
2008-12-02
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U.S. News & World Report
Survey: Baby Boomers Will Claim Social Security at Age 62
Many baby boomers plan to sign up for their Social Security checks as soon as possible. A new survey found that 45 percent of those currently 61 years old will begin getting Social Security at age 62, the first year recipients can apply. Boomers cited financial necessity, health and longevity concerns, and a desire to collect as much as possible from the system as their reasons for early claiming.
2008-10-28
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U.S. News & World Report
Social Security Recipients Will Get Bigger Checks Next Year
Seniors who have recently seen their nest eggs tank are finally getting a small break. Social Security benefits will increase 5.8 percent next year, the largest cost-of-living increase in more than 25 years.
2008-10-17
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Wall Street Journal
Social Security Benefits to Rise 5.8%
More than 55 million Americans will see a 5.8% boost in their Social Security benefits in 2009, the largest jump in 27-years and a development that could add more than $200 billion to federal spending over the next decade.
2008-10-16
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Wall Street Journal
Easier Social Security Estimates
A new calculator on Social Security's Web site gives users a much-improved picture of what their benefits could look like in retirement. And coming in October: a faster and easier way to file for Social Security benefits online.
2008-08-03
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The Villages (FL) Daily Sun
Social Security is not in dire shape
Despite horror stories to the contrary, the Social Security system is not yet in dire shape. This assessment comes from Lonnie Brown, a native Floridian who spent 30 years with the Social Security Administration.
2008-07-27
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Washington (DC) Times
Social Security Web site gets new calculator
People planning for retirement got a new tool this week - a fast and easy online estimator for their Social Security benefits. The Social Security Administration unveiled its new retirement estimator on its Web site Monday. On it, it takes just a few points and clicks and some personal information to produce benefit estimates within a few minutes.
2008-07-22
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Fort Worth (TX) Business Press
Social Security: Will it be here when you need it?
The Social Security program is similar to an earned benefit insurance program; it is only available to those who work and pay taxes, and the benefits are suppose to be available to the workers and their family upon retirement, disability or death. The program was never meant to be the sole funds to be relied on by retirees. ... There are simple things that everyone can do to plan for his or her future retirement:
2008-07-21
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Dallas (TX) Morning News
Russell Beland: Busting myths about baby boomer retirement
The warnings have rumbled for decades: Just wait till the baby boomers retire. If you think there are strains on Social Security and Medicare now, brace yourselves for the implosion as the boomers start heading out to pasture. With the first of that generation now doing just that, we should be seeing the dust cloud soon, right? ... Actually, if you've bought into the following myths, you may be surprised.
2008-07-12
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Wall Street Journal
How Does Social Security Apply Earnings Test?
This question refers to Social Security's so-called earnings test -- in which people who are working and collecting Social Security at the same time could see their benefits reduced, depending on the size of their paychecks and their age.
2008-06-28
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Wenatchee (WA) World
Understanding America's Social Security system
President Roosevelt should have been in the insurance business. In 1935 he sold Congress on the idea of providing a life annuity for American workers, beginning at age 65. Not a bad risk for the insurance company (the government) since the average life expectancy at the time was only 62. Today about 98 percent of all workers are in jobs covered by Social Security. One in six Americans receives a Social Security benefit, and nearly 1 in 3 beneficiaries are not retirees.
2008-06-16
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San Francisco (CA) Chronicle
All about the IRS rebate numbering system
The Internal Revenue Service's decision to distribute economic stimulus payments based on the last two digits of your Social Security number got me wondering: How does the government assign these numbers?
2008-05-06
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Napa Valley (CA) Register
Survey of Baby Boomers
Harris Interactive, a major international research firm, recently published a report about how aging Americans feel about their approaching retirement. The study was comprised of a survey of Americans between ages 45 and 65, and it had some interesting results.
2008-04-07
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U.S. News & World Report
Many Say Social Security Is Healthy Enough
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson labeled Social Security
2008-04-04
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CBS MarketWatch
Paying it forward
Little-known rule lets you restart Social Security and collect more each month
2008-02-28
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The Dallas Morning News (TX)
Before you work, know the tax laws
Once you're past your full retirement age, you won't lose any of your Social Security benefits just because you're working.
2008-02-25
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USA Today
Turning 62: Have your retirement cake and eat it, too
America's oldest baby boomers, who are turning 62 this year, face similar trade-offs in deciding whether to claim their Social Security benefits early. A little-known Social Security option, though, gives early retirees a way to have their cake and eat it, too.
2008-02-22
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Bloomberg
Early Retirement Is More Than Just a Pipe Dream
For millions of baby boomers, 2008 might be the first year of the rest of their lives. ... Longevity is a blessing and a curse for future retirees. Living longer costs more. What was once inconceivable -- four decades in retirement -- is now possible with exercise, better diet and medical advances.
2008-02-22
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USA Today
First baby boomer receives 1st Social Security payment
The nation's first baby boomer received her first Social Security retirement benefit Tuesday, marking another milestone for the post-World War II generation.
2008-02-15
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