When seeking advice on Social Security claiming, one must be careful who to consult. A lot of Social Security advice that gets implemented is based on conversation with friends and family or around the water cooler with co-workers, comparing the age that they claimed benefits. Everyone's circumstances are unique and so one temptation may be to go directly to the Social Security Administration for advice about claiming strategies, bypassing all other sources. … [Read more...]
What is the impact of remarriage for the surviving spouse benefit?
The surviving spouse benefit is a critical part of retirement planning. At some point in time, nearly every married couple will have to deal with the loss of their spouse and the financial ramifications that go with it. When both a husband and wife are eligible for a Social Security benefit, and one spouse predeceases the other, the surviving spouse is entitled to the higher of the two Social Security benefits. Assuming the surviving spouse has reached full retirement age, they are … [Read more...]
Cost of Healthcare in Retirement
Fidelity Investments releases a study each year estimating the out of pocket cost for healthcare expenses. Their recently updated study for this year puts the tab at $275,000 for a couple during retirement (https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/retirement/retiree-health-costs-rise), which is $15,000 more than the last time they released their numbers. … [Read more...]
Social Security Announces 2.0% COLA for 2018
The Social Security Administration announced today that monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 66 million Americans will increase by 2%. The 2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 61 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2018. Increased payments to more than eight million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 29, 2017. … [Read more...]
Can Social Security COLAs really keep up with inflation?
Social Security recently announced a 2.0% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the upcoming year of 2018. This is a much higher increase than past years, thankfully. It brings up the question of whether Social Security COLAs truly will help retirees keep up with future increases in costs. … [Read more...]
When delaying Social Security is a risky idea
As few as 1% of Americans delay until the age of 70 to take their Social Security. I believe there are several reasons for this, but primary among them is that they do not have a plan that will allow them to delay. … [Read more...]
How Long Will Investments Last In Retirement – Determine In Advance
The #1 fear that the clients that I work with have is running out of money in retirement. It comes as a surprise to many that one can fairly easily determine how long an investment portfolio will last in retirement, even with the level of uncertainty that is created in the markets. There are three primary factors that influence how long investments last in retirement.\ … [Read more...]
How to set up a my Social Security account & why it’s so important
Perhaps you’ve heard that millions of Americans have created online accounts with the Social Security Administration called my Social Security accounts. But why do these accounts matter and what can they do for you? … [Read more...]
Case Study – A Widow Increases Her Lifetime Benefits
My client, who I’ll call Sarah, recently lost her husband, Alan, prematurely at his age of 62. Fortunately, Alan and Sarah had saved diligently for retirement and Alan also had several life insurance policies in place on his life. Sarah and I met recently to review the best way for her to take her Social Security option, since she had retired a few months earlier. … [Read more...]
Watch out! The Windfall Elimination Provision impacts your spouse too
If you ever worked for a company or organization outside of the Social Security pension system, you may have earned a non-covered pension that may impact the amount of your monthly Social Security benefit. This is called the Windfall Elimination Provision. You can refer to this article for more information about how it's calculated and how it impacts the worker’s Social Security benefit. … [Read more...]