I was looking through some old columns of mine and I found one from about 15 years ago with an intriguing headline: “Little Green Martians and Social Security.” I wrote that column in reaction to a news story that was running in media outlets around the country based on a poll of young people that…
The SSN: A History Lesson
Regular readers of my column know that I try to avoid the use of Social Security jargon, abbreviations and acronyms as much as possible. That even goes as far as the name of the agency that runs the Social Security program. Although I must frequently do it, I just don’t like referring to the SSA…
Common Social Security Questions
Well, it’s been a strange week. My inbox is normally crammed with emails from readers. But this week, there has been just a sprinkling of questions. I’d like to think it’s because all of you have been reading my column for years, and maybe also have read my two books about Social Security, and so…
Social Security Predicted to Reduce Payments by 2033
April 10, 2023
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Unless Congress does something to change it, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will reduce payments by as much as 20 percent by 2033. The talk about it has continued for a couple of years, but now it is predicted to take place one year sooner than projected earlier. The depletion of money in the Social…
Social Security Rules for Federal Government Employees
I’ve commented before how surprised I am that a high percentage of emails I get come from the relatively small group of people in this country who don’t even pay into Social Security. Most of those questions come from retired or soon-to-be retired educators in those states where teachers have a separate retirement system other…
Social Security Rumors Don’t Pass the “Look, Sound, and Quack Test!”
I’m sure you’ve heard that old saying that goes something like this: “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck—it’s a duck!” Well, I offer you another version of that old chestnut. And it goes like this: “If it looks like a crazy Social Security rumor, sounds like…
Closing the Retirement Income Gap
By Sandra Block From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance By the time you reach your 50s, you should start to get a handle on how much you’ll have in savings when you retire, and whether the money will last as long as you do. Most financial planners say you should plan on replacing 75 percent to 80…
Most People Can’t Get the Maximum Benefit
If you read a recent USA Today article, you would have seen a story with this intriguing headline: “3 steps to claiming the $4,555 max monthly Social Security benefit.” And if you are pushing retirement age, you would of course want to read that story and get yourself locked into a heaping serving from the…
Change Is Nothing New to Social Security
I continually remind my readers that they shouldn’t worry too much when they read or hear reports of Social Security’s imminent collapse. Once Congress works up the nerve to deal with the issue (and once the American people accept the fact that the program needs reform), they will get around to passing amendments to the…
IRS Reminds Many Retirees They Must Withdraw Money from IRAs by Special Deadline or Face Penalties
March 10, 2023
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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a reminder to retirees who turned 72 last year that, in most cases, they face a deadline on April 1, 2023, to take their first payment from their workplace retirements plans or face penalties. Americans can’t keep their retirement funds in their accounts indefinitely. When they turn 72,…
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