Category: Social Security


The Social Security Earnings Penalty for Self-Employed People

“Well, Tom, you see, I’m a farmer. I got me about 100 acres of beans, and I really only work two months a year. I plant those beans in April and I harvest them in October. The rest of the time, I’m pretty much sitting on my butt. Oh, I mend a fence or two…


The Savings Game: IRS Guidance on Inherited IRAs, and Other Reader Questions

By Elliot Raphaelson Q: I recently inherited a traditional IRA from my deceased mother, who was 76 and had been taking RMDs each year. Based on everything I had read, I thought that I did not have to take any required distributions (RMDs) in years one through nine, but I would be required under the 10-year…


First Half of $1,600 Checks Going out This Week

People who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are slated to get the first of two payments for September starting this week. Normally, SSI payments are issued every month, but September is one of three months in 2022 where payments are issued twice in a single month, according to the Social Security Administration’s schedule (pdf). Some will get…


First Half of $1,600 SSI Checks Going Out This Week

People who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are slated to get the first of two payments for September starting this week. Normally, SSI payments are issued every month, but September is one of three months in 2022 where payments are issued twice in a single month, according to the Social Security Administration’s schedule (pdf). Some will get…


The Savings Game: Readers Ask About Insurance, Spousal Benefits and I Bonds

By Elliot Raphaelson Q: I need help with an insurance policy. I no longer have a local agent to answer my questions. I have an endowment policy, and there is a term on my statement I don’t understand. Specifically, it includes the following: “family endowment at age 85.” What does that mean? I am approaching…


Family Maximum Doesn’t Apply to Couples

I frequently get questions from soon-to-be retirees who have heard about a “family maximum” that applies to Social Security benefits, and they are afraid that rule will reduce the benefits they are due as a couple. So, here is the message of this column: The family maximum rules do not apply to a husband and…


Is Social Security Running Out of Money?

The Build Back Better bill that Congress sent to the Senate had several social reforms. It proposed more spending on Medicaid and offered hearing benefits through Medicare. But Social Security wasn’t mentioned. When the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, it also didn’t address Social Security. Social Security is running out of funding. The Social…


20 Retirement Mistakes You’re Making Now That Will Cost You Millions

Have you put much thought into your retirement? Unfortunately, most of us don’t. And, that could have serious repercussions if you want to actually enjoy your retirement years. Retirement mistakes are rapid. The thing is, retirement involves more than just opening a savings account and forgetting all about it. You’re also going to have to make some…


First Half of Potential $1,652 Direct Payment to Be Sent in Just 2 Weeks

Millions of Supplementary Security Income (SSI) recipients will get two payments in September due to timing. The first SSI payment totaling as much as $841 will be sent out starting on Sept. 1, while the second will arrive by the end of that month, according to the Social Security Administration. The payment is due to…