In last week’s column, I presented a brief overview of the Social Security rules that apply to women. Today’s column has some common questions that I get from women that will help clarify those rules. Q: Every woman I know is getting half of her husband’s Social Security. But I’m getting nowhere near that. Why…
A Woman’s Guide to Social Security
I’m going to start this column by shamelessly promoting my little Social Security guidebook called “Social Security—Simple and Smart.” You can get it for less than $10 at Amazon.com and other booksellers. I am always referring readers who send me emails to that book because it will help them a whole lot more than a…
Being Happy With Less
Every single day, I get emails from readers who seem to be absolutely obsessed with the idea of “maximizing” their Social Security benefits. And frequently, those emails are dripping with anxiety and sometimes almost torment. It’s like these folks are just worrying themselves sick that they might be missing out on a few bucks in…
Should a Housewife Get Social Security Credits?
People frequently write to me with an idea to change Social Security law in some way that they think is clever and unique. But I usually must tell them that their proposal has been considered in the past. After all, Social Security has been around for 80 years now, and for all of those eight…
You’re Not Being Cheated by Social Security
I guess there just must be something about the human psyche that makes so many people feel they’re being cheated out of something that everyone else gets. And if my emails are any indication, that’s especially true when it comes to older adults and Social Security. So many of them seem to be convinced that…
Social Security Will Not Go Broke
Here we go again. Another round of scare stories about the impending doom of Social Security. Headlines such as this one in my local newspaper—”Social Security Moves Closer to Bankruptcy”—have many of my readers on edge. These kinds of headlines were prompted by a report recently released from the Social Security Board of Trustees that…
Think Twice Before Jumping on Husband’s Maximizing Bandwagon
I probably have written more than 100 columns about the obsession older adults have with “maximizing” their Social Security retirement benefits. I’m not going to get into that issue today. I personally don’t think it’s always the right move. But if you’re determined to employ these alleged strategies (which almost always mean delaying starting your…
What to Do When the SSA Steers You Wrong
These are the columns I hate to write. Columns that are critical of some of my former colleagues at the Social Security Administration. But doggone it. Almost every day, I hear from readers who have been misled by an SSA representative. I know we’re all human and we all can make mistakes. And giving out…
There Goes Grandma Over the Cliff
Commentary Democrats have made a living in recent times with political attack ads fallaciously accusing Republicans of secret plans to destroy Medicare and Social Security. In one famous TV ad, then-House Speaker Paul Ryan was depicted as shoving an elderly woman in a wheelchair off a cliff. Well, Republicans may want to reprise that ad—and…
Social Security Is Bad Retirement Savings Vehicle, Critics Claim
Social Security, a mandatory retirement program with some 65 million beneficiaries and 176 million covered, is inferior to private sector retirement saving alternatives, according to critics. They warn Americans not to over-rely on it to fund retirement. And some also claim it’s a bad investment, especially for young people. “Over their lifetimes, a couple born…
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