There are some basic facts about when and how Social Security checks are due and delivered that confuse many people. To help you understand, here are three rules about getting Social Security checks that everyone needs to know. No. 1: Social Security benefits are paid one month behind. In other words, the benefit payment for…

I’ve been writing a book for years now. It’s not going to be a bestseller, and it only has to do with Social Security in a peripheral way. It’s a history of my life, my wife’s life, and our lives together (about 47 years so far). I’m writing this collection of stories for my children…

I just don’t get people’s fascination with the idea of getting retroactive retirement benefits from Social Security. I can understand that, on the surface, the idea of getting a big retroactive check from the government might sound like a financial windfall. But when you think it through, or at least when I think it through,…

I am constantly hearing from readers who comment on the perceived complexities of Social Security laws. They liken the program to something just shy of rocket science or brain surgery. And they marvel that I can keep up with “all the changing and complex rules and regulations.” Well, I am no rocket scientist. Nor am…

Readers are always telling me they are worried about the future of Social Security. And they say they are inclined to file for Social Security benefits before they originally planned to because they are convinced benefits will be dramatically cut as part of any upcoming Social Security reform. They plan to do this because they…

Imagine that you owned a successful business that was gaining 10,000 new customers every single day. And all the market projections said that trend would continue for many more years. Would you be hiring new staff and opening new outlets to keep up with the demand? Or would you be cutting back on employees, reducing…