Social Security

We were recently asked a question that led us to believe this week’s topic might be useful to many of you. While most of us are aware of how Social Security works, here are the five most important things every married couple should know about Social Security.  1) Nothing keeps you from getting your own

Wait a minute! Is it 62, 65, 70 or 73? Let’s start to unravel this question. Social Security can be taken at any time between the age 62 and age 70. At the younger age, the SS administration will re-calculate your benefits and make them lower than if you waited, in order to factor in

We’ve spoken in the past about the financial benefits of delaying the claiming of Social Security benefits. However, what happens if retirees decide to leave their jobs before reaching age 70 and need to “bridge the gap” of income until they do start to claim their Social Security benefits?  Most people would be better off

You’re eligible for the unreduced Social Security benefit (referred to as your Primary Insurance Amount) once you reach your full retirement age. If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67.  You can start taking Social Security retirement benefits as early as 62, but the benefit is reduced by 30%

Retirees need to take full advantage of every available tax break they can. This is especially true if you’re living on a fixed income; you need that money to last, so every cent counts. However, holding on to your money during retirement is easier said than done. It’s easy to miss valuable tax-saving opportunities and

We’ve heard many times that it’s a good idea for retirees to put off receiving Social Security payments, as waiting can allow you to get more out of them than if you were to start as soon as age permits.  One way to make this more feasible is to include annuities in retirement strategies to

We’ve previously discussed different types of scams you should be looking out for. This week, we wanted to bring yet another one to your attention. You might get an email claiming to be from someone with the Social Security Administration, a message along the lines of “Due to suspicious illegal activity detected during our investigation,

Let’s start by explaining that when you begin receiving Social Security retirement benefits, you are considered officially “retired” by the Social Security Administration (SSA). You can receive Social Security checks and still work at the same time. However, since you are now “retired” there is a limit to how much you can earn and still