WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 05: U.S. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) scratches his head … [+] in the House Chamber. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Getty Images Terry Savage and I are collecting Social Security horror stories and posting them at my substack site, larrykotlikoff.substack.com. Sign up for free and take a read. If…
getty The United States Social Security website, quite frankly, is a very informative website. The website contains many useful tools and has a wealth of information available to you. Plus, it is quite easy to navigate. As you approach retirement, you should become familiar with the website. When you reach the website, there are several…
The view of a ceiling from below. getty How can the debt ceiling bind? As I discussed in an earlier Forbes article, the deficit is the annual difference between Federal government spending and tax revenue (if there is more revenue than spending, there is a surplus). The debt is the total of all deficits since…
Tax planning during retirement getty Tax planning doesn’t necessarily get easier as you age. There are times when taxes get more complicated as you get older. When taxes are complex, there are more opportunities to benefit from proactive tax planning. This could be good news in the form of tax deductions and tax credits. Tax…
Take steps to protect your retirement finances from a recession. getty With all the talk lately about a looming recession, I’ve been thinking about strategies that retirees and pre-retirees can adopt to protect themselves from severe financial disruptions if the predicted recession lands on our doorstep. It reminded me of how my parents retired and…
Babies sitting on floor together getty Once again, the most popular names for babies born in the United States are Liam and Olivia—Liam has topped the list for six years in a row, and Olivia has been the top choice for new parents for four years. The rankings are determined by Social Security Administration (SSA)…
Getty Images A lot has been written as to why you should wait until 70 to start collecting your Social Security benefits. In the right situation, that is a true statement, but everyone’s situation is different. I have always said that there are as many good reasons as bad reasons to wait to collect your…
Ask Larry Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about how continued work might be able to increase retirement benefit rates, how survivor’s benefits are calculated and how a non US citizen might be eligible for US Social Security benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the…
getty Are you worried about getting Social Security as promised? If you’re not, don’t read the following paragraph. The Social Security Administration recently issued a message to the public summarizing The Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds report. It stated, “The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to…
Replace worry about economic uncertainty with careful plans. getty “I’m scared about my investments due to recent stock market declines, high inflation, and the jump in interest rates. Where do you think the markets are headed right now?” This question was posed to me at a recent lunch I had with a retiree in her…