Earn hundreds or thousands of dollars of extra interest income with strategic use of Series I … [+] Savings Bonds. getty Series I Savings Bonds guaranteed by the U.S. government (aka I bonds) are currently earning 7.12% annual interest. This is great news for middle-income retirees who may have recently watched the interest income from…
getty Long before the Clash sang “should I stay or should I go,” Social Security recipients have asked, “Should I claim or should I wait?” Back in 1982 when the punk rock tune was first released, the life expectancy in the United States was 75 years. It didn’t make sense to wait to receive Social…
. getty Social Security has always been a uniquely American Rorschach Test. Should you take what’s offered to you right now or wait a few years for what’s behind the curtain? Fortunately, you don’t have to have visions of Monty Hall haunting your Social Security claiming decision. There’s actually a fairly reliable checklist you can…
By Wes Moss, Next Avenue Getty A recent Next Avenue article and “Friends Talk Money” podcast episode shared one of the principles from my new book “What the Happiest Retirees Know: 10 Habits for a Healthy, Secure, and Joyful Life.” Specifically, they highlighted my discovery that the happiest retirees generally have at least $500,000 in liquid…
Ask Larry Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about what effect not working in the years before filing might affect benefit amounts, switching from Social Security disability benefits to retirement benefits and on the process of starting spousal benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the…
Ask Larry Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about filing options given the 2022 COLA, when survivor’s benefits can be available and determining the best options for taking spousal benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See…
Ask Larry Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about how the earnings test affects Social Security benefits while working, whether benefits automatically switch to retirement benefits at 70 after a restricted application and whether a worker’s disability benefit affects survivor’s benefits claimed on their record. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of…
Medicare Part B Premiums for the highest earners will top $14,000 a year in 2022. getty The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced Medicare Part B premiums for 2022, and the base premium increases 14.5% from $148.50 a month in 2021 to $170.10 a month in 2022. That $21.60 monthly increase ($260 a year)…
Ask Larry Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about whether waiting till 70 is always the best strategy, how the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset can reduce benefit amounts and whether to take survivor’s benefits or retirement benefits first. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston…
Florida, Sebring, Social Security Administration, federal government agency. (Photo by: Jeffrey … [+] Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images According to a recent report from the Social Security trustees, the trust fund that pays for retirees’ benefits (OASDI, or Old Age and Survivors Insurance fund) will become…