Category: Social Security

  • Retire While Working

    Want an easy way to get your resources to stretch even further in retirement? Work part-time while you’re collecting Social Security. That’s PART-time — not the 40-hrs-or-more-a-week you used to put in as a working stiff. Just one or two days a week will not only add to your income, but done with care, won’t…

  • Social Security Ends Payback Option

    Last year I wrote about how you could take social security early and still receive the full benefit. The IRS has caught on to that option and is has established rules that keep it from being a viable option. The Social Security Administration published rules that limit the time period for beneficiaries to withdraw an…

  • The Future of Social Security

    The following is a post from staff writer Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, where she writes about finding the balance between paying your bills, saving for your future, and budgeting for the fun stuff along the way. Everyone knows that the United States Social Security System is in trouble, but nobody knows exactly…

  • New Debt Proposal Would Cut Social Security and Medicare

    A new debt proposal from a fiscal commission appointed by President Barack Obama is proposing deep cuts in federal spending including Social Security and Medicare. The proposal also suggests significantly reducing income tax rates and eliminating practically all tax breaks such as the mortgage interest deduction. The plan also calls for raising the Social Security…

  • No Social Security COLA Increase in 2011

    According to several news sources it appears unlikely that there will be a cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase for Social Security in 2011. This would be the second year in a row without an increase. The COLAs are set automatically according to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. This…

  • Can You Collect Unemployment and Social Security?

    Can you collect unemployment and Social Security? You can but some states have offset laws that could reduce or eliminate your unemployment benefits.

  • Social Security Reform Ideas

    When it comes to the Social Security system, the only absolute facts are that changes must be made to keep it solvent. With the arrival of retirement age for the baby boom generation, the system will have two workers for every retiree by 2030; currently there are 3.2 workers per retiree paying into the system.…

  • How to Take Social Security Early and Still Receive the Full Benefit

    There has been a lot of speculation about how long Social Security will be around and in what form it will be in the future. Figures vary but it is reported that the trust fund will start running at a deficit in 2018 and will be unable to pay full benefits by 2040. I have…

  • No COLA in 2010, Artificially High COLA in 2009

    While no one welcomed the news of no cost of living adjustment (COLA) in 2010 for Social Security recipients, I didn’t hear anyone complain about an “artificially high” 5.8% increase this year (2009). Artificially high is the term used in a NY Times article discussing the $250 Social Security bonus payment President Obama has discussed…