Category: Social Security
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$250 Social Security Bonus Payment
When it was revealed that there would be no cost of living adjustment for Social Security in 2010, people were livid. Just reading the comments on my blog revealed that people were furious there was no adjustment next year, so you can imagine how the broader public felt about it. It turns out the outrage…
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No COLA Adjustment for Social Security in 2010
There’s a great US News & World Report article on the 5 Big Financial Changes for Retirees in 2010 and the first one listed is a doozy. It’s widely believed that there will be little to no near term inflation which means that Social Security cost of living adjustments will likely be zero in 2010…
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Social Security Strategy: Wife Claims Early, Husband Claims Late
One way a couple can maximize their Social Security benefit is to use a strategy that takes advantage of how the benefit is calculated differently for men and women. To maximize your benefit, it pays for anyone to simply wait until their almost 70 before taking payments. If you’re not actually retired, this is pretty…
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Will the Social Security Program Go Bankrupt?
Until the economic crisis this year, the biggest thing on retirees’ minds was whether Social Security was going to go bankrupt. Actually, scratch that. Retirees didn’t have to worry about it, future retirees did because there were concerns that the number of people drawing from the program would outstrip the number of people contributing to…
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2009 Social Security Taxable Maximum Increases
When the Social Security Administration announced the cost of living adjustment last week for Social Security benefits, some people clapped as benefits increased. Anyone who was working probably didn’t like to hear that it would increase 5.8% because that meant the Social Security tax would increase also because the taxable maximum would increase from $102,000…
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Inflation to Increase Social Security Benefits
Social Security benefits are pegged to inflation. When the government announces inflation figures tomorrow, it’s likely that a retiree’s monthly social security benefits could increase by 5% or more. Social Security calculates the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) using inflation over the 12 months preceding September. It’s estimated that the CPI-W, the figure used, will…
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How Are Social Security Benefits Taxed?
Recently a reader asked: I would like to know the breaking points for annual income that affects the percentage of social security that is taxable. example…low income only 15% is taxable. Social Security is normally not taxable unless you earn over a certain amount. This lower amount is called the base amount and depends on…
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McCain Collects Social Security
Presidential hopeful John McCain agrees with many expert’s opinions that the Social Security program is in trouble. In fact, he called it “a disgrace,” but that doesn’t stop him from cashing the checks the SSA sends him. In 2007, he received $1,930 a month in benefits and has received benefits for the last six years.…
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Banks Cannot Garnish Social Security Payments
The Social Security Administration recently released a report on an investigation into the practice of banks garnishing Social Security and disability payments for third party creditors, a practice that is illegal. It was discovered that approximately $171.4 million was garnished from accounts receiving direct deposits of SS benefits and other direct deposits and an additional…