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Again this week we have evidence of the negative effects of the new Social Security Changes.  The proponents of these changes argue that they were closing “loopholes” only used by “rich people”.  Once again, we see evidence this is not a fair characterization, and as described in previous blog posts, the harm is being done […]

On October 15, 2015 the Social Security Administration officially announced the cost of living adjustment (COLA) for 2016 to be ZERO.* With a zero cost of living adjustment to consider, I would like to highlight a few aspects of Social Security in 2016 that have become official now that the COLA announcement has been made. […]

As word gets out about the changes to Social Security implemented in early November, we are starting to get a substantial number of questions asking for clarification.  Since one of the best ways to educate people is through real life examples, I want to answer two of the questions that have come in recently. Restricted […]

We have had our first live case of a person approaching retirement who is significantly harmed by the new Social Security rules we have discussed the past few weeks. Let me describe the situation facing 61 year old “Georgette”, a name we will use to protect her anonymity. The numbers have also been rounded to […]

While most of us in the retirement planning arena are still digesting the full impact of the significant Social Security rule changes recently signed in to law, a few things are becoming clear.  One of the strangest is an incentive for people to divorce as they approach their full retirement age.  Let’s call this an […]

I guess it was appropriate that this last weekend was Halloween since something very spooky happened with Social Security.  Buried inside the Budget Bill that was passed by both the House and Senate last week, and then signed into law by the President on Monday November 2nd, were provisions that change the rules regarding claiming […]

In a blog post a month ago, we discussed the possibility of no Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) for Social Security benefits in 2016 and the harsh side effects to Medicare premiums this may cause for some people.  Well, it became official on October 15, 2015 when the Social Security Administration officially announced the COLA […]

A blog reader recently asked us if their military pension earned from active duty in the 1990s and early 2000s would affect their Social Security benefits.  They had been reading about how government pensions can affect your SS benefits due to the WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision)and GPO (Government Pension Offset) provisions of the SS rules.  Well, we […]

We’ve talked about this before, but when it comes to Social Security, your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) is the most important number you’ll need to know.  So what exactly is your PIA and how is it calculated? Your PIA is the retirement benefit that you will receive once you reach full retirement age.  If you […]

A divorced woman trying to decide between taking her own Social Security retirement benefit or the spousal benefit for which she is entitled due to her previous marriage sent us the following question: “I currently qualify for both my own SS benefit as well as a spousal benefit from my previous marriage of 25 years.  […]