Recently we received a question about Suspending Social Security Retirement Benefits, and since it is not the first time we have received this question we felt it a good one to answer in our blog.  The question is: “I’ve heard you talk on the radio about Filing and Suspending benefits as a strategy to allow […]

We recently had a question come in where the person asked the following: “I just turned 66 this year (in 2015) and have gone back to work part time.  I started collecting Social Security benefits a couple years ago.  When I got my first paycheck I saw they withheld FICA taxes.  Should they have done […]

We have spoken several times about the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) of Social Security.  Regular visitors to the blog will understand how it affects the monthly benefit owed by Social Security to people who also participated in a non-covered pension at work.  Non-covered pensions are those that are legally allowed to take the place of […]

In a previous blog post we discussed how your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) can increase your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums.  Since then, a blog follower sent us a question asking how you can determine what your MAGI is and how the Part B and Part D premium increases work depending on […]

If you’ve read this blog before, you know that sometimes you can have multiple possible claiming strategies when it comes to claiming your Social Security benefits. However, if you also have a government pension, the Government Pension Offset (GPO) can make your claiming decision an easier one. We recently dealt with a very eye-opening case […]

Once you reach age 65 it is common practice to become part of the Medicare insurance system.  If you are also collecting Social Security benefits they will generally withhold your Medicare premiums from your SS checks instead of having you send them in separately.  For most beneficiaries, the government pays about 75% of your Medicare […]

In 2013, the Department of Labor announced that they were going to require the plan administrators of “qualified” employer sponsored retirement plans, like your 401k, to supply to plan participants a retirement plan benefit estimate of the amount of “income” the balance in the retirement plan would provide to a retiree.  While a few plans […]

We received a question from a listener regarding the effects of remarriage on survivor benefits.  As this is a common scenario when a widow/widower decides to remarry we wanted to cover her question publicly for the benefit of others.  I have paraphrased her question here: “I’m approaching my 60th birthday and plan on applying for […]

After listening to our discussion of Suspending Benefits we had a reader/listener contact us with a hypothetical question.  To set up this question I want to remind everyone about the basics of Suspending Benefits.  Once you reach your Full Retirement Age (FRA) you have the right to suspend your benefits.  This essentially temporarily halts the […]

January 31st, 2015 marks the 75th anniversary of the very first Social Security monthly benefit check.  Ida May Fuller paid into the Social Security system between its inception in 1937 up to her retirement at the end of 1939.  She paid in a total of $24.75 and her very first monthly benefit check was $22.54, […]