Every tax season, the same question arises from Americans receiving Social Security. “Do I have to pay taxes on my Social Security benefit?” The next question is a logical progression. “How much?” It’s based on an IRS formula for combined income. Combined income = Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) + nontaxable interest + ½ of Social Security benefits. Once [...]
Social Security is usually thought of in terms of an individual’s retirement benefit. But it’s equally important to understand the benefits of Social Security for married couples. Whether you’re a Baby Boomer spouse with limited work history because you stayed home to raise the kids, or a married couple that’s discovered a happy family doesn’t require two incomes, here are [...]
Social Security is an important part of almost every retirement plan, whether you’ve saved enough or not. That’s why it’s important to know as much about your Social Security situation as possible. And you don’t want to wait until you’re about to retire to gather the facts. Social Security planning needs to start 5 years before your target retirement date. [...]
Your advisor probably told you to wait. Wait until 70, collect the bigger check, maximize your guaranteed lifetime income. It's the standard advice and has been for years. Here's what they don't always tell you: for those of you who have done the hard work and saved a substantial nest egg, that advice deserves a lot more scrutiny than it [...]
There’s an old axiom that says nothing in life is certain except death and taxes. True enough. But there’s one other thing that’s certain; we’re all going to retire—sometime. The number one retirement question I’m asked is, “What is the perfect age to retire?” Close on its heels is, “When should I start taking Social Security?” The Social Security question [...]
Social Security, even with all its problems, is unquestionably an important component of retirement income for millions of Americans. For about half of seniors, Social Security is 50% of their income, and 1 in 4 seniors say it makes up at least 90% of their income. There are more parts to Social Security than most people realize. Only in [...]
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