Rebecca Wiggins is the Executive Director of AFCPE and holds a Masters of Family Financial Planning from Kansas State University. Search for an AFCPE Certified Professional in your area by using the association’s search tool. Now in its 80th year, Social Security is still the cornerstone of the American retirement plan. Following the Great Depression,…
Choosing the right time to claim your Social Security benefits could improve your retirement plan. If you review your Social Security choices — your options for claiming Social Security benefits, you will find that you can increase your monthly Social Security income by waiting until after you are 62 years old to claim your benefit.…
With Social Security celebrating its 80th birthday this year, it’s a good time to reassess whether the program still works, and whether it might even exist once your retirement rolls around. It’s seen its share of negativity, with many people doubting its solvency and ability to roll with the unsteady times. But a funny thing…
August 14 marks the 80th birthday of the program that we know as Social Security. Eighty years ago, the country was suffering through the Great Depression. Jobs were worse than scarce, and families were worse than poor. Pensions had all but disappeared, so the elderly suffered along with younger people who couldn’t find adequate work.…
Choosing when to claim your social security benefits can be one of the most important decisions that you make in retirement. Proper timing is important, but with conflicting information and advice, it can be hard to determine what the best course of action is for you. Let’s explore what factors you should consider when making…
You can reasonably count on Social Security benefits once you retire, but determining how much you’ll receive is a different story. There is a formula, of sorts. But as Mark Miller for Morningstar explains, it’s still complex. Although you might not come to a precise dollar amount in predicting your benefits, it’s still interesting to…
If you are like most people facing the prospect of retirement, you are probably figuring out how to generate enough income for retirement that it will last as long as you need it to. This article will talk about two of the biggest strategies you have for generating retirement income: when and how you should…
Retirement is a tricky business. You can save and plan your whole life, but that doesn’t mean you’ll know how to best use your Social Security benefits. Counting on the Social Security Administration (SSA) to help you find your way doesn’t always work either. And then there’s the elephant in the room, which is the…
Social Security has served as a financial safety net for many older adults, but recent research indicates that era is drawing to a close as retirement health care costs skyrocket. Many older Americans rely heavily on Social Security benefits as their main source of income in retirement. Nearly half (47%) of unmarried people depend on…
You have probably read and reread that you should delay the start of your Social Security benefits until at least your full retirement date (typically around age 66 if you are retiring soon). This advice is probably good for most people because delaying the start of benefits increases your monthly Social Security checks for your…
The turning of the calendar year is a classic time to evaluate your financial goals. If you’re rapidly approaching retirement age, or if you’re already there, Social Security benefits are probably near the front of your thoughts. Social Security helps supplement the lives of millions of retired Americans. But even though every worker gets…
Deciding when to start drawing Social Security can be one of the toughest decisions that a new or near retiree can make. For most, delaying Social Security is the preferred option — in fact, it may your best investment decision. By Henry Hebeler Henry (Bud) Hebeler is one of the most experienced financial advisors within…