Social Security

Navigating the various rules that affect your finances is stressful for every couple, but it’s harder when only 12 states recognize your marriage. In the other 38 states, if one of you dies, there are big problems.

Several federal and state laws that are essential to personal finance do not apply to those in same-sex relationships. For same sex couples, solving one’s financial life can be oppressively convoluted. But this additional layer of complexity should not be an excuse to avoid planning for your future.

According to the recent TV documentary from PBS Frontline, retirement is a gamble at best. Well, not if you plan wisely and prudently.

If baby boomers postpone retirement, it may not solve all of the country’s economic problems, but it can ease some of them.

So it’s good news that a growing number of boomers are working past the traditional retirement age. Today, almost 18% of people older than 65 are still at work and the number is climbing. In 1993, only 11% of them were still at their jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Last month, President Barack Obama gave retirees a scare with a proposal that reduces pensioners’ income from Social Security. The good news is that his plan was dead on arrival due to Washington’s epic gridlock. We don’t need to fear for Social Security for now, but can’t be safe forever.

Federal spending looks to stay high for a long time, thanks to Washington’s inability to pass a reasonable budget. Politicians float proposals that effectively fleece retirees and taxpayers. Bond investors should also take warning: The supply of Treasury bonds to fund these chronically high government outlays keeps increasing, making the bonds ever-cheaper and hurting fixed-income portfolios. 

April 29 marks four years since the U.S. government last passed a budget. Based on the budget he proposed, it seems that President Barack Obama intends to keep the streak going.

It gets harder to live off a Social Security paycheck every year, due to under-reporting of inflation. A proposed revamp of inflation adjustments to benefits is sure to make the situation even worse.

To save the government about $130 billion over a decade, President Barack Obama wants to reduce Social Security's cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). This is clearly bad news for retirees who depend on Social Security payments.

Baby boomers’ huge numbers and surprisingly shaky health threaten government old-age benefits. That’s why you need to bolster your own retirement finances more than ever.

Public policy experts question the sustainability of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as the baby boomer tsunami washes up on the shore of eligibility at the rate of roughly 10,000 a day.

When planning for Social Security retirement benefits, it is important to know how to compute the amount of your benefit at various ages.  The amount varies depending upon your age when you begin drawing the benefit, as well as your record of earnings over time.

Below are the factors you need to determine to figure out what you will get:

Now it is even easier to file for spousal Social Security benefits to boost a couple’s income. It used to be very difficult to make this claim, but the Social Security Administration smoothed the process by creating an online claim form.

Many are foggy on the different levels of Social Security benefits they can claim. No wonder. This is a complex subject.

Social Security payouts are a big part of retirees’ incomes, making up an average 40% for people over 65, according to a 2008 study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.