Most Americans will eventually receive Social Security and Medicare benefits. Each year, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds release lengthy reports to Congress that assess the health of these important programs. The most recent report, released on April 22, 2020, discuss the current financial condition and ongoing financial challenges that both […]
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Changes are afoot on the Social Security and Medicare fronts for 2016. Both programs are implementing measures that will have an impact on anyone who is currently retired or those making retirement plans over the next few years. Let’s look at Medicare first. Medicare Part B, which covers services like outpatient doctor visits and preventative […]
Give and Take
Lots of important financial announcements came down from the government this week that should be of interest to retirees and those looking to retire in the near future. As usual with Washington, there’s some good news and some bad news. Here’s a quick look… For those who are still working and can contribute to some […]
A Crucial Decade
My 60th birthday is rapidly approaching. Yikes! On most every day, I feel much younger than my mental image of a 60-year-old, but the calendar tells the truth. My birth year of 1954 places me squarely in the middle of the Baby Boomer generation, defined as those born between 1945 and 1964. That placement resulted […]
To Claim or Not To Claim
To claim or not to claim – that is the question. Is it better to postpone collecting your Social Security benefits until you are 66 or possibly 70, or is it better to take the money and run at age 62, the earliest possible moment it is offered? Certainly, popular opinion seems to favor the […]