Retirement Planning Articles

The Social Security Administration uses many factors to calculate benefit amounts for beneficiaries, including marital status. For long-married couples who are lucky enough to grow old together, calculations for spousal and survivor benefits are fairly straightforward. However, widowed or divorced Social Security beneficiaries can run into complications if they decide to remarry later in life….

Social Security offers several different types of benefits to the survivors of deceased beneficiaries, but widow and widower benefits are the type of survivor benefits that affect the most beneficiaries. Though it can be unpleasant to think about you or your spouse dying, it’s a good idea for married couples to include widow or widower…

This year marked a rather significant increase in benefits for those receiving Social Security. The 2018 COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) was one of the largest in the past decade, giving retirement beneficiaries an extra 2% on their checks (the most significant jump since 2012.) Unfortunately, there are forces at work that can easily chip…

Tax season always brings about a bit of panic, as those who are getting Social Security benefits may be filing their first return since they started receiving payments. These payments, while a welcome addition to their financial support system, can feel uncertain (or even a bit burdensome) as the issue of tax liability comes to…

Retirees who are entitled to a government pension can have an unpleasant surprise waiting for them when they apply for their Social Security benefits. Two different Social Security provisions for retired government workers—the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision—can reduce the amount of your Social Security benefit checks. If you are eligible for…