Social Security
Found 254 Articles.
Get access to our full article archive by subscribing to Retirement Watch and Retirement Watch Spotlight Series.
How to Take Write Offs for Helping Relatives
In many families, younger members help care for older members for at least a brief period. Care can take several forms. It could involve financial help for at-home services or residence at an assisted living or other facility. Care also could involve personally providing a person’s needs in either the caretaker’s home or in the […]
When Should You Stop Deferring Taxes
Conventional investment advice has been turned on its head by changes in the fundamentals of the economy and markets. Next, fundamental changes in the government, demographics, and the economy will force changes in tax policy and tax planning advice. The age-old advice to defer taxes whenever possible could become a thing of the past, at […]
Why You Must Convert Your IRAs
Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA has been a valuable tool to consider since the Roth was created in 1997. There are two reasons why a conversion is worth far more consideration now than in the past. First, a brief review of the basics. A Roth IRA has “back-ended tax benefits.” There are […]
October – December 2008
RMD Relief for 2009, not 2008 December 19, 2008 05:00 p.m. Many IRAs experienced steep declines in their values in 2008. This can put a strain on those over age 70½. They are required to take minimum distributions from their IRAs and other qualified retirement accounts based on their values as of Dec. 31, 2007. […]
How to Avoid the Retirement Medical Expense Surprise
The wildcard in every retirement plan is the cost of medical care. It probably is the cause of most retirement plan failures. There are several reasons medical expenses disrupt so many plans: Many people are used to employer-paid medical care. Before they retire, they do not realize the full cost of medical insurance. Employers used […]
How Improved Websites Boost Your Benefits
Government benefits are complicated. It often is difficult to understand the rules well enough to maximize benefits from Social Security and Medicare. The government agencies know this and in response recently added features to their web sites to make it less painful to learn your benefit options. I have reviewed these features and believe they […]
2008 Election and Your Tax Planning
The Presidential election is approaching. We cannot forecast a winner, but we can make judgments about how the tax law will change starting in 2009 and steps you should consider today in light of the likely changes. Some wealthy people already anticipate big changes and are making tax-saving moves this year. For, example, the announcement […]
How to Change Social Security Benefits
Deciding when to take Social Security retirement benefits is one of the more difficult retirement decisions. The decision affects lifetime monthly income of not only the recipient but also the recipient’s spouse. The choice of starting date can mean the difference of thousands of dollars over the course of retirement. Though few people realize it, […]
