Category: Social Security
May 23, 2024 -- Thanks to all for taking last week's poll on your Social Security income. There was a good response with over 200 folks answering the question. The results were not unexpected for the Topretirements community, which is probably doing better than the general population. About two-thirds are comfortable enough to get less than 50% of our income from Social Security. An unlucky 11% derive close to 100% of what they have to spend from Social Security, and 19% rely on it to get more than half of their income (see chart below).
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Published on May 22, 2024
Comments 7
Category: Social Security
May 12, 2024 — We just saw a forecast that said the Social Security COLA adjustment for 2025 might be 2.6%, slightly below what as it was in 2024 – 3.2%. The forecast also said that the 2024 adjustment was worth about $58 per month for the average enrollee, whereas…
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Published on May 12, 2024
Comments 0
Category: Medicare
May 8, 2024 -- There is some rare good news for both Social Security and Medicare - their trust funds will run out of money later rather than sooner. The date when the Medicare funds will be exhausted has been pushed out 5 years, to 2036. Social Security got a 1 year reprieve, and its trust fund will now run out of money in 2035. The news comes from the just published annual reports of the funds' Trustees.
The main reason cited for the improvement in the Trust funds is an improved economy and labor market. More people are working and contributing taxes into the programs. Medicare has also made some technical improvements that have reduced expected expenses.
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Published on May 7, 2024
Comments 1
Category: Social Security
March 25, 2024 — As the Presidential and congressional campaign races enter their final months, clarity is emerging on at least one issue. The influential Republican Study Group, which has more than 170 House GOP lawmakers including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, is advocating raising the age that people…
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Published on March 24, 2024
Comments 3
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
March 12, 2024 — The vast majority of people for whom Social Security is their only source of income generally won’t pay any taxes on their benefits. But it might come as a surprise to others that their Social Security benefits could count as taxable income. People with enough revenue from pensions, savings, Required Minimum Distributions, etc., might have to pay income taxes on up to 85% of their benefits.
How are Social Security benefits taxed?
The law was changed in 1983 to help improve the stability of Social Security. After that, lower earners continued to get a break on their taxes, but higher earners now had to pay some taxes on their benefits. Over time the brackets have not expanded along with inflation, so an estimated 50% of people now pay some tax on their benefits. SS uses an adjusted gross income formula (earnings, investment income, retirement saving withdrawals and other taxable income, non taxable interest, and one half of Social Security benefits to determine what taxes might have to be paid.
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Published on March 11, 2024
Comments 1
Category: Social Security
February 11, 2024 -- The File and Suspend gambit is finished, and now the Restricted Benefit (Deemed Filing) is gone too. So what are the best Social Security Spousal Claiming Strategies that remain? Are any legal claiming approaches left that allow couples to maximize their Social Security benefits? The good news is there is still some room to maneuver.
Different situations. Every couple has a different set of circumstances. Perhaps one person has a much higher earning record than the other. The ages of the couple might be very far apart. They might have accrued very high retirement savings, or there is a sizable pension. On the other hand, they might have been forced into retirement early, and do not have much saved. All of these difference situations can mean different Social Security claiming strategies.
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Published on February 9, 2024
Comments 5
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
January 9, 2024 - People contemplating retirement often wonder what is the Maximum Social Security Benefit is 2024. That is the benefit received by high earners who have maximized their FICA payments for 35 years, and who waited until age 70 to collect. The answer is pretty impressive - the maximum Social Security benefit in 2024 is $4,873 per month!
Others with less fortunate earning records, or who claimed as early as age 62, are more likely to receive something around the average 2024 Social Security benefit. That figure is a relatively paltry $1,907 per month in 2024, up from $1,848 in 2023.
Waiting until Age 70 Helps with the Maximum Social Security Benefit
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Published on January 9, 2024
Comments 23
Category: Social Security
October 12, 2024 –The 2024 Social Security COLA Increase is coming back to earth. Administration announced today that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 71 million Americans will increase 3.2 percent in 2024. That is a considerable drop from the inflation-fueled 8.7% increase of 2023.
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Published on October 12, 2023
Comments 0
Category: Social Security
May 9, 2023 — Topretirements.com just named a Republican Senator and a Democratic Congressman as 2023 National Legislators of the Year. Senator Bill Cassidy (R.LA) and Representative John Larson (D. CT) were selected for the honor in recognition of their bi-partisan efforts to forge a solution for the impending Social Security crisis.
According to the Social Security 2023 Trustees Report, its reserves will become depleted by 2033, with continuing contributions sufficient to pay only 77 percent of scheduled benefits. As they do every year, the Trustees Report urged legislative action to avoid a funding shortfall that will eventually hurt every working American’s retirement security. Check this out" "What Is Your Social Security IQ?"
Representative Larson has developed the most specific bill seen so far to fix Social Security. Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust, addresses 15 specific points to improve this popular benefit, and includes a strategy for shoring up its finances. Some of his ideas include making up for past COLA adjustments with a modest benefit bump, repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision, and providing caregiver credits. His plan to bolster the Trust funds includes a payroll tax on wages over $400,000 per year (currently that stops at $160,200).
Senator Cassidy is co-leader of a Senate group that is trying to protect Social Security. A joint statement made earlier this year by that group said that they are considering dozens of ideas to protect Social Security. The group stresses that it’s important to look at all the components of a solution together, especially in the context of the crisis we face if nothing is done. There are dozens of considerations being weighed to protect Social Security, including locking early retirement at 62, an ironclad protection for lower-wage workers, and seeking avenues to increase benefits immediately.
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Published on May 9, 2023
Comments 8
Category: Social Security
April 5, 2023 — The Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds report on the current and projected financial status of the two programs each year. This summarizes the findings of the 2023 Trustee reports. As in prior years, it found that the Social Security and Medicare programs…
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Published on April 5, 2023
Comments 5
