Social Security
Found 257 Articles.
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Building a Retirement Income Stream
Maintaining Retirement income is the top priority of more and more retirees. As retirement nears their investment focus shifts from increasing the value of a portfolio to replacing their income stream. With baby boomers entering their retirement years, interest in managing retirement income is, well, booming. The potential for significant capital gains doesn’t interest investors […]
Requiring Annuities for IRAs, 401(k)s?
A rumor I regularly am asked about is that the government is going to require all IRAs and 401(k)s to be invested annuities. Some versions of the rumor go further and say the proposal is to confiscate all these accounts and invest them in annuities or even Social Security. Here’s the real proposal. The Labor […]
October 2010
October 29, 2010 12:00 p.m. Negative Interest Rates, QE 2, and more The most interesting news in an interesting week was the auction of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). Investors bid so much for the bonds that they will earn a negative interest rate until they mature in five years. They paid over $105 for $100 […]
Losing a Social Security Option
Social Security is planning to dramatically limit a strategy we’ve discussed in past visits. Though only a few people use it, the use has been climbing and the government wants to put a lid on the growth. The strategy is to pay back the benefits you received and claim a higher level of benefits. Suppose […]
January 2010
January 24, 2010 02:00 p.m. Tough Week for the Markets One of the difficulties of investing is we never know what will trigger a correction or even something worse in the markets. If these things were obvious, then investors would react before they occurred. The past week is a good example. Just a week or […]
October 2009
October 30, 2009 12:15 p.m. Is Retirement Unhealthy? And more… One of the classic rules of thumb about retirement is that men pass away within three years of retiring. Once their careers end, their lives end, was the explanation. That seems tough to prove, given the steady expansion of life expectancy, and has been considered […]
August 2009
August 28, 2009 11:55 p.m. Deflation, Bernanke, China and More The deleveraging process and financial crisis led to falling prices across the globe. This is now reflected in the Consumer Price Index. The CPI shows deflation, rather than usual inflation. One result is there will not be an increase in Social Security retirement benefit payments […]
Working While Receiving Social Security
Investment losses and rising costs are driving many Social Security recipients back to the work place. A question to consider is how earning income affects Social Security benefits. One of the original goals of Social Security was to remove people from the work force. Unemployment was high. Social Security would gradually induce older workers to […]
