Social Security has become a significant part of many retirees’ sustenance, ever since it was first introduced back in the 1930’s. As the traditional pension plan goes the way of the buggy-whip and common investor behavior leads to poor results in savings plans (if there are any savings at all!), the Social Security benefit becomes more and more important. Unfortunately, the way Social Security works is a mystery for most folks. There’s really not much in the way of guidance for using the system, and relying solely on the phone representatives from the Social Security Administration is bound to lead you to a less-than-optimal result. As with most financial activities, it pays to learn as much as you can about your options, possible strategies, and the pluses and minuses of various choices that you make. A Social Security Owner’s Manual is an attempt at providing you with the groundwork to […]
social security benefits
What Can Be Done to Save Social Security?
Image by Lady_Helena via Flickr This is, of course, one of the most volatile questions on the political landscape these days. We have some constituencies claiming that the whole plan is a Ponzi scheme and we should get rid of it altogether – and many others aiming to make radical tax increases in the system to improve solvency, or pushing back the age(s) for receiving benefits to reduce drag on the system. True, the system is in dire straits – not bankrupt, but needing attention. Current projections indicate that at current pace, funds allocated to the system will run out sometime around 2036 unless something changes. Increasing taxes is never popular, and current political winds have shown just how far the dream of no increases in taxes will be pushed. In addition, extending the age limits during a time when unemployment is at record highs only exacerbates that issue – […]
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How PIA Relates to Your Benefit
Image by petit1ze via Flickr If you’ve been looking into your Social Security projected benefits for long, you’ve probably run across the term Primary Insurance Amount, or PIA. Click on the link to see how the PIA is calculated if you need more background information on the PIA. What’s important to know is that the PIA is essentially the amount of your retirement benefit if you file for it exactly on your Full Retirement Age (FRA) month. But hardly anyone files for retirement benefits in exactly the month that you reach FRA. If you file for your retirement benefit before or after FRA, even by a month, there is a difference between your PIA what your benefit will be. Before FRA If you file for benefits before the month when you reach FRA, there are two factors that apply to your benefit, reducing it from the PIA amount. The reason […]
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Proposed Changes to the Inflation Index
Image by darkmatter via Flickr One of the many proposed changes that is being considered to help resolve the current budgetary issues is to change the index used to adjust Social Security benefits from the current method, using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, to a much more conservative index known as the Chained Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (or C-CPI-U). (See this article on How Social Security COLAs are Calculated for more information.) Unfortunately, the reason behind making this is change is the fact that it will ultimately save money for the Social Security system, directly at the expense of the beneficiaries of that system. Here’s what you can expect: As an example, the CPI-W indicates a year-over-year increase from June 2010 to June 2011 of 4.1%. Over the same period, the C-CPI-U only shows an increase of 3.4%. This […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
The latest in our Owner’s Manual series, A 401(k) Owner’s Manual, was published in January 2020 and is available on 
A Medicare Owner’s Manual, is updated with 2020 facts and figures. This manual is available on 
Social Security for the Suddenly Single can be found on Amazon at 
Sterling’s first book, Lose Weight Save Money, can be 
An IRA Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition is available for purchase on Amazon. Click the link to choose the 
Jim’s book – A Social Security Owner’s Manual, is now available on Amazon. Click this link for the 
And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.