Social Security fraud now constitutes the top scam in the U.S. The Federal Trade Commission said it has received nearly 1.3 million reports of scammers posing as government agents since 2014, more than any other type of fraud reported in that time frame. In the first three months of 2019, nearly 65,000 incidents of attempted scams were reported and […]
Supplemental Security Income, or SSI as it is commonly known, provides extra financial security for people who are blind, disabled, or over age 65 who lack the resources to cover basic needs. When Social Security was put in place in 1935, that extra measure of security was expected to be provided by the states; but […]
While retired workers make up the bulk of Social Security beneficiaries, the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides important benefits to many other groups, including children. More than 4 million children in the United States receive Social Security benefits every year. In fact, the SSA pays more benefits to children than any other government program. The benefits, which are based […]
If you’re ready to apply for Social Security benefits, you’ve probably already given some thought to things like when you want your benefits to start or what kind of documents you might need to apply. A lot of that will will of course depend on the type of benefits you’re seeking. Applying for retirement benefits, […]
Most of us spend years dreaming of retirement, but we might not start thinking about Social Security until the last minute. Yet understanding benefits — from the best age to claim Social Security to how much you’ll collect — is critical to making the most of what your retirement savings. Social Security payments are a nearly universal […]
Nearly every American worker depends on Social Security (SS) for some or all of their income in retirement. In fact, more than 48 million Americans currently receive Social Security retirement benefits. But the Social Security Administration (SSA) also provides both a one-time death benefit as well as ongoing monthly survivors benefits (also known as ‘widows benefits’) for […]
A fixed index annuity is an insurance product that allows your savings to grow in a tax-deferred manner. The key differentiator of a fixed index annuity from other types of annuities is that the growth of your savings is linked to a stock market index, while your downside is limited. Annuities are used in two phases: an accumulation […]
Investors over the age of 50 are constantly being pitched on the virtues of tax deferred annuities. In this post, we’ll look at some concrete numbers to figure out when tax deferral actually makes sense for many investors and savers. We’ll identify cases where it may make sense and cases where it doesn’t. Next time […]
Every year consumers put over 300 billion dollars of their savings into annuities. While annuities can provide specific guarantees that are unavailable elsewhere, part of what consumers don’t like about them are their surrender charges. A surrender charge is what a consumer with an annuity has to pay if they want to withdraw their money early. […]
If you’re just starting to dip your feet into the waters of investing, you may know that bonds are one of the options available for growing your wealth. But what are bonds, exactly? In this guide, you’ll find out the answer to that question—along with which specific type of bond might be right for you, […]