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Social Security strategies

Most retirees ponder this question: “When should I start taking my Social Security benefits … at age 62? At full retirement age? Somewhere in between?” The conventional response to this question is “Wait as long as you can.” After all, those whose full retirement age is 66 will face a 25% lifetime reduction by starting at 62. They also have the option of an 8% annual boost for every year they delay benefits, up to age 70. In short, the longer you delay, the greater your benefit for the rest of your life. [click to continue…]

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How to 86 your 401(k)

by Joe Plemon on November 10, 2010

in Dollars and Sense,Guest Post,Retirement

 

A 401(k) is NOT a piggy bank

I want to thank Greg McFarlane , an advertising copywriter who lives in Las Vegas and Lahaina, for today’s guest post.  My hunch is that this post will whet your appetite for Greg’s recent book:  Control Your Cash: Making Money Make Sense, a financial primer for people in their 20s and 30s who know nothing about money. Buy the book here (physical) or here (Kindle) and reach Greg at Greg at ControlYourCash dot com. [click to continue…]

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Social Security Strategies For Married Couples

June 23, 2010

Married couples: Social Security is complicated and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Is either of you (or both of you) close to retirement age? Are you wondering if you should start earlier or later? Before you decide, make sure you understand these two aspects of Social Security: “spousal benefit” and “surviving spouse benefit”. Let’s [...]

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Social Security Strategies Part Two: Maximize Your Benefits

November 9, 2009

In Part One of this two part series we discussed the following basics of Social Security: how it works, what is a spousal benefit, how does survivor’s benefit work and some things you should think about when considering whether to start receiving your social security benefit early. In this post, I want to give you [...]

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Social Security Strategies Part One: Understand the Basics

November 4, 2009

Social Security is a little like the Internal Revenue Service. If you try to understand every detail you will get so caught up in the minutia that you could get overwhelmed. On the other hand, if you can simply grasp the Social Security basics you are well on your way to having a grip on [...]

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