Blog
Ready to Start Building the Retirement You Deserve?
Rocky Mount Educational Event
We had a great event at Benvenue Country Club in Rocky Mount NC. At a lunch meeting, I had the opportunity to share how to get more out of Social Security benefits for a group of about 15 people....
New Social Security SCAM
I was sent an article that recently appeared in the McDowell News, a local paper in the mountains of NC, that details a new scam meant to first scare people about Social Security and falsely uses a...
What to expect when you are expecting… a cost of living increase.
No doubt about it. One of the best features of Social Security is the Cost of Living Adjustment or COLA. This past year came as a surprise for many as there was no COLA and thus no increase. Now I...
Educational Seminar in Raleigh
Thanks to Tim Tucker and World Builders for affording me the opportunity to share my expertise on Social Security and Retirement Resource Management. With the gas shortage, I realize that some of...
Trip to Nashville
I just got back from Nashville TN where I provided education for the Society of Financial Service Professionals, a group of over 25 CPA’s, Attorney's, Insurance Agents and Financial Advisors. I had...
News
It happens all too frequently on Twitter. Someone without any credentials writes a piece that says you should always take Social Security as early as possible. Their rationale is that you may have...
Disaster Avoided
One of the reasons I started this company was to help people make better decisions. I recently met with Bonnie to help her plan for her retirement. We went through her Social Security and looked at...
A friend said that she went to Social Security and they told her to take the benefit as early as possible. Is this good advice?
Shouldn’t I take Social Security early since they are broke?
Answer: One of the myths about Social Security is that they are broke. This is more political than factual. The recent audited report of Social Security shows a surplus and is expected to run a...
I don’t know how long I will live so should I take Social Security early?
Answer: Good question. It actually depends. There are basically 4 variables that come into play when calculating the optimal benefit from Social Security. It is very complicated as you have to look...
I have heard that I could get half of my Spouse’s benefit when I retire? Is this true?
Answer: It depends. The spouse is entitled to the greater of half of their spouse's benefit or all of their own benefit whichever is greatest. If you turned 62 by December 31, 2015, you may be...
Politics and Social Security
This time of year the airwaves are filled with political ads. Without getting into politics one of the favorite punching bags is Social Security. Part of this is because so little is known about Social Security that scaring people has proven to be an effective way of getting people to vote for candidates. The second is that by scaring people they can go on record and say they are trying to solve the problem that everyone knows needs attention but politicians really don’t want to solve. Take for example 1983…
Still Have Questions?
Need a little guidance from a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™? Get in touch and I will be glad to help you determine if we’re the right option for your needs —no obligation, no commitment.