Greetings! We hope you are doing well and enjoying the spring weather with some great plans for the summer. For this newsletter, we have decided to focus on something pretty important and often misunderstood by many people: Social Security. There are many misconceptions out there about Social Security and a couple of good things to keep in mind when considering your situation. We won’t be able to cover everything, so if you have a question, please feel free to reach out, and we will do a follow-up to this or respond individually. Happy reading, watching, and listening!
- Watch: Here, we are giving you a double-shot. One of the things most people worry about is if Social Security will still be around when they need to draw on it. In fact, about half of American’s don’t have faith that Social Security will be able to provide for them in their retirement. The above link takes you to a CNBC video that delves into the past and possible future problems of Social Security. Supposing you want to skip to the ‘What’s next?’ part of the video, start at about 13:30. For your bonus video, we have a feature on working while collecting benefits. This may not apply to you, but it could for someone close to you.
- Read: Another common question people have is, “When should I claim Social Security?” We’ve linked this article from Investopedia to help answer that question. It is an in-depth article, so if you’re looking for a quick and easy answer, it’s to generally delay as long as possible, especially if there is longevity in your family history of life expectancy. The article also links to a breakeven calculator that will help you compare the breakeven age of retiring at age 62 with $1,500 per month or at age 66 with about $2,000 per month. In this case, you will have received roughly the same amount in total benefits by age 77. So, if you live longer than age 77, it would have been better for you to delay receiving benefits, if possible.
- Listen: If the above wasn’t enough for you, the Social Security Administration offers a lot of content in audio format. So, if you’re looking for something for your next road trip, you can peruse the list and find something that appeals to you. If you want something a bit more riveting, this episode of The Long View takes the other side of the above point and explores why it is not always better to delay Social Security. FYI – that page and the podcast are chock-full of great financial topics, so you may want to check it out for more than just Social Security content.
We hope you have enjoyed this ‘light’ topic, and let us know if you have any questions! Is there a topic you would like us to delve into in a future newsletter? Please let us know, and we will be happy to consider including it.
Make it an amazing month!
The Bona Fide Family