Nation Jul 14 How Social Security should guide when you marry a younger partner When there's an age difference between partners, and one is eligible for Social Security long before the other, when should the couple tie the knot? Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff advises one man how to maximize his own benefits and…
Nation Jul 07 Deciding when to take Social Security widows benefits can’t get more complicated How do you know when you should take any of your Social Security benefits? As Larry Kotilikoff's column often reveals, it's complicated. But figuring out the best time to collect your widow(er)s benefits in relation to your retirement benefit is…
Nation Jun 30 How your lifetime Social Security benefits could be higher Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff shows two couples who are facing disabilities how to increase their lifetime benefits. First of all, they have to scrap their current collection strategies and realize that what they want to do and what they…
Nation Jun 26 Why brokerage account insurance is a bigger scam than Madoff Responding to the president and CEO of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, Larry Kotiloff stands by his call for readers to close their brokerage accounts because the SIPC, he argues, doesn't exist to protect them; it exists to penalize them.
Nation Jun 23 What maxing out your Social Security benefits looks like in dollars Just how big a deal is maximizing your Social Security? It matters a lot when it comes to the dollars and cents of the lifetime benefits for which you'll be eligible. Larry Kotlikoff presents several cases, for individuals and couples,…
Nation Jun 20 Why no one should use brokerage accounts Every day brings new reports of financial fraud -- BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan -- all of which is testimony to the large number of swindlers still at large “managing” our money, says Larry Kotlikoff. But he's here today…
Nation Jun 16 What Social Security’s Survivors Planner won’t tell you about taking widows benefits Thanks to one of Social Security's nasty "gotchas," the survivor benefits that a widow(er) collects depend on when the late spouse took retirement benefits. Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff shows how the collection strategy of one deceased husband makes all…
Economy Jun 02 Your Social Security benefits depend on the specifics Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff says there is no general rule in trying to maximize your Social Security benefits. The precise amounts of what you and your current, ex-, or deceased spouse(s) earned and when you and they earned it…
Nation May 26 Why Social Security lowballs benefit estimates Social Security's online calculators intentionally underestimate your benefits to encourage people to save more on their own, explains Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff.
Nation May 19 Protecting your spouse’s Social Security when cancer cuts your time short Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff puts to rest a cancer patient's fears that he and his wife made a mistake by not having her file for spousal benefits as early as age 62 and explains how he can help leave…