Aug 11 Social Security and Viagra: A case of accidental death and widows benefits By Laurence Kotlikoff There are countless rules governing Social Security benefits, and just as many exceptions to those rules, including one for "accidental death," which allows widow(er)s to receive survivor benefits even after having been married less than the requisite nine months. Larry… Continue reading
Aug 04 How do stay-at-home parents collect Social Security? By Laurence Kotlikoff Social Security expert Larry Kotilkoff advises several couples nearing retirement how to collect benefits when one spouse hasn't worked outside the home. Continue reading
Jul 28 What all Americans and their representatives need to know about Social Security By Laurence Kotlikoff Before testifying in front of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security, Larry Kotlikoff shares with Making Sen$e readers and their representatives need to know about how benefits are administered and what policy changes should be enacted to… Continue reading
Jul 21 Will Social Security tell me if I'm leaving benefits on the table? By Laurence Kotlikoff How do you know if you're taking all the Social Security benefits you could be? Larry Kotlikoff presents the cautionary tale of one couple who devised their Social Security collection plan early in retirement, only to find out much later… Continue reading
Jul 14 How Social Security should guide when you marry a younger partner By Laurence Kotlikoff 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… Continue reading
Jul 10 U.S. teens rank between Latvia and Russia on financial literacy, far below Shanghai By Simone Pathe American teens may work summer jobs and manage money on their smartphones, but their financial literacy places them between Latvia and Russia, and far below 15-year-olds in Shanghai, who achieved the highest average score on the largest youth financial literacy… Continue reading
Jul 07 Deciding when to take Social Security widows benefits can't get more complicated By Laurence Kotlikoff 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… Continue reading
Jun 30 How your lifetime Social Security benefits could be higher By Laurence Kotlikoff 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… Continue reading
Jun 26 Why brokerage account insurance is a bigger scam than Madoff By Laurence Kotlikoff 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. Continue reading
Jun 26 Your brokerage account is safe with the Securities Investor Protection Corporation By Stephen Harbeck Do you really need to close your brokerage account, as Larry Kotlikoff warns? Stephen Harbeck, president and CEO of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, argues that the SIPC has recovered lost investments for victims of investor fraud, such as Bernie… Continue reading