Nov 24 Retiring? Here’s how to get an extra month of Social Security benefits for free By Laurence Kotlikoff If you are going to file for your Social Security retirement benefit early, and you play your cards right, Larry Kotlikoff has a new trick for you to maximize your benefits. Continue reading
Nov 19 Don’t be fooled by Medicare drug plans with low premiums By Philip Moeller When shopping for Medicare drug plans, many consumers are wowed by lower monthly premiums and don’t look at other plan details that will affect their total out-of-pocket expenses. Making Sen$e's Medicare Maven Phil Moeller tells readers what other costs to… Continue reading
Nov 17 When Social Security will let you take only one benefit at a time By Laurence Kotlikoff Once you have filed for two benefits, you get just the larger of the two. So to maximize your Social Security, the trick is to take one benefit -- a widows benefit, for example, or your own retirement benefit --… Continue reading
Nov 12 The Medicare drug subsidy that millions of enrollees overlook By Philip Moeller More than 30 percent of all Medicare Part D participants received low-income subsidies last year to help them pay their prescription drug bills, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that as many as 2 million more Medicare… Continue reading
Nov 10 How Social Security denied one woman the advice she deserved By Laurence Kotlikoff Larry Kotlikoff and former Social Security technical expert Jerry Lutz intervene on behalf of a disabled divorcée who was getting all the wrong answers from the Social Security offices in her area. Continue reading
Nov 05 How to plug holes in your Medicare coverage By Philip Moeller Basic Medicare only covers 80 percent of most covered medical services, and there's no ceiling on those co-payments. So where should seniors turn to help them pay for the rest of their care? Making Sen$e "Medicare Maven" Philip Moeller updates… Continue reading
Nov 03 4 Social Security tips for boomers who never married By Laurence Kotlikoff Much of Larry Kotlikoff's Social Security advice pertains to married couples or partners who are divorced, separated or widowed. But today, he speaks to those boomers who have never married, and tells them what they need to know should they… Continue reading
Oct 27 Expecting a public pension? Don’t hold your breath for Social Security too By Laurence Kotlikoff In some states, the earnings of government employees, like teachers, do not count toward Social Security. Any Social Security benefits they've earned, even those from a spouse, may be reduced by half of the public employee's non-covered pension. Continue reading
Oct 22 How to find a Medicare Part D drug plan online By Philip Moeller Medicare's prescription drug plans change what drugs they offer and how much they charge every year, with plans differing by geographic region. But just looking at premiums, which some drug-plan guides do, is not going to tell you much about… Continue reading
Oct 20 Yes, Social Security can cancel your benefit. This is how By Laurence Kotlikoff Expecting your Social Security check after paying FICA taxes for years? You may be disappointed. You won't receive your own Social Security benefit if you receive a survivor benefit, for example, that is larger. In other words, you cannot receive… Continue reading