Aug 25 Is my Social Security check fair? By Laurence Kotlikoff You've spent decades paying taxes on your earnings to fund your own Social Security benefit, but when your higher-earning spouse dies, you start receiving spousal benefits that wipe out your own, albeit smaller, retirement benefit. Is that a fair deal?… Continue reading
Aug 19 The easiest way to get higher Social Security benefits: keep working By Laurence Kotlikoff In many cases, getting more Social Security benefits from working longer outweighs the additional Social Security taxes you'd need to pay, says Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff. Continue reading
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 18 Baby, it’s you: Why boomers are an economic boon By Lincoln Caplan Between 2010 and 2030, the ratio of Americans 65 and older to those of working age is projected to increase by nearly 60 percent. With Americans living and working longer, Yale Law School's Lincoln Caplan questions the accuracy of the… 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 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