Social Security - Page 2 of 2 - THE RIDGEWOOD BLOG.

Posted on May 6, 2017 May 6, 2017

4 Ways Marriage, Divorce And Do-Overs Can Increase Your Social Security Check

May 6,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, In a world of IRAs, bonds, annuities and investment property, one retirement benefit often gets overlooked, or not discussed at all, by some financial advisers: Social Security.

“In retirement, you need to create as much fixed, guaranteed income as you can,” says Tony Perrone, president and founder of the Estate Planning Group and author of I Didn’t Know I Could Do That: 9 Financial Strategies That Can Save or Make You Money (www.DropHelp.com). “Social Security is just as valuable as any of your other assets.”

Americans can draw their Social Security as early as 62, for reduced benefits, or as late as 70, for enhanced benefits. When benefits are elected, a retiree makes a permanent choice, meaning benefits are reduced over the course of a lifetime, not just until full retirement age. The social Security break-even age is 77, or 15 years after the first retiree elected to receive benefits.

Perrone says those who are contemplating when to take their Social Security benefits shouldn’t automatically take the largest check they are eligible for and assume they are making the right decision.

“None of us has crystal balls,” Perrone says. “But if you think there’s a good chance you might live longer than average, or if you’re just an optimist, you might want to think about going for the maximum monthly payment. Once it starts, it’s locked in for life.”

Perrone provides some additional tips and strategies for getting the most out of your Social Security benefits:

Don’t forget the widow’s benefit. If you are a widowed woman and don’t get remarried, you can file for Social Security at the age of 60. This is known as the widow’s benefit. The rule applies to men as well. If your wife earned more than you, you are entitled to widower’s benefits. When a widow or widower, or a surviving ex-spouse, waits until age 60 or later to re marry, they preserve the right to collect Social Security benefits on their deceased spouse’s earnings record.
Divorce can have fringe benefits. Women who were divorced after being married for at least 10 years are eligible for a portion of their ex-husband’s benefits if she is unmarried at the time they become eligible for benefits. That claim does not reduce the ex-husband’s benefits or those of his new spouse if he re-marries.
Marriage can be a strategic tool. When a spouse dies, the remaining spouse gets the larger of the two Social Security checks. If the surviving spouse gets remarried, he or she is then subject to that law with the new spouse. In other words, if a widow gets re-married, and her second husband dies, she is eligible for the benefits of her second husband if he made more money than her.
You get a do-over. If you decide to take your Social Security benefits, then realize you made a mistake, the Social Security Administration will allow you to repay the money you took within 12 months and wipe the slate clean as if it never happened.

“Follow your own instincts when it comes to when and how to take your Social Security benefits,” Perrone says. “This is an important part of your overall retirement strategy.”

About Tony Perrone

Tony Perrone, author of I Didn’t Know I Could Do That: 9 Financial Strategies That Can Save or Make You Money (www.DropHelp.com), is president and founder of the Estate and Business Planning Group. As a financial professional, his focus is designing income-producing portfolios for retirement. For 16 years, Perrone was host of the popular radio talk show Now You Know on FM 96.5 News Talk WDBO in Orlando, which could be heard from Jacksonville to Tampa to Vero Beach.

Posted on January 19, 2017 January 19, 2017

Financial Planning Association of New Jersey “Know Your Money” Series Talks Taxes

The second installment of a video series asks people about taxes, underscoring the importance of the role a CFP® and other professionals make.

January 19,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Financial Planning Association of New Jersey (FPANJ) continues its five-part video series to stress the importance of learning about your money, and how a Certified Financial Planner(TM) can play a role in reaching your financial goals.

After a launch in November covering estate planning, the latest subject is a timely one: Taxes.

The entire series features “man on the street” interviews with people, asking them questions based on topics that are important to know, yet many people can’t answer, even with a cash reward ($1) on the line. Additional subjects will be released throughout the year and will include

College Planning, Social Security, and Health Care

“Everyone is impacted by taxes,” said FPANJ President Rob Rafano. “It can be eye-opening for many who watch the video to realize what they don’t know. The purpose is to demonstrate all of the various issues that CFP®s help clients handle, and why not knowing what you don’t know can keep you from building wealth. The good news is that enlisting the help of professionals can help you reduce your tax liability, year in and year out.”


	#FPAKnowYourMoney: Taxes

The second installment of the Know Your Money on Taxes can be viewed on the FPANJ’s You Tube Channel. Additional videos can also be found there to help the public get to know FPANJ and learn more about their finances.

“We hope to continue the conversation among consumers on how to get started learning more about their finances, saving and investing more, and leaning on the expertise of financial professionals to get them there,” Rafano said, adding, “we are also relying on our local media to help educate the public, as there is always something happening in the news that these videos relate to.”

Posted on January 6, 2017 January 6, 2017

Financial Planning Association of New Jersey Warns of the Cost of College Debt on Social Security

January 6,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, While Financial Planners have been advocating for smarter legislation on student loan programs for years, the news is finally spotlighting a concern over its impact on Social Security income if debts aren’t paid.

The Financial Planning Association of New Jersey (FPANJ) has long held advocacy positions in Trenton that have encouraged careful decision making with regard to student loan programs. However, the impacts haven’t been well publicized until recently, when the Wall Street Journal ran a piece on how Social Security checks can be reduced if debts for college aren’t paid.”Our efforts in public financial education – and in the Capitol – have included a message to stop the borrowing before it happens,” explained John Crosby, CFP® ,ChFC, CAS, CLTC, CRPC®, and Advocacy Chairperson for FPANJ. “The best solution to this issue is always to make an educated decision before you choose to borrow, where to borrow, and understand the types of student loans are available.”

The reality is that for student loans and other non-tax debts, the government can garnish wages or suspend tax refunds for anyon(e who fails to pay their student loans. They can take 15 percent of your Social Security check as long as the remaining balance doesn’t drop below $750. There is no statute of limitations on student loan debt, so it doesn’t matter how
long ago the debt occurred.

Crosby noted that lawmakers have an opportunity to protect Social Security in a bill (HR4988 Social Security Benefits Restoration Act) presented by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL) in April of 2016. However, this bill is still awaiting a co-sponsor, along with similar proposals from 2015.

The best way to protect yourself is to become knowledgeable, said Crosby.

“Financial Literary programs can address this topic to help students and/or parents understand the importance of higher education and the financial responsibilities that come with it. Partnering with a Certified Financial Planner(TM) is the best course in understanding your options, whether you plan on paying for college or taking out loans.

“Often a candid discussion among a planner, parents and the student can help avoid serious financial consequences down the road. And really, that is what FPANJ and its members are here to do.”

If people don’t have a Financial Planner, Crosby recommended a tool found on the FPANJ website (FPANJ.org) at the top of the page. “Find A Local Planner” helps consumers look for a specialist in the area of college planning, and within their geographic area.

Posted on November 28, 2016 November 28, 2016

Financial Planning Association of New Jersey Launches “Know Your Money” Campaign

November 28,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The Financial Planning Association of New Jersey (FPANJ) is launching a new, five-part video series to stress the importance of learning about your money, and how a Certified Financial Planner(TM) can play a role in reaching your financial goals.

The series features “man on the street” interviews with people, asking them questions based on the following topics:

Estate Planning
Taxes
College Planning
Social Security
Health Care

“These are topics that everyone – regardless of their income – is impacted by every day, whether or not they want to think about it,” said FPANJ President Rob Rafano. “The purpose is to demonstrate all of the various issues that CFP®s help clients handle, and why not knowing what you don’t know can keep you from building wealth, planning for retirement and so much more.”

The first installment of the Know Your Moneyseries will be on Estate Planning, and can be viewed on the FPANJ’s You Tube Channel. Its debut coincides with a presentation on December 13 on Estate Planning issuesregarding elder law that every CFP® should be aware of.

“We are hoping that this will start the conversation among consumers about how to get started learning more about their finances, saving and investing more, and leaning on the expertise of financial professionals to get them there,” Rafano said, adding, “we are also relying on our local media to help educate the public, as there is always something happening in the news that these videos relate to.”

Posted on August 17, 2016 August 17, 2016

The Absolutely, Positively Best Time To File For Social Security – All Depends

After roughly four decades of non-stop work, it certainly can be enticing

August 17,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood Nj, You can begin drawing Social Security as early as age 62, finally getting back those dollars you’ve been paying into the system, possibly since you were a teenager handling cashier duties for a fast-food restaurant.

But taking Social Security a few years shy of traditional retirement age comes with a caveat. Your monthly check will be reduced, so you’ll draw as much as 30 percent less than you would if you waited until your full retirement age, which is 66 to 67 for most people these days.

At the other end of the equation, if you put off filing for Social Security until you’re 70, you can increase the amount of those checks.

So what’s a potential retiree to do?

“Unfortunately, there’s no perfect answer that applies to everyone,” says Alexander Joyce, president and CEO of ReJoyce Financial (www.ReJoyceFinancial.com). “When I’m working with a client, I’ll look at their entire financial situation and see how Social Security fits in. It’s not always an easy decision and there’s no exact science to follow.”

But Joyce says there are a few things to keep in mind as you approach 62 and begin mulling your options:

• Your neighbor’s decision isn’t your decision. It might be interesting to hear what other people have done, but that doesn’t mean you should follow suit. Their financial situation may be very different from yours, Joyce says. The right answer for them could be the absolutely wrong answer for you.
• Working in retirement makes a difference. Many people like to continue working, at least part-time, even after they begin drawing Social Security. But that can have ramifications. If you’ve reached full retirement age, no problem. Make as much money as you like. But if you take Social Security early, there’s a $15,720 annual limit on how much you can earn. For every $2 over that, you’ll lose $1 of Social Security.
• Maybe you need the money now. It could be that you worked the numbers and decided to wait until your full retirement age. But then fate intervened. You lost your job or health problems keep you from working. “There certainly are very good reasons why some people begin drawing their Social Security at 62,” Joyce says.
• Maybe you don’t need the money – just yet. If your finances are in good order, your savings robust and your employment stable, putting off Social Security until you’re 70 could make sense because you would be able to optimize the amount of those monthly checks. For example, if your full retirement age is 66, you would be able to receive 132 percent of your monthly benefit if you delayed filing for four years, according to the Social Security Administration website.

“Ultimately, the decision is yours, but it’s important to make that decision knowing all the implications,” Joyce says. “While there’s no right answer that applies to everyone, there could be at least a best answer that applies to you.”

About Alexander Joyce

Alexander Joyce is president and CEO of ReJoyce Financial LLC (www.ReJoyceFinancial.com). He’s also a Safe Money and Retirement Income Planning specialist, and has hosted radio shows, such as “The Safe Money and Income Radio Show” and “The Ask Mr. Annuity Radio Show.” Joyce is a licensed professional in Indiana and specializes in working with people who are near retirement or who are already retired, with wealth management, income planning, and asset protection strategies.

Posted on November 7, 2015 June 27, 2021

Ridgewood Police Continue to Report Incidents of Identity Theft

file photo by Boyd Loving

November 7,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Police reported several incidents or identity theft last week , on October 29, 2015, a Bogert Avenue resident reported fraudulent charges had been made on his/her credit card. It is extremely important that if you become the victim of identity theft, you make proper notifications to help prevent further victimization, starting with a report to your local police department. Information is available at the police desk concerning reporting and prevention of identity theft incidents.

On Tuesday, November 3, 2015, a South Van Dien resident reported that he/she had received a letter from the United States Social Security Administration advising him/her that someone had changed his/her direct deposit account information with that agency. Fortunately, the fraudulent account change was discovered before the victim’s social security account could be compromised.

Once again, be aware that information is available at the police desk concerning reporting and prevention of identity theft incidents.

What to do if you think you have been subject to identity fraud (https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/identity-theft-stolen-checklist-29691.html )

1. Start a log. As you make phone calls or send letters, keep notes of your conversations and correspondence with authorities and financial institutions, including dates, names, and phone numbers. Also keep track of all time spent and expenses you incur; you can deduct theft-related expenses on your income tax return, assuming you itemize deductions, and you may be able to seek compensation if you are ever able to sue the thief. (https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/identity-theft-stolen-checklist-29691.html )

2. Contact the credit bureaus. Call or visit the websites of the three major credit bureaus and ask that they issue a fraud alert and attach a statement to your credit report.

Equifax: 800-525-6285 or www.equifax.com
Experian: 888-397-3742 or www.experian.com
TransUnion: 800-680-7289 or www.transunion.com

Also, get copies of your credit report from each of the credit bureaus. Look for all possible signs of trouble: accounts you didnt open, inquiries you didnt initiate, and defaults and delinquencies you didn’t cause. Also check your identifying information carefully.

3. Review your credit reports. After you receive your credit reports from the three credit bureaus, review them thoroughly. Make sure that all your personal information, including name, address, and Social Security number, is correct and that there are no fraudulent accounts or inquiries. Look for accounts that you didn’t apply for or open, inquiries that you didn’t initiate, and defaults and delinquencies that you didn’t cause. Immediately report any suspicious information or activity to the credit bureau that issued the credit report.

4. Call the Ridgewood police. File a report of the crime with your local police department. Provide as much evidence as you can, and ask the officer to list all fraudulently accessed accounts that you know about on the police report. Be sure to get copies of the police report, because creditors will probably ask to see them. Remember to log the phone numbers and names of all the law enforcement agents that you speak to; creditors may want this information.

5. Fill out an Identity Theft Victim’s Complaint and Affidavit. The form is available from the Federal Trade Commission atwww.ftc.gov/idtheft. Creditors may accept this affidavit when you claim that you are not responsible for a new account or for transactions on an existing account. The information that you provide will enable the creditor to investigate your claim. (The creditor may require you to submit additional information or a different form.) This affidavit also will be useful if you request copies of the thief’s application and transaction records . Follow the instructions that accompany the form. (https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/identity-theft-stolen-checklist-29691.html )

Posted on May 9, 2015 May 9, 2015

Social Security’s in worse shape than you thought: Study

Tom Anderson | @bytomanderson

The Social Security Administration projects that its trust funds will be depleted by 2033—not an optimistic forecast. But it may be even bleaker than that.

New studies from Harvard and Dartmouth researchers find that the SSA’s actuarial forecasts have been consistently overstating the financial health of the program’s trust funds since 2000.

“These biases are getting bigger and they are substantial,” said Gary King, co-author of the studies and director of Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science. “[Social Security] is going to be insolvent before everyone thinks.”

The Social Security and Medicare Trustees’ 2014 report to Congress last year found trust fund reserves for both its combined retirement and disability programs will grow until 2019. Program costs are projected to exceed income in 2020 and the trust funds will be depleted by 2033 if Congress doesn’t act. Once the trust funds are drained, annual revenues from payroll tax would be projected to cover only three-quarters of scheduled Social Security benefits through 2088.

Researchers examined forecasts published in the annual trustees’ reports from 1978, when the reports began to consistently disclose projected financial indicators, until 2013. Then, they compared the forecasts the agency made on such variables as mortality and labor force participation rates to the actual observed data. Forecasts from trustees reports from 1978 to 2000 were roughly unbiased, researchers found. In that time, the administration made overestimates and underestimates, but the forecast errors appeared to be random in their direction.

https://www.cnbc.com/id/102659216

Posted on April 26, 2015 April 26, 2015

Chris Christie risks a generational debate on entitlements

Chris Christie risks a generational debate on entitlements: Robert Samuelson

on April 24, 2015 at 12:00 PM, updated April 24, 2015 at 12:01 PM

By Robert J. Samuelson

WASHINGTON — If New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has his way, the unfolding presidential campaign will focus on generational fairness. It will seek to curb spending on the elderly — mainly Social Security and Medicare — without putting the elderly at risk. This debate would be good for the country, but whether the country can conduct it without an orgy of bombast and distortion is an open question.

In case you missed it, Christie gave a speech in New Hampshire in mid-April proposing the following:

–Social Security benefits would be gradually reduced for those with non-Social Security incomes above $80,000 and ended at incomes exceeding $200,000, a plan Christie said would affect less than 2 percent of beneficiaries.

–Social Security’s eligibility age would slowly be raised (2 months a year, beginning in 2022) to 69 for full benefits and 64 for early retirement (from the present 62); Medicare’s eligibility age would be raised from today’s 65 to 67 in 2040 and 69 in 2064.

–Wealthier retirees with incomes above $85,000, who already pay higher Medicare premiums, would have their premiums raised on a sliding scale so that beneficiaries with incomes above $196,000 would pay 90 percent of the premiums for Medicare Part B (doctors’ bills) and Part D (drug coverage). Presumably, this also would be phased in, though Christie gave no details.

–Medicaid — the federal-state health insurance program for the poor — would be cut by putting a ceiling on federal payments to states.

Let’s concede that Christie’s gambit is self-serving. His presidential prospects are said to lag. He strives to differentiate himself from the herd of Republican contenders. What better way to demonstrate “leadership” qualities than to tackle an issue that, according to conventional wisdom, is political suicide. It’s a high-risk/high-reward strategy.

https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/04/chris_christie_risks_a_generat.html

Posted on March 9, 2015 March 9, 2015

Not Only do Dead People Vote but many collect Social Security

Not Only do Dead People Vote but many collect Social Security

IG Audit: 6.5 Million People With Active Social Security Numbers Are 112 or Older

March 9, 2015 – 10:39 AM
By Susan Jones

An IG audit of the Social Security Administration found that the nation’s database of active Social Security numbers includes more than six and a half million people who are older than 112 years of age.

(CNSNews.com) – Many people are living longer, but not to age 112 or beyond — except in the records of the Social Security Administration.

The SSA’s inspector general has identified 6.5 million number-holders age 112 — or older — for whom no death date has been entered in the main electronic file, called Numident.

The audit, dated March 4, 2015, concluded that SSA lacks the controls necessary to annote death information on the records of number-holders who exceed “maximum reasonable life expectancies.”

“We obtained Numident data that identified approximately 6.5 million numberholders born before June 16, 1901 who did not have a date of death on their record,” the report states.

Some of the numbers assigned to long-dead people were used fraudulently to open bank accounts.

And thousands of those numbers apparently were used by illegal immigrants to apply for work:

“During Calendar Years 2008 through 2011, SSA received 4,024 E-Verify inquiries using the SSNs of 3,873 numberholders born before June 16, 1901,” the report said. “These inquiries indicate individuals’ attempts to use the SSNs to apply for work.”

“It is incredible that the Social Security Administration in 2015 does not have the technical sophistication to ensure that people they know to be deceased are actually noted as dead,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/ig-audit-65-million-people-active-social-security-numbers-are-112-or-older

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