Understanding Your Social Security… Retire On Your Own Terms

Issue 20.13

Most Americans are aware that they need to save for retirement. It is a topic that is easy to brush aside to a later date because although the subject is important,it may not seem urgent. But the longer you put off some basic retirement planning,the harder it will be [...]

Understanding Your Social Security… Your Number Is Your Card

Issue 19.13

Often times,people decide they need to apply for a new Social Security card because they can’t find their old one. As long as you have all of the required information and documentation,it’s not difficult to obtain a replacement Social Security card. But here’s even better news:you probably don’t [...]

Understanding Your Social Security… Identity Theft –It’s No Joke

Issue 18.13

Identity theft is no joking matter. Identity thieves victimize millions of people each year.

Identity thieves have some sly tricks to obtain your personal information. They do it by:

Stealing wallets,purses,and your mail;

Posing by phone or email as someone who legitimately needs information about you,such as employers [...]

Understanding Your Social Security… Social Security Challenges You To A Word Game

Issue 17.13

In 1938 –only a couple of years after Social Security was signed into law — a depression-era,unemployed architect named Alfred Mosher Butts studied the front page of The New York Times to figure out how often each of the 26 letters was used. The result was a game he [...]

Understanding Your Social Security… Best Ways To Do Business With Social Security

Issue 16.13

Many people save time by going online to take care of everyday tasks. For example,they shop online to avoid going to crowded malls or stores. They pay bills and check their account balances online to save a trip to the bank.

It’s true of Social Security business,too. You can [...]

Understanding Your Social Security… Spring Into Retirement

Issue 15.13

Here are a few important items about Social Security retirement benefits and how to apply for them.

When you work and pay Social Security taxes,you earn “credits” toward Social Security benefits. If you were born in 1929 or later,you need 40 credits (10 years of work) to qualify for [...]

Understanding Your Social Security…Demo Your Way To Successful Filing

Worried about waiting in long lines at the Social Security office to file for your retirement benefits?

Get out of line and get online like about 30% of the retirees in southern Utah did in 2008 when they filed for benefits online.  [...]

Understanding Your Social Security…Some Tax Tips

Shakespeare wrote “Beware the Ides of March,”but that was before tax day found a resting place on April 15 of each year.  Let us help you “be aware”of some Social Security tax tips by answering some of the most common questions we receive about taxes and Social Security.

Are Social Security [...]

Understanding Your Social Security…New Technologies Improve Disability Process

In March,Social Security became the first government agency to use the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN).  This initiative will cut the time it takes Social Security to get medical records –from weeks or months to only minutes –for people who apply for disability benefits.  Initially this will affect a small [...]

Understanding Your Social Security…Reminders For Senior Travel Abroad

An old family friend has planned an overseas trip this summer to research his family’s roots.  He asked if there were any Social Security or Medicare travel tips that he and his wife should know.  Here is what I told him and it may be useful to those who are planning a trip [...]