If you guessed the average retired worker’s Social Security check is somewhere around $1,500, you are in good company. A Cato Institute survey found that only a quarter of Americans correctly identified the average…
One of the toughest financial decisions you might have to make in your lifetime is figuring out when to sign up for Social Security. Your filing age, coupled with your earnings history, will have…
The average retired worker receives roughly $2,000 a month from Social Security. For many retirees, that covers only part of the budget. Building a second Social Security-sized check from dividends can help cover housing, healthcare,…
When a Diagnosis Rewrites the Retirement Plan He spent years planning to wait until 70 for the biggest possible monthly check. Then a doctor’s diagnosis shortened his life expectancy, and the spreadsheet stopped making…
The scenario looks like this: a 63-year-old has built up $850,000 over a working lifetime, watched 2022 and a few scary headlines since, and parked almost all of it in CDs, money market funds,…
On a recent "Road to Retirement" segment with host Ari Taublieb, a cybersecurity expert named Robert explained how he walked away from work at 52 without ever maxing out his 401(k). He built that…
Picture a 62-year-old who just retired from a job they were ready to leave. The Social Security statement says they can start collecting now, the mortgage is paid, and a check showing up next…
A reader on a popular retirement forum recently described a situation that catches thousands of heirs off guard each year. Her mother died in March at age 80 with roughly $1 million in a…
The average American household has $333,940 stashed away for retirement, according to the Federal Reserve’s most recent Survey of Consumer Finances. That number sounds reassuring. It is also misleading. The median household, the one…
Sometimes, when government agencies are slow to release information, there’s a reason for it. It’s unclear as to why the most recent Social Security Trustees Report was so late, but that’s not such a…
A 68-year-old retiree picked the $0-premium Medicare Advantage plan three years ago because she was healthy, her doctors were in-network, and the gym membership was a nice extra. In June she was diagnosed with…
As part of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump pledged to do away with taxes on Social Security benefits. He didn’t quite pull that off. But in the interim, a lot of seniors are getting…
A 72-year-old couple in Ohio asked their advisor whether to convert $50,000 from a traditional IRA to a Roth before year-end. Their combined income from Social Security, a small pension, and required minimum distributions…
A couple in their sixties looking to swap snow shovels for flip-flops and wondering whether retiring to Boca Raton is still realistic for people who are not millionaires. The answer is yes, but the…
Dave Ramsey has spent years telling listeners that the conventional wisdom on Social Security is wrong. His position: claim at 62, the earliest age you can, and invest every check. "It usually makes sense…
