Title: The Social Security cost-of-living increase is a cruel fraud
Article Snip: "...Today, it’s not so great. The tiny Social Security increase that will be bestowed on retirees and the elderly in January is a cruel fraud perpetrated by the government. That's because increases in Medicare Part B and Part D insurance premiums will negate all of the Social Security 2% cost of living increase for many recipients. Instead of staying even, we’ll fall behind..."
Reference: www.latimes.comTitle: The 4 Least Tax-Friendly States for Social Security Recipients
Article Snip: "...A second tier was added in 1993 under the Clinton administration that exposed 85% of Social Security benefits to federal taxation for individual earnings above $34,000, and couples filing jointly in excess of $44,000. When first introduced, this tax affected around one out of 10 households. As of 2015, it affected 56%, according to The Senior Citizens League..."
Reference: www.fool.comTitle: Tammy Flanagan: Navigating federal retirement paperwork
Article Snip: "...In the federal government, nothing happens until you fill out a form. That's certainly true of retirement, a topic on quite a few federal minds these days. With a rundown on the paperwork you need to keep in mind, federal retirement expert Tammy Flanagan..."
Reference: www.podcastone.comTitle: 50-something feds dodge TSP tax bullet
Article Snip: "...Federal workers who are 50 and older (and those who aspire to someday reach that it’s-not-as-bad-as-it-sounds age bracket), dodged a big bullet last week in the pending tax bill worked up by the Senate. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) proposed, then withdrew language that would have eliminated the..."
Reference: federalnewsradio.comTitle: 2018 Medicare changes will erase Social Security COLAs for many
Article Snip: "...Average Social Security benefits for retired workers will increase $27 per month to $1,404 per month in 2018, up from $1,377 this year. As a result, higher Medicare premiums will virtually wipe out any increase in Social Security benefits for many retirees next year..."
Reference: www.investmentnews.comTitle: Open Season Changes and the Five Year Rule
Article Snip: "...If you have not been covered under FEHB for most of your career, but want to be able to carry it into retirement, you might be planning on enrolling in FEHB five years before the year in which you plan to retire. The coverage must be for a full five years, so you need to be aware of when your FEHB enrollment becomes effective. Many people choose to retire on December 31st, but FEHB coverage is rarely effective on that date..."
Reference: www.fedsmith.comTitle: Get A Bigger Monthly Social Security Check
Article Snip: "...Should you take benefits early at 62? At normal retirement age? Or delay until 70? Here’s how to decide..."
Reference: www.forbes.comTitle: The Advantages of Advance Funeral Planning
Article Snip: "...What you can do to help your heirs? Specify what final arrangements you’d like and make sure your family knows your wishes. Pre-paying for a burial plot may save money in the long run, as you’ll avoid future price increases..."
Reference: www.fedweek.comTitle: 2% COLA for Federal Retirees in 2018
Article Snip: "...COLA for federal annuities is determined in reference to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which is calculated by economists and statisticians with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The CPI-W is the current index used for measuring increases in the prices of consumer goods such as food and beverages, housing, clothing, and gasoline..."
Reference: www.fedsmith.comTitle: Worried about possible retirement changes? 3 pieces of advice from a federal financial planner
Article Snip: "...Yet with roughly 45 percent of current TSP investments in the low-return, low-risk G fund, many federal employees are missing an opportunity to invest more heavily in higher-risk funds that may offer a higher return, Klingler said. “In most cases, investing 100 percent of your money in the G fund is not the best choice,” he said. “When you hear the word ‘risk,’ a lot of people think zero risk is the best. That’s not the case. In most cases, you want to have risk, because with risk, comes reward. You want to have the appropriate level of risk that matches your risk tolerance and your investment time horizon..."
Reference: federalnewsradio.comTitle: 80 Percent Rule for Retirement
Article Snip: "...The “80% Rule” is a good guideline for those a long way from retiring who want to, at a minimum, retain the standard of living they had before retirement. Many financial planners suggest that 80% of your pre-retirement income will give you a retirement standard of living that is substantially similar to your pre-retirement standard of living. This is based on three assumptions: First, you will not be paying payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) or making pension contributions (CSRS or FERS). For most federal employees, these mandatory taxes and contributions take 8.45% ..."
Reference: www.fedweek.comTitle: A website for retired or retiring USPS employees
A site for retired USPS employees or those about to retire.
Reference: www.keepingposted.orgTitle: One Of The Longest-Serving Postal Workers Retires After 60 Years
Article Snip: "... after 60 years on the job – one of the longest-serving postal workers in history. 83-year-old Garland Gralow remembers the day he was hired. “Could you start tomorrow? – just like that – yeah okay,” Gralow remembered..."
Reference: chicago.cbslocal.comTitle: Trump’s budget calls for hits on federal employee retirement programs
Article Snip: "...Increase Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) contributions from workers by 1 percentage point each year until they equal the government’s contribution. This would take five to six years and would result in increased out-of-pocket payments of about 6 percent over that period...Eliminate supplement payments for FERS employees who retire beginning in 2018. The supplement approximates the value of Social Security benefits for those who retire before age 62..."
Reference: www.washingtonpost.comTitle: Obama’s Speaking Fees Call Presidential Pension into Question
Article Snip: "...The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman says he will re-introduce legislation to limit how much former presidents receive from the federal government..."
Reference: www.snopes.comTitle: How to Cut Your Tax Bill on Your Federal Retirement Income
Article Snip: "...This article will be of more interest to retirees than it will to current federal employees, however, if you’re close to retirement, you will pick up some helpful information if you read it..."
Reference:www.fedsmith.comTitle: The Top 7 Reasons Almost 33% of American Workers Have Saved Nothing for Retirement
Article Snip: "...There are many reasons people do (or don’t do) the things they should. According to GoBankingRates.com, almost 33% of American workers have saved nothing for retirement. That is an astounding statistic and spells trouble for the entire economy down the road..."
Reference: forextv.comTitle: A federal employee retirement plan is a good model for better retirement saving
Article Snip: "...The TSP offers a “target date” investing approach in which the plan automatically shifts federal employees’ savings from stock to bond funds as they approach retirement. And at retirement, the TSP offers annuities that let workers convert their lump sum savings into a monthly benefit that last for life. What’s not to like? A lot, according to Joanne Butler, a former House Ways and Means Committee staff ..."
Reference: www.aei.orgTitle: Military Service and Social Security
Article Snip: "...Under certain circumstances, special extra earnings for
periods of active duty from 1957 through 2001 can also
be credited to your Social Security earnings record.
• From 1957 through 1967,
we will add the extra
credits to your record when you apply for Social
Security benefits.
• From 1968 through 2001,
you don’t need to do
anything to receive these extra credits. The credits
were automatically added to your record.
• After 2001,
there are no special extra earnings
credits for military service.
The information that follows explains how you can
get credit for special extra earnings and applies only
to active duty military service earnings from
1957
through 2001..."
Title: Warren Buffett says investors should stick with index funds
Article Snip: "...Buffett, widely considered one of the world's best investors, said in his annual letter to shareholders. 'Both large and small investors should stick with low-cost index funds.'..."
Reference: www.reuters.comMore Reading: Warren Buffett says The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing
Title: 15 Social Security Stats That Will Blow You Away
Article Snip: "...Social Security pays close to 61 million Americans about $918 billion in benefits annually. If that sounds like a heck of a lot, it is. But it's only about $15,000, on average, per person. 10: In order to qualify for Social Security benefits based on your earnings, you need to collect 40 credits, where a credit is represented by your earning of at least $1,260 (as of 2016) within a year, with up to four credits that can be earned per year. Thus, most of us can qualify simply by working for a decade. Even if you only worked half of each year, 20 years of working could qualify you..."
Reference: www.fool.comTitle: Planning for a Delayed Retirement
Article Snip: "...According to the Office of Personnel Management, the average retirement age for a federal employee between 2005 and 2014 was 60.2 years and average length of service was 27.8 years; 54 percent of those were age 60 or older; and half of retirees had 30 or more years of service..."
Reference: www.govexec.comTitle: White House Throws Weight Behind Cutting Feds’ Retirement, Health Benefits
Article Snip: "...Chaffetz said he would protect employees already vested in their pensions, saying he did not want to “unduly scare” an employee already on the job for seven years and it would be “difficult” to go after existing workers’ retirements. Chaffetz also said his committee is considering ways to shrink the size of the federal workforce..."
Reference: www.govexec.comTitle: Know when to expect your 1099R
Article Snip: "...You need a Form W-2 to file with your return. Not so with Forms 1099. In contrast to Forms W-2, you don’t file Forms 1099 with your return. Forms 1099 remind you that you earned interest, received a consulting fee, or were paid some other kind of income. There are many varieties, including 1099-INT for interest, 1099-DIV for dividends, 1099-G for tax refunds, 1099-R for pensions and 1099-MISC for miscellaneous income. These forms are sent by payors to you and the IRS..."
Reference: www.forbes.com