Title: Were you called by a Social Security scammer? Feds issue warning
Article Snip: "...The Feds issued a warning that scammers are spoofing a real, actual number used by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to try to get personal information from people across the country. “Scammers are spoofing SSA’s 1-800 customer service number to try to get your personal information..."
Reference: wtop.comTitle: High-3 Average Salary
Article Snip: "...Your “high-3” average pay is the highest average basic pay you earned during any 3 consecutive years of service. These three years are usually your final three years of service, but can be an earlier period, if your basic pay was higher during that period. Your basic pay is the basic salary you earn for your position. It includes increases to your salary for which retirement deductions are withheld, such as shift rates. It does not include payments for overtime, bonuses, etc. (If your total service was less than 3 years, your average salary was figured by averaging your basic pay during all of your periods of creditable Federal service)..."
Reference: www.opm.govThis information is correct as stated on 10/27/2018. Bold Face added.
Title: Postponed or deferred
Article Snip: "...Most employees retire when they’ve reached the standard age and service requirements to receive an immediate unreduced annuity. If you are a CSRS employee, those are age 62 with 5 years of service, 60 with 20 or 55 with 30. If you are a FERS employee, they are..."
Reference: www.federaltimes.comArticle Snip: "...Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of FERS retirees will be wondering why they are only receiving a 2 percent COLA when the relevant measure of consumer prices increased by 2.8 percent. That’s due to the bargain struck in Congress in the 1980s when FERS was created, which limits COLAs to 2 percent when consumer prices increase between 2 and 3 percent. But that was the wrong policy then, as it is now. It prevents FERS annuities from keeping up with inflation, which is the whole point of a COLA. It is past time for Congress to ensure FERS retirees receive a full COLA each year. “Retirees already receive COLAs that fail to represent how seniors spend their money. COLAs are currently based on the CPI-W..."
Reference: www.narfe.orgTitle: Social Security COLA for 2019 will be 2.8 percent
Article Snip: "...Social Security Administration announced Thursday that 63 million beneficiaries, including retirees, disabled workers and their eligible dependents and surviving family members, will receive a 2.8% increase in benefits next year, the largest annual cost-of-living adjustment since 2012..."
Reference: www.investmentnews.comTitle: The "Worn Out Worker" Rule in Social Security Disability Claims
Article Snip: "...The worn out worker rule makes it easier for those who've done many years of hard labor to get disability benefits..."
Reference: www.disabilitysecrets.comTitle: Looking for an early retirement? Post videos on YouTube
Article Snip: "...Inorder to earn money it is important that they attract a certain number of viewers or subscribers and then they must be approved for monitisation. Monitisation allows YouTube to display advertisements on or around your video and shares a portion of the revenue with the creator through Google's AdSense, the report said..."
Reference: bhaskar.comTitle: 4 Things to Know About Your FERS Annuity
Article Snip: "...if you work until age 62 and retire with 20 or more years of service, the formula changes. Instead of getting 1% per year worked you will receive 1.1% per year worked. An extra 0.1% on 20 years of service will add an additional 2% to your high 3..."
Reference: www.fedsmith.com
Article Snip: "...Over the past decade, Social Security has been pretty stingy in the COLAs it gives to retirees. But 2019 could be different. Early indications suggest Social Security benefits could go up by a greater amount than retirees and other participants have seen since 2012..."Title: What’s the Difference in the 1% and 1.1% FERS Annuity Computations?
Article Snip: "...there are two different computation factors that are used in computing the FERS annuity; 1% and 1.1%. What’s the difference between them..."
Reference: www.fedsmith.comTitle: Here's How Much Social Security Benefits Are by Age and Income Level
Article Snip: "...While there's no way for sure to know what your future Social Security benefit will be, this guide can help you get a ballpark idea..."
Reference: www.fool.comTitle: What Is Ahead for the Nation's Aging Workforce?
Article Snip: "...not only are older persons working more, but these older workers are also earning more than in previous years” said James Spletzer, Principal Economist at the Center for Economic Studies. “Inflation-adjusted average monthly earnings of persons aged 65 and older were $4,092 in 2015, which is substantially higher than the $2,276 statistic in 1994..."
Reference: www.census.govTitle: A snapshot of the average Social Security beneficiary
Article Snip: "...But what you may not know, given the program's broad reach, is what the average Social Security beneficiary looks like. Here are three metrics that'll help define the typical recipient. 1. Who is primarily receiving benefits?"
Reference: journaltimes.comTitle: Warren Buffett’s favorite metric suggests some serious pain awaits investors
Article Snip: "...One of those measures, in particular, has popped up on investor radars lately, and that’s the “Buffett indicator.” The Berkshire BRK.A, +3.02% boss called it “the best single measure of where valuations stand at any given moment.” If historical patterns hold true, a thrashing could be in store for complacent investors..."
Reference: www.marketwatch.comTitle: This Is Great News for Social Security's 2019 COLA
Article Snip: "...while there are still a good two and a half months to go before definitively knowing what magnitude of raise to expect, signs are pointing to beneficiaries receiving their highest COLA since 2012..."
Reference: www.fool.comTitle: Savvy Senior: Can a debt collector take my social security benefits?
Article Snip: "...Whether your Social Security benefits are garnishable or not depends on whom you owe. Banks and other financial creditors, for example..."
Reference: www.heraldextra.comTitle: 37 States That Don't Tax Social Security Benefits
Article Snip: "...Some retirees are surprised to learn that Social Security is taxable. The federal government taxes up to 85% of your benefits, depending on your income. Most states, however, exempt Social Security from state taxes. The list of 37 states that don’t tax Social Security..."
Reference: www.kiplinger.comTitle: How To Sign Up For Medicare: Who Should, Why, When
Article Snip: "...the biggest mistake that individuals can make under Medicare is not signing up for Parts A and B on a timely basis... The key date is four months before your 65th birthday. Here's how..."
Reference: www.investors.comTitle: The $1,800-a-year Medicare cost that surprises many retirees
Article Snip: "...While Medicare Part B premiums are higher for folks with higher incomes, they will still cost the typical person $1,608 in 2018. Add in the deductible, and it’s $1,791 — before any out-of-pocket costs..."
Reference: www.aol.comTitle: FERS Retirement with 10% Bonus: Higher Pension for Age 62 & 20 Years
Article Snip: "...if you retire at age 62 or older with 20 or more years of creditable service, your pension multiplier is 1.1% [instead of 1%]...In order to get the bonus, you must be at least 62 years old at retirement with at least 20 years of creditable service. You must also be going out on an immediate FERS Retirement...For more details about the bonus, you can check out Chapter 50 of OPM's CSRS / FERS Handbook This bonus is mentioned in Section 50B3.1-1 Subsection B..."
Reference: plan-your-federal-retirement.comTitle: 10 states with the highest average Social Security retirement benefit
Article Snip: "...the only three states with an average retirement benefit in excess of $1,500 a month. The average New Jersey retiree is taking home $1,725 extra per year over the national average, and just over $2,900 more a year than the average retired worker in Louisiana, which ranked dead last among the 50 states ($1,311.72 a month). This is probably why retirement benefits are higher in these states..."
Reference: www.usatoday.comAs of March 2018, SSA data shows that the average retirement benefit was $1,409.91 a month, or about $16,919 a year.
Title: Average Retirement Debt
Article Snip: "...According to the survey, 8 in 10 middle-income Boomers currently have some debt. Three in 10 devote more than 40% of their monthly income to debt and a quarter have a mortgage with more than 20 years remaining on it. More than half say they intend to enter retirement debt free, but only one-quarter of retired Boomers actually are debt free..."
Reference: www.newretirement.comTitle: See how your retirement savings compares to other workers earning a similar salary
Article Snip: "...Employees earning between $40,000 and $60,000 are likely to have a little more room in their budget to save for retirement. The median 401(k) balance ranges from $16,502 among 20-somethings to $113,504 for workers in their 50s, according to the EBRI analysis. People in their 40s ($79,786) have saved a median of over twice as much as those in their 30s ($35,602). "A moderate earner now is likely in a lower tax bracket, so paying taxes on income and contributing to a Roth now makes sense..."
Reference: money.usnews.comTitle: Social Security 'is under attack,' say these congressional Democrats
Article Snip: "...Cuts to Social Security are not a credible solution to pay for the $1.9 trillion that Congressional Republicans have recently added to the deficit in passing their tax legislation," Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the committee's ranking Democrat, said in a statement to CNBC. "We must ensure that our seniors are able to retire with dignity..."
Reference: www.cnbc.com