Subscribing to my site guarantees you don't miss any new content. Choose either E-Mail Feed or RSS Feed. Thanks for visiting!

Please click on the thumbnail to the left to see a sample of Page 4 of Your Social Security Statement. The numbers highlighted in red are explained, and expanded upon, in the post below.

Medicare is made up of two separate programs:

• Part A coverage is for hospitalization.
• Part B is for doctors’ services and other services, such as, surgeon fees and physical therapy.

Long term care (LTC) coverage is not included with Medicare and must be purchased separately. As part of the financial planning process, I often model the costs of buying LTC coverage. This is probably the single biggest potential drain on a person’s assets later in life, if they have to self fund a nursing home stay.

Continue Reading “Page 4 of ‘Your Social Security Statement’”

Please click on the thumbnail to the left to see a sample of Page 3 of Your Social Security Statement. The numbers highlighted in red are explained, and expanded upon, in the post below.

In this section you see Wanda’s earnings record. She has been working and paying social security taxes since 1982. You can also see that her 2006 numbers have not been recorded; sometimes this statement goes out before the SSA has had a chance to update it.

You can see a separate column for your taxed social security earnings and your taxed Medicare earnings. Social Security hits you for a 6.2% tax and Medicare hits you for another 1.45%. Continue Reading “Page 3 of ‘Your Social Security Statement’”

Please click on the thumbnail to the left to see a sample of Page 2 of Your Social Security Statement. The numbers highlighted in red are explained, and expanded upon, in the post below.

This is an estimate of Wanda’s retirement benefits if she took:

• early retirement- at age 62 it would be $975 a month
• normal retirement- at age 67 it would be $1412 a month
• delayed retirement- at age 70 it would be $1761 a month

Obviously, the sooner you retire, the lesser the benefit. Benefits are reduced by 5/9 of a percent for every month that a worker begins receiving benefits before normal retirement.

Continue Reading “Page 2 of ‘Your Social Security Statement’”

Please click on the thumbnail to the left to see a sample of Page 1 of Your Social Security Statement. The numbers highlighted in red are explained, and expanded upon, in the post below.

(It’s best to keep 2 tabs open in your browser and bounce back and forth between page 1 of the Social Security document and the highlighted sections in this post.)

Enjoy…

This is your customized social security statement, prepared especially for you.

A summary of what you can expect to find inside this 4 page document.

It’s important that the social security administration has the right earnings information for you. On page 3 of this statement you will see a history of your earnings. If any of those numbers seem wrong, back check the numbers versus your W-2 or tax return for that year. Continue Reading “Page 1 of ‘Your Social Security Statement’”

Do you know what Your Social Security Statement is?

You know, the stylish 4 page booklet (you get each year) with the rich green trim on the top and bottom of the statement.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, let’s see if I can help to jar your memory.

It’s the annual statement you receive from the Social Security Administration, that explains what social security is, how it impacts you and what kind of benefits you can expect to receive in the future.

Continue Reading “Understanding ‘Your Social Security Statement’”

Ok as promised, I’m going to use the fear card to ’scare you straight’ on the issue of social security… are you shaking yet?

‘Scared Straight’ was an Academy Award winning documentary, filmed in 1978 by Arnold Shapiro, that deals with taking troubled teens to Rahway State Prison and introducing them to prison ‘lifers’. The hardened prisoners scare the hell out of the kids, talking about the harsh realities of what happens on the inside. In the end, the kids realize they don’t want anything to do with life in jail… effectively scaring them straight.

Continue Reading “Scared Straight on Social Security”