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• Taxes & Other Disasters

• Want a Good Raise? Retire

  By Scott Burns Senior citizens can look forward to a major increase in Social Security benefits next year. Unless there is a sudden rush of deflation in the current quarter, the increase will be the largest in 25 years. Yes, you read that right: the largest... Posted Aug 01 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: Retirement, Social Security

• Steps for Getting a Guaranteed Lifetime Income

  By Scott Burns Q. I am 73 and have investigated buying back the Social Security benefits I took at age 62. The buyback number is $158,529. My current monthly benefit is $1,231. A total buyback would give me a new monthly benefit of $2,019. This is a difference... Posted Jul 16 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with no comments Filed under: Q&A (from print), Retirement, Social Security

• Why We’re All Confused about “Safe” Withdrawal Rates

  By Scott Burns Q. You confused me recently in a column about safe rates of withdrawal. I am 68 years old and 80 percent invested in CDs. My CDs are currently paying between 5 percent and 5.5 percent. If I withdraw only 4 percent or 5 percent from my investments... Posted Oct 10 2007, 03:30 PM by scottb with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Q&A (from print), Retirement, Social Security

• Joseph Vineyard, Meet Joe Six Pack

  On this glorious Labor Day Weekend I’d like to say a few words about the futility of work. I’m serious. Take a look around. Today, we’re all 24/7, strutting with Blackberries and Bluetooth, miles from the long-lost desk and office, not to mention home... Posted Aug 31 2007, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Retirement, Social Security

• We’re Better off than We Think

  What if we’re not improvident fools? That possibility is suggested by a recent study. It received virtually no attention, perhaps because it contained no bad news. The study provides some confirmation of what I’ve been hinting at for several years---... Posted Jul 27 2007, 10:30 AM by scottb with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Retirement, Social Security

• Who Will Get Your Employer's 401(K) Contributions?

  Today's Rude Opinion Poll: Which description best characterizes our elected representatives in Washington, regardless of party affiliation? They are hapless boobs, constantly passing laws that contradict each other. They are scheming miscreants, relentlessly... Posted May 27 2007, 12:00 AM by scottb with | with 26 comment(s) Filed under: Retirement, Social Security, Taxes & Other Disasters, Government

• The Realities of Retirement Income

  If there is a mythical god in charge of retirement, it would have to be Janus. Best known as the Roman god with two faces--- one looking forward, one back--- Janus was the master of beginnings and endings. You and I see this every month in magazines.... Posted Apr 28 2007, 06:00 PM by scottb with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Retirement, Social Security

• Workers, Retirees, and the Consumer Price Index

  So far this century, life is treating retirees about as well as those who still work. That could become a real problem. You can see what's happening by comparing two figures. One is the annual cost- of-living increase in retiree benefits. The other... Posted Dec 18 2005, 10:42 AM by scottb with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Retirement, Social Security

• A Model Government Plan

  "How does the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) compare with industry plans?" So asks F.C., a San Antonio reader. Answer: It compares very, very well. Indeed, in "The Coming Generational Storm" (MIT Press, $17) Professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff and I suggest... Posted Aug 02 2005, 02:49 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Retirement, Social Security

• Squeezing the Working Generation

  The recently released 2005 Social Security Trustees Report, a 225 page document that will never be confused with the eagerly awaited "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince," contains a table you can use to foretell an important part of your future. Modestly... Posted Apr 21 2005, 02:02 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Retirement, Social Security

• Future Retirees Will Pay More Taxes

  If you want to replace your purchasing power in retirement, you'll have to pay more taxes to Uncle Sam today. You'll have to pay still more tomorrow. This will happen because Uncle Sam has had the power to tax Social Security benefits since 1983. Few... Posted Apr 19 2005, 12:28 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Government, Taxes & Other Disasters, Retirement, Social Security

• Retirees: Have You Checked Your Support Group Lately?

  This week's rude question: How many McJobs does it take to produce a Social Security retirement check? If we treated this as a light bulb joke--- as in "How many BLANK does it take to change a light bulb?"--- We could expect a variety of answers, such... Posted Nov 24 2004, 10:09 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Retirement, Social Security

• Escaping the Social Security Tax Gantlet

  Q. I read with interest your article on annuities and Social Security taxation. It brought up questions that have been bothering me. How does one determine whether a life annuity will protect Social Security income from taxation? Are all life annuities... Posted Sep 02 2004, 03:31 PM by scottb with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Q&A (from print), Retirement, Social Security

• The Three Really Big Monkeys and the Fiduciary

  Have you heard the story of "The Three Really Big Monkeys and the Fiduciary"? Listen. "Workers have a monkey on their back. That's why they're retiring to despair. Actually, it's a bunch of monkeys--- really big monkeys." The storyteller is Brooks Hamilton... Posted Jul 11 2004, 01:48 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Retirement, Social Security

• The Single Woman‘s Nest Egg Burden

  Women live longer than men. Everyone knows this. So women need more money to retire, no matter what. With an increasing number of women entering their 60's single, divorced, or widowed, this is starting to look like a real problem. Unfortunately, Social... Posted Feb 22 2004, 02:50 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Retirement, Social Security