Social Security Tips
Read these 7 Social Security Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Retirement tips and hundreds of other topics.
401 Retirement Plans, IRAs, and other tax deferred savings
Social Security has been funded by FICA contributions from your paycheck. The current model of Social Security reform advocated by the White House would use private accounts to support the Social Security trust fund. Ironically, most economists and experts point out that setting up private accounts would run down the Social Security Trust much faster.
The History of Social Security
The history of Social Security is the story of one of the most successful social programs in American history. Social Security benefits provides most of the elderly with their major source of income. For 20%, Social Security is their only source of income. It also supports children who have lost a parent and provides most workers with their only source of long-term disability income.
401 Retirement Plans, IRAs, and other tax deferred savings
Social Security and Social Security reform is a big item in the news today. Privatizing Social Security means that individuals would be able to invest part of their Social Security funds in the stock market. Proponents say this is necessary because the Social Security trust fund will eventually run out--which is true if nothing is done. However, the Social Security Administration says that the fund is solvent in its current form until 2042.
Smart estate planning
The most basic step in estate planning is writing a will. Will estate planning is crucial if you are concerned about the dispostion of your assets after your death. If you don't make a will, state law will determine who gets your property, and you may not agree with their choices. If you still have children at home, a judge may decide who will raise them. In your will, you can make these decisions yourself. If all you need is a basic will, you can confidently use a good self-help book or software to make a legally binding will.
Your Social Security Benefits
Are you eligible for Social Security? If you were born in 1929 or later, you need to have worked for at least 10 years to be eligible for social security benefits. If you're eligible for retirement benefits, some members of your family also can receive benefits.
Social Security Benefits
Social Security pays Social Security benefits depending on your retirement age, which in turn depends on when you were born. Social Security benefits are an important aspect of your retirement planning, so pay attention to how much you have and when you will need to use it! If you were born before 1938, your "full retirement age" is 65. Because of longer life expectancies, the full retirement age is increasing for people born after 1938. You can start your Social Security benefits as early as age 62, but the amount you receive each month will be less than if you start at full retirement age.
The History of Social Security
The history of Social Security begins in the latter days of the Great Depression. Universal guaranteed retirement money for all; the Social Security Act of 1935 offered an attractive promise to Americans struggling to make it through the Great Depression. No wonder it met with political success. The government pledged that if workers paid a Social Security tax on all of their wages, they would be supported in their old age.
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