Looming government pension issues at the State and Local levels impact not only current government employees, but retirees and taxpayers alike. Many have seen the National Debt Clock. However, this is only U.S. Treasury debt – which doesn’t include agency debt, unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare, State and Local debt, some student education […]
Two big areas of confusion among people and advisors are the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Although they are often spoken in the same breath, they are really quite different. The only thing they have in common is that they affect people who worked in jobs not covered by Social […]
I held onto this to post now, a few years later, to drive home the point of how some thoughts are timeless. 16 Insights That Will Change The Way You Think About Money is just such an example. The bold emphasis is mine to highlight what the article is about … … ways to think about […]
Two headaches when identity thieves first use your identity to start your Social Security benefits, and then you having to contend with not having reported that income (you never got) to the IRS when Social Security sends the IRS and you the 1099 for that phantom income! Two bureaucracies to contend with for that single […]
Home buying can be daunting, even for those who’ve done it before. The question of getting loan approval can be tricky. Having your debt to income ratios evaluated for loan qualification is also confusing to some. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has a good short description as to the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval. […]
When do you claim your Social Security when you want to retire (stop working) at age 60? Or 58? Or some other age before 70? 62 is the earliest you can claim your benefit (reduced), and age 70 is the latest you should claim because that’s the age the benefit is maximized. Your stop working age […]
The time for reflection comes to all of us at one time or another. These are 9 key questions an investor should ask themselves. This is not an exhaustive list, rather one that gets to the meat of the matter. The questions and answers are timeless, applying all the time. What sort of competition do […]
Lately it seems that many people are receiving offers to refinance their mortgages. Should you refinance? What does that offer tell you about expenses? It does say something about expenses. Here’s how you may determine what they’re saying those expenses are. Online there is a lot of discussion about the APR, but not a […]
Filial Responsibility Laws (in more than half the States) could surprise you when the State comes to family members to pay your relative’s long term care bills. Children or other heirs may become responsible for parent care expenses. This may not be what you, as a parent, have in mind. You want to be […]
What happens to a reverse mortgage when disaster strikes? 2017 had a number of fires in the West and Hurricanes in the South. Other devastating natural disasters like tornados, floods and earthquakes happen too. Disasters don’t need to be widespread to affect your home – you could easily suffer loss on just your home without […]
