I frequently get emails from readers who turn a little molehill of an issue into a big mountain of a problem, and it has to do with the starting date for their Social Security benefits. The Social Security retirement application asks a question that goes something like this: “Which month do you want your benefits…

By Elliot Raphaelson From Tribune Content Agency In a recent edition of Financial Planning magazine, there was an interesting column written by Nathan Place that discussed some of the reasons that Americans are retiring later. I’ll discuss some of these factors below. One of the primary reasons people are putting off retirement is changes to…

By Elliot Raphaelson Q: In a recent column, you indicated that if you remarried after age 60, and had been receiving a spousal benefit on the basis of your ex’s Social Security earnings, that benefit ends immediately, and you had to wait a year before you could receive a benefit from your new spouse. I believe…

For some people, it makes sense to start drawing Social Security benefits before reaching full retirement age (FRA). But there are restrictions that attend this decision to draw benefits early. The Social Security Administration considers the act of drawing benefits as retirement. This means that recipients are restricted as to how much additional income they…