The Social Security program touches the lives of Americans young and old. Almost everyone has a Social Security number and a job that deducts Social Security taxes from his or her paycheck. And more than 60 million Americans, 1 out of every 6 people, collect a monthly Social Security check. Social Security spending makes up about one-fourth of the entire federal budget. A program this big is bound to have complex laws and regulations. Tom Margenau has been helping people understand Social Security for almost 50 years, both as a Social Security Administration employee and as a nationally syndicated columnist for Creators Syndicate. For the first time, he has gathered all of his knowledge and advice into a series of easy-to-read fact sheets and placed them in this book. Simply find the fact sheet that covers the topic you are interested in and you will improve your understanding of how Social Security affects you and your family. And if you still have questions after reading this book, Tom is ready to help. Just send him an email at [email protected].

Compact, timely, well-researched, and balanced, this institutional history of Social Security's seventy years shows how the past still influences ongoing reform debates, helping the reader both to understand and evaluate the current partisan arguments on both sides.

"The rules relating to social security are long, complex, and dry. This book distills the most relevant parts into a guide that is easy to follow." Brandon Renfro, Ph.D. NOW UPDATED FOR 2021!! Devin Carroll brings you a condensed, straightforward guide that gives you the nine essentials that everyone should know to navigate the maze of Social Security with confidence (without getting lost in the tangled web of Social Security rules). If you want to make sure you don't leave your Social Security benefits to chance, reading this book is a great first step in achieving that goal. The Cure for Complexity When Carroll first started studying Social Security, the massive website and rule book left him feeling like he was trying to drink from a fire hose. It was just too much information to make sense of all at once, and left him feeling overwhelmed. Sound familiar? Carroll's later experiences with clients who were distressed, confused, and burned by the Social Security system convinced him that something must be done to help people take the overly complex, verbose, and altogether unruly Social Security rules and distill them down into something simple, actionable, and understandable. After spending the last several years studying, speaking, and writing on Social Security, Carroll discovered that most questions on the topic could be answered through a solid understanding of the basics. That's what Carroll promises to teach you in this book: the essential knowledge you need to. In each chapter, Carroll details the specifics behind the rules, calculations, exceptions, and necessary information so you can correctly identify your own benefit, understand when you're entitled to more, make the best decision on when to file, and more. What others are saying... "Devin Carroll is the perfect person to untangle Social Security's mumbo-jumbo. He makes the rules simple to understand, taking concepts most people mess up and laying them out in an easy to understand format. Bravo!" Joe Saul-Sehy, Stacking Benjamins Podcast Creator and Host "Devin's book, Social Security Basics, is an indispensable resource in helping you make smart, informed decisions about your Social Security benefits so you'll have a more confident and comfortable retirement ahead of you." Russ Thornton, WealthcareForWomen.com "Making decisions about Social Security benefits can be intimidating but it doesn't have to be. This is a fantastic book to explain what you really need to know." David Waldrop, CFP - The Astute Advisor Blog and Bridgeview Capital Advisors

Learn the secrets to maximizing your Social Security benefits and earn up to thousands of dollars more each year with expert advice that you can't get anywhere else. Want to know how to navigate the forbidding maze of Social Security and emerge with the highest possible benefits? You could try reading all 2,728 rules of the Social Security system (and the thousands of explanations of these rules), but Kotlikoff, Moeller, and Solman explain Social Security benefits in an easy to understand and user-friendly style. What you don't know can seriously hurt you: wrong decisions about which Social Security benefits to apply for cost some individual retirees tens of thousands of dollars in lost income every year. How many retirees or those nearing retirement know about such Social Security options as file and suspend (apply for benefits and then don't take them)? Or start stop start (start benefits, stop them, then re-start them)? Or-just as important-when and how to use these techniques? Get What's Yours covers the most frequent benefit scenarios faced by married retired couples, by divorced retirees, by widows and widowers, among others. It explains what to do if you're a retired parent of dependent children, disabled, or an eligible beneficiary who continues to work, and how to plan wisely before retirement. It addresses the tax consequences of your choices, as well as the financial implications for other investments. Many personal finance books briefly address Social Security, but none offers the thorough, authoritative, yet conversational analysis found here. You've paid all your working life for these benefits. Now, get what's yours.

The instant NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER USA TODAY BESTSELLER #1 PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT Revised & Updated for 2023 THE PATH TO YOUR ULTIMATE RETIREMENT STARTS RIGHT HERE! Retirement today is more complex than ever before. It is most definitely not your parents' retirement. You will have to make decisions that weren't even part of the picture a generation ago. Without a clear-cut path to manage the money you’ve saved, you may feel like you're all on your own. Except you're not—because Suze Orman has your back. Suze is America's most recognized personal finance expert for a reason. She's been dispensing actionable advice for years to people seeking financial security. Now, in this revised and updated Ultimate Retirement Guide for 50+, which reflects recent changes in retirement rules passed by Congress, Suze gives you the no-nonsense advice and practical tools you need to plan wisely for your retirement in today's ever-changing landscape. You'll find new rules for downsizing, spending wisely, delaying Social Security benefits, and more—starting where you are right now. Suze knows money decisions are never just about money. She understands your hopes, your fears, your wishes, and your desires for your own life as well as for your loved ones. She will guide you on how to let go of regret and fear, and with her unparalleled knowledge and unique empathy, she will reveal practical and personal steps so you can always live your Ultimate Retirement life. "I wrote this book for you," Suze says. "The worried, the fearful, the anxious. I know you need help navigating the road ahead. I've helped steer people toward happy and secure retirements my whole life, and that's exactly what I want to do for you."

OVER 300,000 COPIES IN PRINT, WITH A NEW CHAPTER ON THE 2018 TAX CUTS. There's a massive freight train bearing down on the average American investor, and it's coming in the form of higher taxes. The United States Government has made trillions of dollars in unfunded promises for programs like Social Security and Medicare—and the only way to deliver on these promises is to raise taxes. Some experts have even suggested that tax rates will need to double, just to keep our country solvent. Unfortunately, if you're like most Americans, you've saved the majority of your retirement assets in tax-deferred vehicles like 401(k)s and IRAs. If tax rates go up, how much of your hard-earned money will you really get to keep? In The Power of Zero, McKnight provides a concise, step-by-step roadmap on how to get to the 0% tax bracket by the time you retire, effectively eliminating tax rate risk from your retirement picture. Now, in this expanded edition, McKnight has updated the book with a new chapter on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, showing readers how to navigate the new tax law, and how they can extend the life of their retirement savings by taking advantage of it now. The day of reckoning is fast approaching. Are you ready to do what it takes to experience the power of zero?

A growing chorus of prominent voices in Congress and elsewhere are calling for the expansion of our Social Security system—people who know that Social Security will not “go broke” and does not add a penny to the national debt. Social Security Works! will amplify these voices and offer a powerful antidote to the three-decade-long, billionaire-funded campaign to make us believe that this vital institution is destined to collapse. It isn't. From the Silent Generation to Baby Boomers, from Generation X to Millennials and Generation Z, we all have a stake in understanding the real story about Social Security. Critical to addressing the looming retirement crisis that will affect two- thirds of today's workers, Social Security is a powerful program that can help stop the collapse of the middle class, lessen the pressure squeezing families from all directions, and help end the upward redistribution of wealth that has resulted in perilous levels of inequality. All Americans deserve to have dignified retirement years as well as an umbrella to protect them and their families in the event of disability or premature death. Sure to be a game-changer, Social Security Works! cogently presents the issues and sets forth both an agenda and a political strategy that will benefit us all. At stake are our values and the kind of country we want for ourselves and for those that follow.