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If you are eligible for Social Security retirement income (SSI) benefits, you have some choices to make. If you’re hazy on this subject, read on; it could be worth a few hundred thousand dollars in additional lifetime income. For the purposes of this “introduction” to the SSI claiming decision, understand that this is an overview,...

Too many people downplay the importance and value of Social Security retirement income (SSI) or take a casual approach to electing their distributions. Let me be clear that SSI might be the best pension ever created (that’s my opinion, not my employer’s). Here’s why. One can claim SSI at retirement age, early at 62 or...

We are a mobile society, that’s pretty clear. A couple generations ago, many families lived, worked, retired, and were buried in one locale. Today, it’s not a given. Magazine articles and blog posts with titles like “Best Places to Retire” are everywhere, adding that decision to the retirement-planning process. Sometimes it’s confusing, and sometimes it’s...

Making regular monthly contributions of a fixed amount into a retirement plan over a working career can make even an average-performing investment look good. The investment strategy known as “dollar-cost averaging” effectively forces investors to buy more shares when prices are down, potentially a very profitable practice during your accumulation years. Dollar-cost averaging is not...

Recently, I learned the sad story of two men. Both knew better but died without making proper end-of-life arrangements. One had not updated his will and trust documents for many years, but his life had changed, his beneficiaries were much different, and his goals were not at all the same as they were a couple...