The financial news that actually matters
Covers Social Security benefits, eligibility rules, payment calculations, and policy changes. It explains how benefits are determined and how they impact retirement income.
Workers born in 1943 or later who postpone claiming Social Security past full retirement age collect an extra 8.0% per year, or 2/3 of 1% per month, on every check they receive for life. That credit stops growing at age 70, creating a narrow window that can raise a monthly benefit by as much as…
Retirees collecting Social Security could see their monthly checks grow by roughly $81 starting in January 2027, based on early cost-of-living adjustment projections that have climbed into the 3.9% to 4.2% range. The increase would represent a sharp jump from the 2.8% COLA that took effect for benefits payable in January 2026. Surging gasoline prices…
Workers retiring in 2026 can receive a maximum Social Security benefit of $5,181 per month, but reaching that ceiling requires a career of top-tier earnings stretching back to age 22 and a willingness to wait until 70 to file a claim. At full retirement age, the same worker would collect $4,152. At 62, the earliest…
Workers born in 1960 or later who file for Social Security retirement benefits at age 62 lock in a permanent 30 percent reduction to their monthly check. That means they collect just 70 percent of the amount they would receive at full retirement age 67, and the cut never reverses. With roughly 10,000 Americans turning…
Roughly 68 million Americans who depend on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income checks could see an extra $81 a month starting in January 2027, based on a forecast that pegs the next cost-of-living adjustment at 3.9%. If the projection holds, it would rank as one of the largest annual raises in more than three…
Widows and widowers across the United States can claim a monthly Social Security payment equal to 100 percent of what their late spouse earned, provided they wait until their own full retirement age to file. That single rule can mean the difference between collecting a modest check based on a lower earnings record and receiving…
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security retirement benefits could see their monthly checks shrink by about $500 if Congress fails to act before the program’s trust fund runs dry. The Social Security Board of Trustees reported in June 2025 that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance fund is on track for depletion, with…
A spouse who spent an entire career outside the paid workforce can still collect a monthly Social Security check equal to half of their partner’s full retirement benefit. Federal regulations set that base spousal amount at 50 percent of the worker’s Primary Insurance Amount, or PIA, once the non-working spouse reaches full retirement age. With…
Roughly 70 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks are absorbing higher grocery and housing costs right now, but the cost-of-living adjustment meant to offset those increases will not reach their bank accounts until January 2027. Independent forecasts place the 2027 COLA somewhere between 3.9% and 4.2%, a notable jump from the 2.8% increase…
Tens of millions of retirees and survivors face an automatic 23% cut to their Social Security checks as early as 2033 unless Congress steps in. The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which pays monthly benefits to roughly seven in ten Social Security recipients, is now projected to run dry one year sooner than…