Are Social Security Survivor Benefits Means-Tested? What Actually Sets the Amount
Turn on the news and you’ll hear Social Security described as an entitlement, or grouped in with government assistance programs. That framing has done real damage, because it leaves people believing their benefits somehow depend on how much they need them. They don’t. Social Security is a national insurance program, and you’ve been paying the […]
How Social Security Survivor Benefits Should Shape Your Life Insurance Number
If you’re trying to figure out how much Social Security a surviving spouse and kids actually get, the real answer is better than most people assume — and more complicated than any single percentage can tell you. Social Security pays genuinely meaningful benefits to a surviving spouse raising children. But like most things involving the […]
How S-Corp Earnings Affect Your Social Security Eligibility
If you run an S-corp and pay yourself a low salary to cut your payroll tax bill, there’s a good chance nobody has explained what that same move does to your future Social Security disability check. This article walks through exactly where the tradeoff lives, using a real numbers-based example, so you can make the […]
SSDI Won’t Replace Your Whole Paycheck. It’s Still Worth More Than You Think
Ask someone what Social Security is for, and they’ll usually talk about retirement — when to claim it, how much it pays, whether it’ll last. Disability and survivor benefits rarely come up, not because they matter less, but because a disabling injury or an early death isn’t something anyone plans around. Most people go their […]
Should You Buy a Joint-Life SPIA or is There a Better Way to Protect Your Spouse?
You’ve got savings, and you want the most guaranteed income you can turn it into. You also want to make sure your spouse doesn’t lose that income if you die first. Most people assume protecting your spouse just means accepting a lower monthly check — a straightforward trade, nothing more to think about. It’s not […]
Better Permanent Life Insurance Rates With Health Issues
You applied for permanent life insurance, and the offer came back rated. Maybe your agent used a letter — Table D. Maybe a number — Table 4. Either way, the message was the same: because of your health, you’re going to pay more than someone in perfect shape. Most people accept that as the final […]
SPIA vs. CD: Two Different Jobs, Not Two Rates
You already ran the math. A Single Premium Immediate Annuity is paying more per month than the CD rate the bank quoted you a few days ago, but you’re wondering why anyone would trade a lump sum they can still touch for one that pays a little more and locks the door behind it. Here’s […]
SPIA Payout Options Compared: Straight Life, Cash Refund, Installment Refund, Period Certain
SPIA Payout Options Compared A Single Premium Immediate Annuity is built to do one thing extremely well: maximize what you get for the risk of living a long time. Through mortality pooling, the longer you live, the better a straight-life SPIA performs for you — that’s the entire mechanism. Choosing a payout option is really […]
SPIA Cash Refund vs. Life Only: What the Guarantee Really Costs
Here’s the number nobody puts on the illustration: depending on how long you live, there’s a real chance the refund guarantee you’re about to pay for with your SPIA will never send your family a single dollar. Harold doesn’t know that yet. He’s 71, a retired mechanical engineer, a widower with two grown kids — […]
Getting a Policy Out of a Qualified Plan: Swap-Out vs. Distribution
If a qualified plan is holding a life insurance policy on your life, that policy has a deadline the plan documents rarely spell out in plain language: it has to leave the plan before your distributions begin. Not necessarily surrendered — but resolved, one way or another, on a schedule the IRS sets rather than […]