The Platinum Living Network

There’s an article in today’s Personal Finance section of Yahoo Finance called “ Secret Ways to Boost Your Social Security ,” so naturally, it caught my eye. The author, Mary Beth Franklin of Kiplinger.com , outlines four strategies that do just that. For you faithful Platinum Years readers, the first one will sound very familiar, since it involves paying back your social security to obtain a higher monthly benefit, a topic we covered in a series in February, most notably here , here , and here . Franklin does a good job explaining it, though, so it's a good refresher. There's also an interesting example of someone who took out a second mortgage to repay benefits and is using the increased payment to pay back the second mortgage. There is also a clarification of the tax consequences of paying back your social security. If any of your social security benefits that you pay back were taxed along the way, you can get a refund, either through a tax deduction or a tax credit, whiche...

I don’t want to seem like a nag, but while I was setting up the new “Platinum Finances” section of www.platinumyears.net, I noticed an oversight in my January 3rd article on “The Benefits of Delaying Retirement.” I added the missing item, but I thought I’d also post it here, especially since that is the article that was included in Monday’s Carnival of Personal Finance. The missing item is a biggie, and it’s one that is often overlooked by many of those who decide to take their social security before age 65 – Medicare! You see, no matter when you sign up for social security, you are NOT (apart from special circumstances) eligible to sign up for Medicare until age 65. And that leaves a three year period where there can be a significant Catch-22 attached to taking your benefits early. That is, if you continue working enough to stay on your employer’s medical insurance plan, you will run afoul of earnings limits. And if you really plan to fully retire at age 62, there’s a three year w...