This course will wrap up with a four-minute video that will show you an easy way to get your benefit statement from the Social Security website.

WEP stands for Windfall Elimination Provision. GPO is short for Government Pension Offset. They each represent a set of rules that are designed to potentially reduce or even eliminate Social Security benefits when a person or spouse has a pension from work that was not [...]

Many people would like to keep working after start Social Security but don't because they have heard this would result in the permanently loss of benefits. Nothing could be further from the truth. If continued employment (while collecting benefits) is a possibility for you then [...]

Maximizing survivor benefits can be extremely important for the future security of any spouse. With the right claiming strategy widows and widowers can get 100 percent of their deceased spouse's benefit. But a wrong decision made by one spouse regarding the start date of his [...]

Divorce often has a negative financial impact on both ex-spouses. In some situations a divorce might force a person to start his or her retirement benefit as early as possible which can greatly limit options and opportunities to maximize benefits. But, divorce can also result [...]

If you are married, Social Security is even more complex. The reason is that married couples have at least five benefits that they must optimize. And each benefit can have a different set of complex rules. For example, many believe that the Social Security spousal [...]

Shocking, but true... After decades of paying "taxes" to support Social Security, up to 85% of benefits are taxable at retirement. Fortunately there are legal ways to slash these taxes. The key is that you must plan in advance. And before you can plan, you [...]

The very first thing to understand when it comes to maximizing your benefits is the importance of what is referred to as your full retirement age. More often than not this age will play a key role in just about every strategy for maximizing benefits [...]

You probably already know that delaying your Social Security will increase the amount of your benefit check. But, waiting to start collecting isn't always best or your only consideration. In this first lesson's six-minute video you will learn the top five things to consider in [...]