(408) 689-8211 · (503) 290-1089
The Impact of Early Claiming on Social Security Spousal Benefits
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 | Joe Alfonso, GoLocalPDX Contributor I often hold Social Security workshops in my community at which I explain how the system works and discuss various strategies for maximizing one’s benefits. Almost invariably I meet attendees, usually...
Answer To Reader Question Regarding Social Security Spousal Benefits
Wednesday, December 30, 2014 | Joe Alfonso, GoLocalPDX Contributor Deciding how spouses should coordinate their Social Security claiming decisions when both are eligible for retirement benefits is a complicated planning challenge. I recently responded to a reader question in this...
Answers to Reader Social Security Questions
Wednesday, December 10, 2014 | Joe Alfonso, GoLocalPDX Contributor I welcome reader questions and will post responses in periodic columns. Here are some recent questions and my answers....
The Keys to Understanding Social Security Family Benefits
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 | Joe Alfonso, GoLocalPDX Contributor I recently met with a gentleman, whom I will call Fred, whose situation illustrates the unique Social Security planning opportunities available around Family Benefits. Fred is 68 and remarried later in...
Working While Receiving Early Social Security Benefits
Wednesday, November 26, 2014 | Joe Alfonso, GoLocalPDX Contributor Deciding when to begin taking your Social Security retirement benefit is a very important decision for several reasons. When you start your benefit affects how much you receive insofar as there...
5 Key Social Security Strategies For All
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 | Joe Alfonso, GoLocalPDX Contributor No one ever said you could live like royalty on Social Security. The program was always intended to provide a foundation for retirement but not to completely replace one’s working income....
What Older Divorcees Need to Know About Social Security
Wednesday, November 12, 2014 | Joe Alfonso, GoLocalPDX Contributor Sociologists have a name for those who divorce after age 50—“gray divorcees”—and their numbers are on the rise in the U.S. In fact, more Americans in this age group now are...
Response to Reader Questions on Social Security
Wednesday, November 05, 2014 | Joe Alfonso, GoLocalPDX Contributor I received lots of good reader questions related to my recent article discussing the file and suspend strategy for maximizing Social Security benefits. Here are a few, with my answers....
The Social Security Safety Valve: How ‘File and Suspend’ Could Work for You
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 | Joe Alfonso, GoLocalPDX Contributor Many of us have heard about the “file and suspend” strategy used to maximize Social Security benefits for married couples. In this strategy, at full retirement age (FRA) (age 66 if...
How to Make Sure Your Retirement Portfolio Lasts As Long As You Do
Wednesday, October 15, 2014 | Joe Alfonso, GoLocalPDX Contributor Imagine that you‘ve reached the end of a long working career. The house is paid off, the kids have finished college and your retirement savings have grown to be worth $1M...