Michael R. Weston, Ch FC

Wealth Wednesday Tip #471: The Social Security office WILL NOT call you to request information or payment due to coronavirus or office closures.

When it comes to scammer tactics it’s important to remember a few things. Social Security or other government agencies will never do these things, per the SSA; Call you to request information or payment due to coronavirus or office closures; Threaten to arrest you because of an identity theft problem; Require you to put money into a protected account; Ask you for payment by gift card, wire transfer, internet currency, or by mailing cash; Tell you to make up a story to tell your family or bank employees about why you need gift cards or cash. Older Americans are considered an easy target for scammers and con artists. Knowing some of their favorite tactics can give you a leg up in protecting your identity and finances.
(Source: Money and Markets)

Financial Fact Friday:

Surprisingly Few Americans Have Postponed Retirement Due to COVID-19!

New research finally offers some good news in what has been a rough few months for the economy and personal finance. The coronavirus pandemic has caused economic havoc, driving the country into a recession and leading to a record number of people becoming unemployed in a very short time frame. Amid this chaos, it may seem as though postponing retirement is a smart choice if you still have a job. Surprisingly, though, very few workers have decided to do that. In fact, research from Northwestern Mutual released this month revealed that only 5% of workers have decided to leave the workforce later than planned.
(Source: Fool)

About half of retirees are able to maintain their spending levels—in other words, their lifestyles—during their first five years of retirement.
On the other hand, half aren’t. That’s according to a study by the federal government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which looked at retiree spending habits over a 22-year period ending in 2014.

Obviously, retirees are like snowflakes: no two are alike. Yet the study says most tend to have one important thing in common: They usually spend more in their first five years of retirement than at other times, and then it begins to decline. For example, if you’ve dreamed of traveling the world, checking things off from your bucket list and so forth, you’re more likely to do so in the early stages of your golden years than the latter ones, when you may be slowing down. And it’s not just splurging in Italy or taking the grandchildren to Disney World. The CFPB cites an external study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which notes that retirees also tend to buy fewer clothes, fewer home furnishings and other things as time goes by.
(Source: Market Watch)