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Chris Van Hollen Meets With Abrego Garcia in El Salvador The New York TimesMaryland Democrat says he was ‘stopped by soldiers' from entering Salvadoran prison where Abrego Garcia is being held CNNDem Senator Van Hollen meets, shakes hands with Abrego Garcia; El Salvador says inmate will remain in custody Fox News
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Are you thinking of retiring soon? Perhaps earlier than you had planned years ago? A potential hurdle could be the incentives set up by the Social Security Administration - they calculate your benefits to reward you for staying in the workforce.
But if you are looking to take an early retirement, you're not alone.
SEE MORE What If I Retired Today?
In the first 15 months of the COVID pandemic (March 2020-May 2021), about 2.5 million Americans retired. That was about twice the number of people who retired in 2019. This means there were essentially 1.2 million fewer people in the workforce over the age of 55 than would otherwise be expected.
First, find out what Social Security benefits you can expect
For anyone born in 1943 or later, your full retirement age, as defined by the Social Security Administration, is between age 66 and 67, based on your birth year. If you're contemplating retiring before that, it's important to know that the Social Security program has been orchestrated to incentivize beneficiaries to delay claiming benefits. Specifically:
If you start taking benefits at age 62, your Retirement Benefit will shrink by 25% to 30%, depending on your birth year. That's because your lifetime annual benefits are decreased by approximately 8% for each year prior to your full retirement age you start to claim them.Conversely, your lifetime annual benefits increase by 8% for each year past your full retirement year if
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After two years of a red-hot market, it's time real estate and mortgage professionals get ready for what could be a slowdown in their business.
Earlier this summer housing prices were on fire. Now there is talk of a "housing recession." Due in part to higher mortgage rates and more people vacationing this summer, U.S. existing home sales fell in July for the sixth straight month, the longest streak of declines in more than eight years.
SEE MORE Is Your Job Burning You Out?
One of my clients in the Midwest put his home up for sale recently and has had no interested buyers - none. A few months ago, we were certain it would sell in days. The plan was to sell the house and pay off their construction loan on their new home before it converted to a permanent mortgage. Now, that plan may need to change.
Several mortgage companies have already let go thousands of employees, and one company, Sprout Mortgage, based in East Meadow, N.Y., shut down in early July. Real estate brokerage companies, such as Compass and Redfin, have also slashed their workforce.
Real estate is cyclical, and while sales will not totally dry up, anyone tied to the industry should get their finances in order now in case the current downturn lasts another several months.
Here are a few moves to consider:
Build an Emergency Fund Twice as Big as a Salaried Worker's
No one wants to get caught borrowing money to pay their bills. While putting away enough money in a savings or money market account to cover six months of expenses is normal, it's best to plan for a longer period if you work in a cyclical industry.
Consider keeping six to 12 months of r
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