Social Security For Dummies Paperback – April 17, 2012

I've never been a fan of the "For Dummies" series of handbooks, but I've got to say that Social Security for Dummies is a book everyone should read. Just make sure you have a highlighter in hand before you start reading this book because you're going to need it!Social Security for Dummies tackles all the issues surrounding receiving your potential Social Security benefits. For example, you'll learn what you can expect when you retire at different ages, how disability works, particulars for seniors with young children, benefits in general, what happens upon the death of a partner, employment issues, how pensions play into your benefits, matters concerning your home and your health--it's all in there.There are several chapters I found especially helpful. One chapter explained all the choices you have on when to start collecting benefits, when your partner can start collecting benefits, and what to expect in terms of historical data on general inflation in the economy. There are far more ways of looking at options than you can possibly imagine, and the book does a very good job of explaining when and why to choose these options.One chapter explained how working plays into your ability to collect benefits. At some ages employment is heavily taxed, at other ages, it's very beneficial to continue working or go back to work.Another chapter explains Medicare, and the rules you need to know so you apply at the correct time. It seems this is very important to do correctly or there will be unintended consequences later.There is a chapter on challenging decisions that SSA has made on your records, and chapter one how the SS program is funded. It's all very interesting, and even more important, it's all very informative.I would highly recommend this book to anyone who's got any type of question in their mind about Social Security or about when to retire. Explanations in this guide are thorough and easy to read. The guide breaks down a complicated subject into ideas you can wrap your head around.Good book!Excellent resource. Recommend!

Sorry, but this isn't for dummies. It aims lower than that.I suppose if you truly haven't given a single thought to, or read anything about Social Security, the first 150 pages of this book might carry a nugget or two. It kind of kicks into gear around that point with some actual retirement strategies and real world examples so there is that.To get to that point you also have to plod through the author's discourse on the disability provisions of Social Security which takes up 25% of the book. Since I was only interested in the retirement provisions it was a bit of a chore. My biggest quibble is with the repetitiveness of the commentary - which is relentless. (Potential drinking game: Each time the author repeats the message that you should "hold off taking benefits until you are 70" you imbibe your favorite cocktail - you will be falling down drunk by page 60.)That being said, if you are someone without much of a background in personal finance and want to prep yourself before you visit your local SSA office, this book will be a real help. Otherwise skip it.

This book explains how Social Security works, how to apply, and warnings about what happens if you take Social Security too early. It also warns you of things that go wrong if you listen to friends and neighbors rather than talking to the people at Social Security and taking your own situation into account. It also warns you that people at Social Security can't advise you as to what is best for you and your situation.As a sidebar, I would recommend talking to a independent financial advisor about your personal situation aa to when to file for Social Security and gain the maximum amount available to you.

I usually expect a Dummies book to be a glossy, somewhat comical information source. I was pleasantly surprised by the detail and content of this book. The subject matter is arranged very well, and organized into various categories which will let you quickly find something like, "I am married, not quite retired, and possibly going on disability." It is not written at too low of an intelligence level, and at the same time it avoids the darned "jargon" that you get from government information sources. I've been reading up from lots of online sources, yet I learned a few really key things I had not heard elsewhere.

I got this for my sister which is close to the "mature age" of file for social security benefits. She says that there is a lot of great information in the book. Will buy another for a dear friend in the same situation. Then I'll borrow one of theirs when I finally get to that phase ... unless there is a new edition by that time. LOL

They're great for the price! They cool air ok in Arkansas but that's not what I use it for. I wrap this thing around the air conditioners condenser coils, on low water flow. They mist cool air and water onto your hot coils and increase the thermal transfer. Now I have cooler, damp air on the coils instead of plain hot air. You won't notice a change to your water bill but your electric will go down! Handy clips attach to the louvers and your fan draws the cool moistened air through the coils. I might throw a couple on the roof next to cool it!

This is a great resource for learning everything you need about the ins and outs of Social Security. If you are at that point where you need to make a decision about when to apply, how to apply, who can apply, where to go and how to do it, this book is a big help for the journey. In some ways it is repetitive, but that is usually because, with this reference book, you can start anywhere in it to find just the info you need for your situation.

Author did a great job of breaking down Social Security. I have learned a lot through "Dummies" but even with the help of this book, Social Security can still be a bit confusing.