By Ashlea Ebeling; Forbes ~ Aug 26, 2015

Every asset in your portfolio should have a role—even your home

For many Americans, their home ends up being one of their largest if not the largest single investment asset in their portfolio, but they neglect to incorporate it into their overall financial plan. That can be a big mistake. “People lament over selling their home; they don’t make very good decisions out of desperation or when there are high emotions involved,” says Robert Stammers, director of investor education at the CFA Institute.

By Lisa Rapaport; Reuters ~ Aug 25, 2015

(Reuters Health) – Patients who frequently fail to take prescribed blood pressure-lowering medications may be more likely to wind up hospitalized for heart failure than people who only miss pills occasionally, an Italian study suggests.

While plenty of previous experiments have proven that daily medications to treat hypertension, or high blood pressure, can help minimize the risk of heart failure, less is known about real-world outcomes for people who don’t always take their pills, the researchers note in the journal Hypertension.

By Liz Weston; Reuters ~ Aug 25, 2015

LOS ANGELES – Marilyn Murphy of Torrance, California, contacted her local Social Security office this past spring to find out if spousal benefits based on her first husband’s work record might be worth more than the retirement benefit she already receives.

Murphy was surprised to hear that she could not qualify for spousal benefits from her first marriage because she remarried before age 60. The second marriage also ended in divorce.

By Brenton Smith; The Hill ~ Aug 24, 2015

One of the most pervasive myths in the debate about Social Security promotes the role of the program in the alleviation of poverty.

Common sense should tell us that something is amiss with this endearing myth. Social Security does not pay a penny of benefit based on need. The system does not even have visibility into need. So at best any benefit that goes to a poor person is more a matter of luck than systemic policy.

By Brendan Williams; The Hill ~ Aug 24, 2015

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) is justifiably outraged.

Prescription drug prices are soaring, and the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee wants majority Republicans to hold hearings. He has pointed to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll showing 72 percent believe drug prices are unreasonable.

By Kenn Tacchino; MarketWatch ~ Aug 22, 2015

A while back I wrote that arguably the most important financial-planning decision you’ll ever make is deciding if you can afford to retire. In that column, we explored how to determine if you have enough assets to take the plunge — to cross over from accumulating assets to depending on those assets to pay your monthly bills throughout retirement. The flip side of this monumental decision, and financial planning concern “1A”, is choosing the methodology by which you will create a stream of income from a pool of assets.

By Mary Beth Franklin; InvestmentNews ~ Aug 19, 2015

Many financial advisers rely on income replacement ratios to estimate the annual income needed to maintain a desired lifestyle in retirement. Although a general inflation assumption of between 2.5% and 3% may be appropriate for most future expenses, it could fall far short of actual health care expenses and derail the overall retirement income plan in the process.

By Jennie L. Phipps; Bankrate ~ Aug 19, 2015

Your Medicare costs will rise a lot or not at all in 2016.

Don’t panic. For about 70% of Medicare participants, Part B will stay the same as it has been for the last couple of years: $104.90. That’s because of the relationship between Social Security and Medicare. Inflation hasn’t been high enough to trigger a Social Security cost of living adjustment, or COLA, for 2016, according to predictions last month by Social Security’s trustees.

From Tax Foundation; Forbes ~ Aug 13, 2015

Social Security is Turning 80

August 14th marks the 80th anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935. The program has done much to alleviate poverty among the elderly. Unfortunately, the system itself is showing its age. The Old Age and Survivors Insurance program (OASI, retirement benefits) is now running cash deficits as the baby boomers are retiring.