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Mary Beth Franklin

Mary Beth Franklin is a Contributing Editor at Investment News specializing in Social Security, Medicare and Retirement income. She has been a financial journalist for more than 40 years, covering everything from federal budget and tax policies as a Capitol Hill reporter for United Press International to consumer finances as a writer and editor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. Mary Beth became a Certified Financial Planner in 2015 and is an in-demand speaker at conferences for financial professionals as well as a frequent guest on numerous radio and television programs. She is the author of “Maximizing Your Social Security Retirement Benefits” and host of the Retirement Repair Shop podcast. In her free time, Mary Beth likes to read, garden, ski and play the piano. She received a BA in Communications from American University in 1975 where she continues to mentor journalism students.

Displaying 1104 results

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Mary Beth Franklin: How to mesh Social Security disability and retirement strategies

Claiming strategies for married couples to get the most bang from the government's buck.

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Gaining Social Security expertise can make advisers clients’ allies

More and more, financial advisers are becoming experts in Social Security-claiming strategies, and their clients are better off…

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Mary Beth Franklin: Beware — even SSA reps get the answers wrong sometimes

Disinformation can lead to clients leaving money on the table; fight for your right

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Mary Beth Franklin: With Social Security, no double dipping allowed

I often receive questions from financial advisers who are anxious to maximize their clients—on in some cases, their-own—retirement…

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HSAs: Rx for health care reform

Workplace-based health insurance is following in the footsteps of retirement benefits. In response to rising premiums over the…

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Mary Beth Franklin: Public servants get short end of Social Security stick

Windfall Elimination Provision trims benefits; spousal benefits can be wiped out

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Mary Beth Franklin: Undone by the do-over strategy

Plans to repay early Social Security benefits halted by recent rule change

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Urgency to fix Social Security financing growing

Sufficient funds to pay full retirement benefits through 2033, then three quarters of benefits through 2087.

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Coming to Gen-Xers in retirement: Downward mobility

The Great Recession did a number on retirement savings of Generation X; early boomers, not so much.

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Avoid getting undone by the do-over strategy

One of the biggest challenges of figuring out when to claim Social Security benefits is determining which strategy…