Federal income tax on social security (Can anyone show me where I am wrong?)

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

when your kids ,grandchildren and family are all where you are , moving away to save a few bucks is an option not alot of us would choose unless we had no choice.

i can't imagine not being a part of their lives and just being a vacation stop like our parents were to us and the kids.

I agree. Moving away from family when retired is not a good idea in my experience. If you enjoy your children/grandchildren, why would you even consider it?

And when illness develops, a very bad idea. Had that situation, here, a few years ago with my aunt/uncle. Their kids had moved away decades ago. Parents would not/could not move near kids. A nightmare for the family when health problems developed. 88-90 y/o people trying to manage on their own. It was just awful. The old folks can be seriously neglected, the distance is unfair and throws a guilt trip on the kids who have very busy lives a thousand miles away. Not good. Never will I live far from my son no matter my financial situation.

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

when your kids ,grandchildren and family are all where you are , moving away to save a few bucks is an option not alot of us would choose unless we had no choice.

i can't imagine not being a part of their lives and just being a vacation stop like our parents were to us and the kids.

We are at one of those vacation stops now for the youngest grands birthday party. Reality is both sons along with us Have moved from their hometown. One is now 45 minutes away the other where we are now under five hours in old people travel time.

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by Escort Rider

There is another way to look at that fact. Instead of "ouch!", "yippee!". In other words, be glad that you are in a financial situation that is favorable enough for that to be the case.

An analogy might be the tiered premiums for Medicare Part B. I pay the lowest premium (slightly over $100 per month - don't remember the exact amount). But if I had to pay the next higher premium, it would mean that I had a lot more income. (Yippee!)

(Actually I am quite happy and comfortable with my level of income; my point is that I would never wince or complain about the higher Medicare Part B premium if I had that higher income, just like I don't complain that 85% of my Social Security is taxable.)

We appreciate the blessing of being in a higher bracket and while wanting to minimize the fact that our options are not as great as others is a true blessing.