The long-term future of the American Social Security system which provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to millions, is uncertain. This is triggering big concerns for many workers who are paying into the system and need to make decisions about their retirement. This book features real-world situations around Social Security and Medicare to help financial professionals provide better advise to their clients on their personal financial plans.

Key topics include:

• What Medicare will and will not do
• Managing Medicare gaps
• Analyzing the wide menu of Social Security benefits
• Social Security benefits for workers and families: retirement, survivor, disability, and death benefit
• Tax impact of Social Security premiums and benefits
• Impact of the 3.8 percent Medicare surtax on investment income
• Recent changes to the Medicare law

Theodore J. Sarenski, CPA.PFS, CFP, is chief executive officer and president of Blue Ocean Strategic Capital. As the founding member of Blue Ocean Strategic Capital, he oversees all aspects of the company's operations, including the investment committee's management of portfolio assets. He has written articles for the Journal of Accountancy, the CPA Journal, the Journal of Taxation and the AICPA Wealth Management Insider. Sarenski has lectured at Syracuse University. In addition, he is a featured planner on Syracuse's NBC affiliate, WSTM-3, taking viewers' calls regarding financial planning and investment topics and offering planning concepts to the viewers on the nightly news program.