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November 30, 2008
By Humberto Cruz / Trubune Media Services
Newsday.com

It's one of the biggest assets for millions of Americans in or near retirement. Despite a global financial crisis, it has kept all its value. But we have little practical knowledge of this asset - assuming we even think about how to get the most out of it.

I am talking about Social Security retirement benefits, which by all rights should be a major component of any retirement income plan.

Consider: The average monthly Social Security retirement benefit, after a 5.8 cost-of-living increase, will be about $1,153 in 2009. To receive that much inflation-adjusted income for life, a 65-year-old man would have to pay an insurance company a lump-sum premium of about $204,000 for an immediate annuity, and a 65-year-old woman about $225,000, based on the lowest quotes I found from highly rated companies.

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