A Free Social Security Analysis Tool, and the Yield on the S&P 500 Hits an All-Time Low

Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing

The Motley Fool

Investing, Business

4.3 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

he age at which you file for Social Security will be one of the most important retirement-related decisions you’ll make. Robert Brokamp discusses the pros and cons of delaying with CPA and financial planner Mike Piper, the creator of Opensocialsecurity.com, a free tool that helps retirees choose the optimal age to claim benefits. Also in this episode:-A report from Standard & Poor’s finds that only 1 in 10 mutual funds that performed in top 25% from 2016-2020 remained in the top 25% from 2021-2025-Home price growth has begun lagging inflation, and many cities are still below their 2022 highs-The dividend yield on the S&P 500 hits an all-time low, falling below the previous low reached at the height of the dot-come bubble-With the end of the school year near, your kids or grandkids are one year closer to college – now is a good time to evaluate your 529 plan and whether you’re saving enough Host: Robert Brokamp, CFP®, EAGuest: Mike Piper, CFA, PFSEngineer: Bart Shannon Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement.We’re committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	A free tool to help you decide when to claim Social Security, and the S&P 500 dividend yield hits an all-time low.
0:08.4	That and more on this Saturday personal finance edition of the Motley Fool of Hidden Gems Investing podcast.
0:16.6	I'm Robert Brokabe, but this week I speak with Mike Piper about open social security.com,
0:21.8	a website he created to help retirees choose the optimal age to claim social security.
0:26.5	But first up, some news from the week.
0:28.7	On our May 2nd episode, my colleague Amanda Kish and I discussed ways to evaluate mutual funds at ETS.
0:33.6	And in that episode, Amanda said that a fund that outperforms over one period often has
0:38.7	difficulty maintaining that outperformance. Well, Standard & Poor's just provided some proof
0:43.4	and its recently updated U.S. persistence scorecard, which measures how long a fund could keep a good
0:49.1	thing going. This year's version, which includes data through the end of 2025, begins by pointing
0:53.7	out what most
0:54.3	of us know, it's hard to beat an index fund. Last year, 79% of actively managed U.S. large-cap
1:00.7	funds underperformed the S&P 500. That was the fourth worst year for active large-cap managers of
1:06.8	the last quarter century. And it's even harder to find a manager that consistently outperforms.
1:11.9	According to the report of the U.S. stock funds that performed in the top 25% of their categories
1:17.5	for the five years ending in December of 2020, only about one in 10 stayed in the top 25%
1:24.7	over the subsequent five years. For our next item, we turned to housing. The K-Shillard
1:29.6	National Home Price Index posted a gain of 0.7% in February, down from 0.8% in January, and it was
1:36.1	the ninth consecutive month that inflation outpaced home price appreciation. But below the surface,
1:42.2	different parts of the country are experiencing very different
1:45.0	price movements. According to a recent article from EPP research, eight major U.S. cities are making
1:50.6	new all-time highs with Chicago, New York, and Cleveland experiencing the biggest gains over the
	...

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