When you plan for retirement, I talk a lot about Social Security rules and strategies, such as when to claim benefits, how to coordinate spousal and survivor benefits, and how continued earnings (or lack thereof) may affect future benefits. This is all good. But once you have considered your options and decide on your strategy […]
What can you do if you start your Social Security benefit and later change your mind? Why would you do that? Say you go back to work and no longer need the Social Security income, or you have other sources of income to draw from and wants your Social Security benefit to build delayed credits […]
Two big areas of confusion among people and advisors are the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Although they are often spoken in the same breath, they are really quite different. The only thing they have in common is that they affect people who worked in jobs not covered by Social […]
Two headaches when identity thieves first use your identity to start your Social Security benefits, and then you having to contend with not having reported that income (you never got) to the IRS when Social Security sends the IRS and you the 1099 for that phantom income! Two bureaucracies to contend with for that single […]
When do you claim your Social Security when you want to retire (stop working) at age 60? Or 58? Or some other age before 70? 62 is the earliest you can claim your benefit (reduced), and age 70 is the latest you should claim because that’s the age the benefit is maximized. Your stop working age […]
One of the trickiest — and most critical — Social Security planning strategies applies to widows who are between the ages of 60 and 70. Once a widow becomes eligible for survivor benefits — as early as age 60 (50 if disabled) — she will be looking for guidance on how and when to start […]
It’s a horrible thought. You finally get to the time in life when you can reap the benefits of a lifetime of work, you file for your Social Security benefits, and discover that some of your benefits will be garnished to pay off old debts. This reality hit home recently with a report, Snapshot of […]
Your child, or grandchild is a minor. When a child is entitled to Social Security benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will appoint a representative payee to receive benefits on behalf of the child. Usually this is the parent. The representative payee collects the benefits and pays the child’s living expenses until the child turns 18 […]
Most people look at the benefits they would receive today when making their decision about when to begin receiving their Social Security. They also underestimate how long they may live unless they already have medical issues that are known to reduce longevity. These two impulses cause many couples to begin their benefits too early which […]
Most people don’t know how their Social Security benefit is determined. Being unaware leads to this very common question – Will working longer increase, or decrease my Social Security benefit? Working longer, even part time, will NOT reduce your benefit. And in some cases, may increase your benefit. The below short article explains in […]
