Social Security Primer

03/23/2020

3 Ways the Coronavirus Will Affect Social Security!

Yes, the coronavirus could eventually impact your Social Security benefit check.

03/23/2020

Apply for benefits upon diagnosis of Disability. Even though the disability must be expected to last a year, you do not have to wait for a year to apply for benefits. As soon as a condition is disabling and a doctor can predict that it is expected to last a year, you may qualify.

03/13/2020

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬- Did you know, you may continue to work even after you begin your Social Security retirement benefits. If you are working and lose your job, you may collect unemployment benefits (assuming you otherwise qualify for them) even though you are also collecting your Social Security retirement benefits.

03/11/2020

Dependents Benefits Do not Affect Amounts of Retirement Benefits - The amount of your retirement benefits is not affected by the fact that your spouse (and/or ex-spouse, or Child(ren) are receiving benefits. This is true whether your spouse collects retirement benefits based on his or her work record or collects dependent benefits based on your work record. There is a limit on how much all of your dependents may collect based on your work record, but this does not affect the amount you personally receive in retirement benefits.

03/05/2020

Widows and widowers can switch from retirement to Survivor benefits. Financial straits force many widow(er)s to claim their retirement benefits at or before full retirement age, even though they would become eligible for a higher monthly retirement amount if they waited longer. Although claiming early retirement benefits permanently reduced their retirement benefits based on their own earning record, Social Security rules permit window(er)s who have previously claimed early retirement to switch to survivors benefits at full retirement age. And for many people, these full survivors benefits are higher than their own reduced retirement benefits.
The same rule applies to widows as widowers, although the disparity in earnings between men and women means this ability to switch benefits is used mostly by women.

03/04/2020

Everyone can claim some or all Medicare coverage at age 65. Even if you do not claim Social Security retirement benefits when you turn 65, you are eligible for Medicare benefits and may want to sign up for some or all of them. Enrolling in Medicare does not affect your current or future retirement benefits.

03/04/2020

What if you must retire for health reasons? Some people are forced to stop working before full retirement age because of ill health. If you are under full retirement age and in that position, consider applying for Social Security disability benefits rather than early retirement. The reason is that disability benefits are calculated by the same formula as full retirement benefits, but the amount does not depend solely on the age at which you qualify for them. And the “disability Freeze,” a benefit calculation rule by which Social Security Ignores your low-earning years that were caused by your disabling condition, can actually increase your social security benefits. Be warned however, that proving your incapable of doing any sort of work can be a long and difficult process.

02/28/2020

If an employer hires a household worker - cleaner, cook, gardner, child sitter, home care aide - who is not employed and paid through an agency, and employer pays the worker a total of $1,900 or more during the year, the employer is required by law to report those payments and pay social security taxes on them. This rule exempts any worker who was younger than 18 years old any part of that year.
An individual employer can report these taxes on his or her own federal income tax form 1040, and pay Social Security obligation along with personal income taxes. To file and pay these taxes, the employer will need the name of the employee as it appears on his or her social security card, the employee's social security number, and the amount of wages paid.

02/27/2020

Everyone can claim some or all Medicare coverage at age 65. Even if you do not claim Social Security retirement benefits when you turn 65, you are eligible for medicare benefits and may want to sign up for some or all of them. Enrolling in Medicare does not affect your current or future retirement benefits.

02/25/2020

Only employment related income counts towards your Social Security income benefit? In addition, you must have paid Social Security taxes on that income. Other income that you may have earned such as interest, dividends, capital gains, rents, and royalties will not be considered in calculating your Social Security benefits.

02/21/2020

You may meet the eligibility rules for more than one type of Social Security benefit. For example, you might be technically, eligible for both retirement and disability, or you might be entitled to benefits based on your own retirement as well as on that of your retired spouse. You can collect whichever one of these benefits is higher, but not both.