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What 2023 Changes to Social Security You Need to Know About
For those who currently collect or are planning to collect Social Security, October 2022 was an important month. Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases the details on upcoming changes to Social Security...
2022 Social Security Updates
What 2022 Changes to Social Security You Need to Know About For those who currently collect or are planning to collect Social Security, October 2021 was an important month. Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases the details on upcoming changes to...
ALL the Important 2021 Changes to Social Security You Need to Know About
For those who currently collect or are planning to collect Social Security, October 2020 was an important month. Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases the details on upcoming changes to Social Security benefits for the following year. Social...
7 Important 2020 Changes to Social Security You Need to Know About
For those who currently collect or are planning to collect Social Security October 2019 was an important month. Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases the details on upcoming changes to Social Security benefits for the following year. Social...
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Recent Articles
What 2023 Changes to Social Security You Need to Know About
For those who currently collect or are planning to collect Social Security, October 2022 was an important month. Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases the details on upcoming changes to Social Security...
ALL the Important 2021 Changes to Social Security You Need to Know About
For those who currently collect or are planning to collect Social Security, October 2020 was an important month. Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases the details on upcoming changes to Social Security benefits for the following year. Social...
7 Important 2020 Changes to Social Security You Need to Know About
For those who currently collect or are planning to collect Social Security October 2019 was an important month. Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases the details on upcoming changes to Social Security benefits for the following year. Social...
Plan for Your 2019 Changes to Social Security
October is a big month for those who currently collect or are planning to collect Social Security. Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases the details on upcoming changes to Social Security benefits in the following year. From what we can see,...
How to Start Planning for Maximizing Social Security Retirement Benefits in Your 50’s
Many Baby Boomers struggle with how to prepare for retirement. In many cases, one of their primary concerns is their financial well being after they decide to stop working. Most feel they have not saved enough, and decide to put off retirement in hopes of bulking up...
When does it make sense to take my spousal benefits early?
In most cases if you’ve worked and paid into Social Security for more than the required forty quarters to be eligible for benefits, your retirement benefits will exceed those of your spousal benefits as a current or ex-spouse. In other words, spousal benefits usually...
If I take spousal benefits early, are they reduced?
Taking Social Security benefits early automatically reduces them. If you wait until full retirement age to collect your spousal benefits, you will receive a monthly check equal to 50 percent of your spouse’s full retirement benefits. The same applies if you are an...
Does taking a reduced Social Security benefit early also mean that my spouse’s benefits will be reduced?
Taking your retirement benefits early will reduce the amount of survivor benefits for your spouse, but your spouse can still get unreduced spousal benefits on your record by waiting until full retirement age to begin receiving monthly Social Security checks. At full...
My spouse receives Social Security retirement benefit checks. What happens when my spouse dies? Do I have to give back the check issued in the month of death?
Social Security pays a month behind, so the check received in the month of death is payable. You wouldn’t have to give it back. Notify the Social Security Administration as quickly as possible upon the death of a spouse, if that spouse is drawing Social Security...
How much can my kids receive from my Social Security?
Regardless of whether you start your retirement checks before your full retirement age, each child could get a monthly check equal to 50 percent of your full retirement benefits. There is a limit regarding how much Social Security will pay in family benefits. The...
What should I do if my disability benefits are denied?
If you are turned down for disability benefits and you believe you are entitled to them, file an appeal for reconsideration within sixty days of the denial. If you miss the sixty-day deadline, you’ll have to file a new application. Reconsideration is excluded in the...
Is there anything that can reduce my disability benefits?
If you were injured on the job and qualified for workman’s compensation, a family cannot receive benefits worth more than 80 percent of the disabled worker’s previous wages. Both the Social Security disability and worker’s compensation payments are counted against...
Are survivor benefits the same when receiving disability benefits?
Survivor benefit amounts are the same when it comes to disability cases. However, if you are disabled, you can claim your reduced survivor benefits at age fifty, as opposed to age sixty if you are not disabled. The reduced benefit amount at fifty would be 71.5 percent...
Do the same spousal or family eligibility rules apply for disability benefits as they do for drawing on a worker’s retirement benefits?
The rules are the same. For a current spouse, you have to be married for one year or more and be sixty-two or older. Your retirement benefits have to be worth less than 50 percent of the disabled spouse’s disability benefits. The same goes for you as an ex-spouse,...
How are disability benefits calculated?
The benefit amount is based on your earnings history, just like your retirement benefits. The more you pay into the Social Security program, the higher your monthly checks will be. Disability benefits are paid based on the retirement benefit you would have received if...
My spouse receives Social Security retirement benefit checks. What happens when my spouse dies? Do I have to give back the check issued in the month of death?
Social Security pays a month behind, so the check received in the month of death is payable. You wouldn’t have to give it back. Notify the Social Security Administration as quickly as possible upon the death of a spouse, if that spouse is drawing Social Security...
Can I get survivor benefits before age sixty?
If you are disabled, you can begin drawing reduced survivor benefits as early as age fifty. You are eligible for survivor benefits prior to age sixty if you are caring for a child of your deceased spouse who is younger than sixteen, or if you are taking care of a...
Can my kids draw survivor benefits?
Children below age eighteen can draw survivor benefits, and teens eighteen years old and still in high school can also draw survivor benefits. If a child was disabled prior to turning age twenty-two, he or she is eligible for survivor benefits. The benefit amount is...
I have been collecting Social Security benefits, and my spouse died. Can I switch to survivor benefits if those are higher?
Many people don’t even consider that option because they don’t know about it. If your current retirement benefits are less than your survivor benefits, you would switch to survivor benefits.
Can I collect survivor benefits if I got remarried and divorced?
You can have been married and divorced multiple times. You can’t be currently married prior to age sixty and collect survivor benefits on your deceased spouse or spouses. If you divorced your deceased spouse, got remarried, and then your second spouse died, you’d draw...
Articles for Financial Advisors
5 Questions Baby Boomers Should Ask Financial Advisers About Social Security Benefits
Although retirement can seem like a welcome relief to those of us who work long hours, the fact is that you still have to maintain a source of income after you stop working, lest you wind up destitute. For many Americans, Social Security is the primary method of...
What Professional Financial Advisers & Planners Need to Know About Baby Boomers & Social Security Benefits
Social Security benefits can be tricky for people in their 50’s approaching retirement. The conditions are changing and what may have worked for their parents may no longer be an option for Baby Boomers. As a financial planner, your clients will look to you for advice...
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