Tag Archives: survivors

Will adoption end benefits to a child?

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Q: My young children receive Social Security survivors benefits because their father died several years ago. I am planning to remarry in a few months. Will the children lose their survivors benefits if my new husband adopts them?

A: Adoption of a child already entitled to Social Security survivors benefits does not end his or her benefits. 

Some other considerations:

Do you also receive Social Security survivors benefits? If you do, and assuming that you are younger than age 60, remarriage normally will end your survivors benefits even though benefits to the children continue. Ask about your specific situation.

Are you changing your name? If so, update your Social Security number (SSN) record at no charge. Assuming that you receive the Social Security benefits on behalf of the children, SSA calls this being their representative payee, you will also have to update your name on those benefits.

Read the Social Security booklet, What You Need to Know When You Get Retirement or Survivors Benefits (publication 05-10077), online at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10077.pdf, by calling the SSA national toll-free phone number, 1-800-772-1213, TTY 1-800-325-0778, or by contacting any SSA office.

Best wishes.

Social Security & your smartphone

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Social Security Announces New Mobile Site for
Smartphone Users

Agency Leverages Technology to Meet Customer Service Expectations

Carolyn W. Colvin, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, today announced the agency is offering a new mobile optimized website, specifically aimed at smartphone users across the country. People visiting the agency’s website, www.socialsecurity.gov, via smartphone (Android, Blackberry, iPhone, and Windows devices) will be redirected to the agency’s new mobile-friendly site. Once there, visitors can access a mobile version of Social Security’s Frequently Asked Questions, an interactive Social Security number (SSN) decision tree to help people identify documents needed for a new/replacement SSN card, and mobile publications which they can listen to in both English and Spanish right on their phone.

“We are committed to meeting the changing needs of the American people and the launch of our new mobile site helps reinforce our online presence and adaptability to advances in technology,” Acting Commissioner Colvin said. “I encourage all smartphone users looking for Social Security information to take advantage of our new mobile site.”

In addition, visitors to the new mobile site can learn how to create a personal my Social Security account to get an online Social Security Statement, learn more about Social Security’s award-winning online services, and connect with Social Security on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. For people unable to complete their Social Security business online or over the telephone, the agency also unveiled a new mobile field office locator. The new mobile office locator has the capability to provide turn-by-turn directions to the nearest Social Security office based on information entered by the person.

“With significant budget cuts of nearly a billion dollars each year over the last few years, we must continue to leverage technology and find more innovative ways to meet the evolving needs of the American public without compromising service,” said Acting Commissioner Colvin.

Each year, more than 35 million Social Security web page views come via smartphones. 

For more information, please go to www.socialsecurity.gov.

Benefits to a wife or husband (spousal benefits)

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An overheard office conversation reminded me that I have not written about spousal benefits in a while. A man wanted to know why his wife could not receive Social Security benefits through his record. Key to his thinking was that her own Social Security retirement amount was less than one-half of his, a very popular misconception.  

Like many misconceptions, there is a historical basis for this. In the early days of Social Security often only the husband was employed, with the wife busy but unemployed at home. In addition, no one could begin monthly retirements before full retirement age because early retirement (age reduced) benefits did not exist yet. Now, both wife and husband are often employed and reduced retirement benefits can begin as young as age 62, with full retirement ages ranging from 65 to 67 under existing law.

Social Security benefits are gender neutral. Both men and women can receive spousal (wife/husband) benefits and each must be alive for spousal benefits to apply. Survivors benefits to a widow or widower are computed differently and might be payable even if a spousal benefit was not. 

Returning to spousal benefits, the one-half idea has some validity but it refers to a comparison of the wife and husband’s individual full retirement age (FRA) amounts, not the monthly amount that either is actually receiving.   

The most that a spouse with lower career earnings could receive through the record of her or his higher earning spouse is one-half of the higher earners full retirement age amount. This is a maximum and reduced by their own Social Security retirement and by age, if younger than FRA. 

To learn if spousal benefits are possible, compare one-half the higher full retirement age (FRA) amount to the lower FRA amount.    

For example, leaving aside the actual monthly benefit amount, say we have a couple where one person has a FRA amount of $2,000 and the other has a FRA amount of $900. 

Half of the higher $2,000 FRA amount is $1,000. Since the other person’s smaller $900 FRA amount is less than this $1,000 (one-half of the higher) amount, a spousal benefit is possible. If the smaller FRA amount were $1,000 or more, and therefore not less than half of the higher, spousal benefits would not be paid.

Note that this only shows IF a spousal benefit is possible, not how much. How much a spousal benefit is depends on the person’s own Social Security retirement amount and their age. In this example, the MOST a spousal benefit could be is $100 per month, derived by subtracting the lower FRA amount of $900 from one-half the higher ($1,000) FRA amount. Potentially reduced for age, the net spousal amount is added to his or her own monthly retirement amount. 

Using the same full retirement age amounts, but with age reduced benefits involved, you can see how the one-half of benefit misconception, rather than the FRA comparison, can lead you astray.

Using the same couple, one person has a full retirement age (FRA) amount of $2,000 and the other has a FRA amount of $900.

However, now the person with the $2,000 FRA amount started retirement at age 62 (with age 66 FRA), giving him or her a benefit reduction of about 25 percent, resulting in a monthly amount of about $1,500.

The person with the FRA amount of $900 waited until full retirement age before starting Social Security. Since he or she waited until FRA, there is no age reduction and the full FRA monthly amount of $900 is received.  

Comparing the actual benefit amounts of $1,500 and $900, one-half of the higher is $1,500 divided by 2 = $750. Given that the overall smaller benefit amount of $900 is more than one-half the higher $1,500, you would wrongly conclude that spousal benefits are not payable. 

The Social Security website, www.socialsecurity.gov, has information to help plan your retirement planning.

Use the Retirement Estimator to estimates your personal full retirement age amount. Learn your full retirement age and obtain approximate monthly reduction percentages at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2/agereduction.htm.

ID questions when creating your “my Social Security” account

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Q: Some of the security questions when I created a my Social Security account took me by surprise. While I expected the often seen birthdate type of question, my Social Security questions involved more details than I expected Social Security to have about me. Where do the questions come from?

A: This question was asked during one of my retirement seminars. Before answering it, I think it is important to mention that the Social Security Administration has less personal information then many people think. If not receiving monthly benefits, the bulk of personal information held by Social Security about you is from your Social Security number (SSN) application as updated, and your work history. If receiving benefits, the agency has information that you provided and needed to pay those benefits, including your address and direct deposit bank account information. 

Maintaining the security of your personal information on Social Security records is very important to the agency, which brings us back to the  question.  

Anyone at least age 18 and having an email address can create their own online my Social Security account. To create an account, you must provide some personal information about yourself and give us answers to some questions that only you are likely to know. Next, you create a username and password that you will use to access your online account. This process protects you and keeps your personal Social Security information private.

Some of the personal information requested is your name, Social Security number and birthdate. For other questions, an external authentication service provider, Experian, helps Social Security verify your identity by using information from your Experian credit report. This can result in what is known as a “soft inquiry” on your Experian credit report but does not affect credit scores and is not reported to lenders. It does provide the ability to protect your personal information by asking questions that only you should be able to answer.   

Please note that you cannot create a my Social Security account online if you have a security freeze, fraud alert, or both on your Experian credit report. You first must ask Experian to remove the freeze or alert. 

A link to my Social Security is on the homepage of www.socialsecurity.gov or you can go directly to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount/.  Linked from that page are details explaining how your identity is verified and protected. 

 

New Social Security retirement planning webinar on website

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Planning for your retirement is important. Adding to the Retirement Planner information, a brand new Social Security webinar has been added to the Social Security website, www.socialsecurity.gov.

Just recorded, this approximately 28-minute video touches upon many questions that I am routinely asked. 

The How Social Security Can Help You Plan for Retirement webinar topics include:

     How much will your retirement benefit be

     Full retirement age

     Benefits for family members

     Looking ahead – planning for retirement

     When to retire

     Life expectancy calculator

To watch this webinar, go to the Social Security homepage, www.socialsecurity.gov and then to the Social Media Hub in the lower right corner. Clicking on the persons image at right or on “more social media” brings you to the new retirement planning, and other, webinars. 

Pensions and Social Security, Part 3 – GPO

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For the relatively few people involved, today completes the series about pensions that might affect Social Security benefits. 

The general rule is that your company pension will not affect your Social Security benefits because most employment is covered by Social Security.  

The usual exception to this are pensions from government employment not covered by Social Security. A government pension from work covered by Social Security will not affect SSA benefits.

Not covered by Social Security means you did not pay Social Security payroll tax on those earnings, you did not earn coverage for SSA benefits and those earnings do not appear on your SSA work record. Any government level can be involved, not just Federal or state. Local government employment, including school districts, may or may not be covered by Social Security. 

Last week I discussed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), when the person receives Social Security retirement on his or her own record through other work, separate from the non-covered government employment.

Today’s topic is the Government Pension Offset (GPO), involved when the Social Security benefits are through someone else’s record rather than your own work. The GPO affects SSA benefits as a spouse, widow or widower and is a direct offset by the government pension against Social Security benefits.

The Government Pension Offset reduces the amount of your Social Security spouse’s, widow’s or widower’s benefits by two-thirds of the amount of your government pension. The GPO can offset the total Social Security benefit.

Estimating the GPO amount is not hard. Do the math yourself or use the online GPO calculator. For example, if you receive a monthly civil service pension of $600, two-thirds of that, or $400, must be used to offset your Social Security spouse’s, widow’s or widower’s benefits. If you are eligible for a $500 spouse’s benefit, you will receive $100 per month from Social Security ($500 – $400 = $100).

Exemptions exist to the Government Pension Offset (GPO). More about the GPO is in SSA publication 05-10007, Government Pension Offset.

 Other factors that may affect Social Security benefits are part of the SSA online retirement planner at www.socialsecurity.gov.

 

 

 

Pensions and Social Security, Part 2 – WEP

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Continuing the topic of how a pension might affect Social Security benefits, the general rule is that your company pension will not affect your Social Security benefits because most employment is covered by Social Security.

So what pensions can affect Social Security? The main pension involved is from government employment, not covered by Social Security. Key is that this government employment was not covered by Social Security, meaning you did not pay Social Security payroll tax on those earnings, you did not earn coverage for SSA benefits and those earnings do not appear on your SSA work record.

Relatively few people are in this situation, but it is important to those that are. Any government level can be involved, not just Federal or state. Local government employment, including school districts, may or may not be covered by Social Security. 

Since their government employment was not covered by Social Security, for those involved any eligibility to a Social Security monthly benefit would have been earned either from other work that the person had on their own or through someone else’s record, such as through a spouse. The government pension not covered by Social Security affects benefits differently depending on this.

Called the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), today’s topic is when the SSA benefit is from the person’s own work. SSA benefits through someone else’s record will be covered later.

Enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1983, the Windfall Elimination Provision provides a different formula for calculating SSA amounts. While not a direct offset or reduction of the government pension against the persons own Social Security benefit, the formula used results in a lower Social Security ­amount than otherwise would be received.

Why is this? Social Security benefits replace a percentage of a worker’s pre-retirement earnings. By design, lower-paid workers get a larger percentage of pre-retirement earnings than higher paid workers. Work not covered by Social Security does not appear on the person’s SSA record. This incorrectly makes the person’s average earnings appear lower, leading to a larger percentage of pre-retirement earnings paid. The Windfall Elimination Provision formula adjusts for this. 

The WEP formula takes into account how many years of work you have under Social Security covered employment. Overall, the reduction in the Social Security benefit cannot be more than one-half of the amount of the pension from work not covered by Social Security taxes.

The Windfall Elimination Provision does not affect most people. More about it is in SSA publication 05-10045 – Windfall Elimination Provision.

Use the special WEP Online Calculator if the WEP involves you. The usual website calculators, including the Retirement Estimator and your Social Security Statement, will not provide an accurate estimate when the WEP is a factor.

 

 

Pensions and Social Security, Part 1

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Last week I taught several Social Security pre-retirement sessions, always a source of questions. Questions about pensions and Social Security were asked at each session, providing today’s topic. 

The general rule, with one main exception, is that your company pension will not affect your Social Security benefits. 

Pension payments, annuities, and the interest or dividends from your savings and investments are not earnings for Social Security purposes. Only earned income, your gross wages or net income from self-employment, is covered by Social Security. You may have to pay income tax on pensions, annuities, interest or dividends, but you do not pay Social Security taxes. Those types of income are not on your Social Security record.

So what pensions can affect Social Security? The main pension involved is from government employment that was not covered by Social Security. Key here is that this government employment was not covered by Social Security, meaning you did not pay Social Security payroll tax on those earnings, you did not earn coverage for SSA benefits and those earnings do not appear on your SSA work record.  

Government employment can be from any level, not only Federal or state levels. For example, local government employment, including school districts, may or may not be covered by Social Security.

If your government employment is covered by both a pension plan and Social Security, you pay Social Security and Medicare taxes just as you would for any other SSA covered job. You earn coverage for the SSA retirement, survivors and disability programs and your earnings will be on your SSA record. This pension will not affect your Social Security benefit.

Federal employment provides an example of when a government pension might affect Social Security benefits, and when it will not. Noted above, key is whether the employment was covered by Social Security.

Until 1984, Federal government employment was covered under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and not by Social Security. Since this employment was not covered by Social Security, employees did not pay Social Security tax on earnings, did not earn SSA coverage and those earnings are not on their SSA work records. A CSRS pension will generally affect a Social Security benefit, if the person becomes eligible for one. Since CSRS covered work did not provide Social Security coverage, eligibility for a Social Security benefit would be from other work that the person had on their own or through someone else’s record. More about this will be in future posts.

A second Federal retirement system, the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), started in 1984. People who began working for the Federal government in 1984 or later are covered by FERS instead of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Work under FERS is covered by Social Security. Employees pay SSA taxes, earn SSA coverage and their earnings are shown on their Social Security work record. A FERS pension does not affect a Social Security benefit.

The Retirement Planner section of the Social Security website, www.socialsecurity.gov, has information and calculators to help in your retirement planning. Concerning today’s topic, see “Learn how certain types of earnings and pensions can affect your benefits.”

 

 

 

 

 

American Sign Language now on SSA website

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The Social Security website, www.socialsecurity.gov, now has an informational video in American Sign Language. 

Through the Multilanguage Gateway, information in many different languages is available. American Sign Language was added a few days ago.Reach the Multilanguage Gateway at top right of the Social Security homepage. Click on the “Other Languages” link. In that area, you can also change the entire website into Spanish, increase website text size for easier reading and learn about other Social Security website accessibility tools.

The American Sign Language (ASL) section has a thirteen-minute video titled “Social Security, SSI, and Medicare: What you absolutely need to know about these vital programs in American Sign Language.” 

Click on the Multilanguage Gateway American Sign Language link to view this video. Not fluent in ASL? The video is also spoken aloud and transcribed. 

Thank you Patty & George

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From the history section of the Social Security website:

April 6, 2011 Entertainment icons George Takei and Patty Duke teamed up to tell Americans to Boldly Go to www.socialsecurity.gov to apply for retirement, disability, Medicare, and so much more. The two celebrities joined forces in a new campaign to help the Social Security Administration promote its online services as an easy and secure way for people to do business with the agency.

Linked from the Retirement section of the Social Security website, watch when Patty Duke applied online for Social Security retirement  … in her pajamas.

View many of their public service announcements for television at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/psa-video.html.