Jonathan Peterson - Social Security For Dummies

Think about when you should claim benefits. It often makes sense to hold off, which will enable your benefit to grow. I go into that important issue in Chapter 3. For an overview from the SSA, go to www.ssa.gov/pubs/10147.html .

Consider Social Security’s guaranteed benefit the foundation in a larger strategy for retirement security. Add up your assets. Look hard at your spending habits. Younger people have more time to plan, but older workers may also be able to take steps to improve their finances. If you need more money for the future, think about holding off retirement and working longer, even part time, as a way to stretch out your assets.

The SSA has one overriding goal (which may be hard to recognize amid all the rules and complexities): to make sure you end up with the correct benefit amount you’re entitled to under the law. Sometimes reaching that goal may not be simple (though it typically is). But whatever the particulars of your case, you may well end up having to contact the SSA to get what you want.

The SSA runs not only the basic Social Security protections for retirement, survivors, and disability, but also SSI for the poor. The SSA also handles applications for Medicare and the deductions in benefits that pay for Medicare premiums. (SSA doesn’t run the Medicare program itself, however. That job is handled by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.)

That’s a lot of territory to navigate — many rules, many technicalities, and many areas that can be confusing. But knowledge is power when it comes to bureaucracy. Understanding the rules for your particular situation helps. (I go over filing for benefits in Chapter 5, and I hit the high points of maneuvering through the Social Security bureaucracy in Chapter 7.)

Contacting the SSA isn’t difficult. You can go to a local field office, call a toll-free number, or go online:

Field offices: SSA offices are located all over the country — at last count, there were about 1,230 field offices. To find the nearest SSA office, just go to www.ssa.gov/locator and enter your zip code, and the address of your nearest office will appear, along with the hours it’s open to the public. If you don’t have internet access, you can find the address of your local SSA office in your local phone book, where all the U.S. government offices are listed, or you can call the SSA (see the next bullet) to inquire.

Phone: You can contact an SSA representative toll free at 800-772-1213 (TTY 800-325-0778). Both numbers are staffed Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Online: The SSA website ( www.ssa.gov ) has a great deal of information on benefits and rules that affect you. You can also find forms you may need and begin applications for certain benefits, including retirement.

Social Security has increased its hours and staff at field offices to help shorten the long lines and waiting times on the telephone. As of this writing, field offices are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

If you’re stretched for time and need to deal with the SSA, it helps to keep a couple of things in mind:

Waiting times on the phone and in offices tend to be longer early in the month and early in the week.

You can call the toll-free number to make an appointment with a local field office and save time when you arrive.

Chapter 2

IN THIS CHAPTER

Getting Social Security retirement benefits

Surviving the death of a loved one with help from Social Security

Relying on Social Security when you can’t work

Seeing how Social Security protects the poorest of the poor

When you hear about Social Security in the news, it seems like the talk is always about politics. Of course, that matters, but the squabbling in Washington can sound pretty far removed from what really links you to Social Security — the benefits for you and your loved ones. The truth is, many people don’t know all they’re paying for when it comes to Social Security.

In this chapter, I provide a detailed description of the main Social Security benefits: coverage for retirement and a retiree’s dependent family members, protections for surviving family members when a loved one dies, and coverage for disability and a disabled worker’s dependents. In addition, I go over the program of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for individuals with extremely little income, which is also administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Social Security’s various benefits are meant to address different situations, but they share a common goal: to help individuals and their families meet the fundamental needs of survival. This chapter explains what that means for you.

Retirement benefits were created to help older Americans live in dignity and independence after a lifetime of work. To qualify for these benefits, you have to meet certain earnings requirements. The good news is that these requirements are in relatively easy reach for most healthy people who’ve worked for a number of years. However, interruptions in earnings — such as for child rearing, caregiving, or long-term unemployment — may leave you with a smaller benefit.

Benefit levels were established to replace just a portion of the income earned by you or the breadwinner you depend on. This is in keeping with Social Security’s goal of providing a foundation for you to build on with personal savings, investments, and other income.

In this section, I fill you in on who qualifies for Social Security retirement benefits and when, how you qualify (through work credits), why you may not qualify, and how much you can expect to get.

Retirees may qualify for benefits starting at age 62. Technically, you become eligible on the first full month after your 62nd birthday. Say you turn 62 on July 19. That means you become eligible for benefits on August 1. The August payment arrives in September, however, because Social Security pays with a one-month delay.

You don’t have to take your benefit when you turn 62. The longer you wait, the higher your monthly payment will be, until you reach 70. At that point, there’s no payoff in further delay.

If you qualify for retirement benefits, Social Security may also provide benefits to other family members under certain conditions without reducing the benefits that go to you. Eligible dependents may include

A spouse age 62 or older: When you begin collecting retirement benefits, a spouse who has reached 62 may also qualify for a benefit.