How To Maximize Social Security
Or, you might consider the following rules of thumb: 1 Take Early: The only people who should consider taking their Social Security early are those who absolutely need the money immediately, or those who do not expect to live for very long, due to illness 2 Take at Full Retirement Age: Should you have reason to believe that you will not live past the age of 80, then generally speaking you will maximize your social security benefits if you take them when you reach your Full Retirement Age. 3 Wait as Long as Possible: On the other hand, if you are confident that you will live past the age of 80 or 85, then most experts recommend that you defer your social security for as long as you can , so as to maximize the benefits you receive from it. 4 Other: If you have dependent children, the additional benefits you receive for them might make filing when you are younger worthwhile.
Apply Online For Disability Benefits
Social Security offers an online disability application you can complete at your convenience. Apply from the comfort of your home or any location at a time most convenient for you. You do not need to drive to your local Social Security office or wait for an appointment with a Social Security representative.
You can use the online application to apply for disability benefits if you:
- Are age 18 or older
- Are not currently receiving benefits on your own Social Security record
- Are unable to work because of a medical condition that is expected to last at least 12 months or result in death: and
- Have not been denied disability benefits in the last 60 days. If your application was recently denied for medical reasons, the Internet Appeal is a starting point to request a review of the medical determination we made.
- Print and review the Adult Disability Checklist.
It will help you gather the information you need to complete the application.
We suggest that you have the following information at hand. It will make completing the application much easier.
Information About You
Information About Your Medical Condition
Information About Your Work
We may ask you to provide documents to show that you are eligible, such as:
Important
We accept photocopies of W-2 forms, self-employment tax returns or medical documents, but we must see the original of most other documents, such as your birth certificate.
Mailing Your Documents
After we receive your online application, we will:
Benefits For Your Children
When you qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, your children may also qualify to receive benefits on your record. Your eligible child can be your biological child, adopted child, or stepchild. A dependent grandchild may also qualify.
To receive benefits, the child must:
- Be 18 or older and disabled from a disability that started before age 22.
Benefits stop when children reach age 18 unless they are disabled. However, if the child is still a full-time student at a secondary school at age 18, benefits will continue until the child graduates or until two months after the child becomes age 19, whichever is first.
Benefits paid for your child will not decrease your retirement benefit. In fact, the value of the benefits they may receive, added to your own, may help you decide if taking your benefits sooner may be more advantageous.
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Can I Get My Social Security Account Back After A Temporary Freeze
When you request a temporary lift of your credit freeze or fraud alert, the Identity Services Provider may automatically reinstate it after your temporary lift expires. If you dont want to temporarily lift your security freeze or fraud alert, you can visit your local Social Security office to open an account in person.
How Do I Apply For Social Security Retirement Benefits
You can apply for retirement benefits up to four months before you want to start receiving your benefits. Even if you are not ready to retire, you still should sign up for Medicare three months before your 65th birthday.
The easiest and most convenient way to apply for retirement benefits is by using our online application. You will need to create or log in to your personal mySocial Security account. If we are not able to process your request, you will receive specific information on how to contact us by phone or schedule an appointment.
You can also apply by calling us at 1-800-772-1213 , Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. or visiting your local Social Security Office.
If you live outside of the United States, you can find the office that serves your country of residence on the Social Security Office of Earnings & International Operations page.
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Social Security Cola : When Will My Benefits Increase Begin
This week, the Social Security Administration announced the biggest payment increase for the program in decades. Every year since 1975, the SSA has instituted a cost-of-living adjustment after analyzing rates of inflation to see how much to increase beneficiary amounts to help recipients keep up with the cost of goods.
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The latest COLA is a record 8.7% bump, taking into account the rampant rates of inflation that have been affecting Americans all year. As noted by CBS, the last time Social Security saw this kind of increase was back in 1981 when the SSA announced a COLA of 11.2%.
The news of the 2023 payment increase comes as a relief to the many seniors and other beneficiaries of Social Security who have been struggling to pay bills and buy groceries as prices keep rising.
According to the latest Consumer Price Index report , the cost of food is up 11.2% over this time last year while utilities like electric and piped gas are up 19.8% and the cost of housing is up 6.6%.
With the payment increase in 2023, Forbes said 8.7% more will equate to an average added monthly benefit of $144 for individuals and $240 extra for couples filing jointly. But the biggest question on many peoples minds is: When will these increases start being reflected in monthly payments?
Medicare premium decreases will also take effect in January 2023.
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Already Enrolled In Medicare
If you have Medicare, you can get information and services online. Find out how to .
If you are enrolled in Medicare Part A and you want to sign up for Part B, please complete form CMS-40B, Application for Enrollment in Medicare Part B . If you are applying for Medicare Part B due to a loss of employment or group health coverage, you will also need to complete form CMS-L564, Request for Employment Information.
You can use one of the following options to submit your enrollment request under the Special Enrollment Period:
Note: When completing the forms CMS-40B and CMS-L564:
- State I want Part B coverage to begin in the remarks section of the CMS-40B form or online application.
- If possible, your employer should complete Section B.
- If your employer is unable to complete Section B, please complete that portion as best as you can on their behalf and submit one of the following forms of secondary evidence:
- Income tax form that shows health insurance premiums paid.
- W-2s reflecting pre-tax medical contributions.
- Pay stubs that reflect health insurance premium deductions.
- Health insurance cards with a policy effective date.
- Explanations of benefits paid by the GHP or LGHP.
- Statements or receipts that reflect payment of health insurance premiums.
Some people with limited resources and income may also be able to get .
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Costs Of The Solution
Two issues that are likely to arise in any discussion of fixing this problem are its cost to the Social Security trust fund and its cost to the federal budget. With regard to the cost to the Social Security trust fund, there are three ways to look at the issue.
One way is to view the cost relative to costs in a world in which no pandemic had occurred. For example, the cost could be measured using the economic assumptions in the most recent Social Security trustees report , which were formulated before the pandemic began. From this perspective, the cost would be zero because the legislative change would restore the world of Social Security benefits to what it would have looked like had there been no pandemic.
A second way of looking at the issue is to view the cost of the change relative to costs in a world that reflected economic assumptions indicative of the economic recession caused by the pandemic. From this viewpoint, there would be a cost associated with fixing the problem. For example, the chief actuary of the SSA estimates that if the AWI in 2020 were to fall 5.9 percent below its 2019 level, the AWI adjustments proposed by Chairman Larson would cost $90 billion in present-value dollars for the 75-year period from 2020 through 2094about 0.02 percent of taxable payroll over that period. . The cost over the 10-year period from 2020 to 2029 would be about $21 billion in nominal dollars.
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How Much Will My Spouse Receive
If your spouse qualifies for benefits on their own record, we will pay that amount first. If the benefit on your record is higher, they will get an additional amount on your record so that the combination of benefits equals that higher amount.
If they begin receiving benefits:
If your spouse will receive a pension for work not covered by Social Security such as government employment, the amount of their Social Security benefits on your record may be reduced.
at any age
Benefits paid to your spouse will not decrease your retirement benefit. In fact, the value of the benefits they may receive, added to your own, may help you decide if taking your benefits sooner may be more advantageous.
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What We Will Ask You
If the worker is deceased, we will also ask you:
- The worker’s date of birth and his or her name at birth
- The worker’s date of death and the place of death
- The State or foreign country of the worker’s fixed permanent residence at the time of death
- Whether the worker was unable to work because of illnesses, injuries or conditions at any time during the 14 months before his or her death.
- Whether the worker was in the active military service before 1968 or ever worked for the railroad industry.
- Whether the worker earned Social Security credits under another country’s Social Security system
- Whether the worker was employed or self-employed in all years from 1978 through last year
- How much the worker earned in the year of death and the year before death
- Whether the worker ever filed for Social Security benefits, Medicare or Supplemental Security Income. and
- Whether each child was living with the worker at the time of death.
Depending on the information you provide, we may need to ask other questions.
Note
You also should have with you your checkbook or other papers that show your account number at a bank, credit union or other financial institution so you can sign up for Direct Deposit, and avoid worries about lost or stolen checks and mail delays.
The Source Ofand Solution Tothe Problem
When the current Social Security formula was put in place in 1977, no provision was made for the contingency that economic conditions would be so dire that average wages would fall in any given year. This problem first surfaced in 2009 during the Great Recession. The AWI, however, fell by a relatively small amount, and policymakers chose not to do anything about it. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the decline in the AWI is likely to be about four times as big now as it was during the Great Recession.
There is ample precedent for fixing this problem. The first precedent concerns Social Security cost-of-living allowances . As mentioned above, payments in years after beneficiaries first year of retirement are indexed to inflation using a version of the consumer price index . However, under the law, if prices fall in any year, benefits are not adjusted downward rather, they remain the same. The second precedent concerns the Social Security contribution and benefit base, also known as the taxable maximum. The taxable maximum is the dollar amount of annual earnings above which the Social Security payroll tax does not apply. The taxable maximum is indexed to the AWIbut like COLAs, it is never adjusted downward.
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I Have Never Accessed Mysocial Security And I Do Not Have A Logingov Or Idme Credential:
Visit www.ssa.gov/myaccount to get started. You will have the option to create an account with our preferred credential partner, Login.gov. You can also access your information with an ID.me account if you have one. Keep in mind:
- You must be 18 years of age or older, have a Social Security number and a U.S. mailing address.
- You will be redirected to the partners website when you select Sign In with Login.gov or Sign in with ID.me.
- You must provide a valid email address and some additional information.
- Once you create the credential, you will return to the mySocial Security webpage for next steps.
The Parts Of Medicare
Social Security enrolls you in Original Medicare .
- Medicare Part A helps pay for inpatient care in a hospital or limited time at a skilled nursing facility . Part A also pays for some home health care and hospice care.
- Medicare Part B helps pay for services from doctors and other health care providers, outpatient care, home health care, durable medical equipment, and some preventive services.
Other parts of Medicare are run by private insurance companies that follow rules set by Medicare.
- Supplemental policies help pay Medicare out-of-pocket copayments, coinsurance, and deductible expenses.
- Medicare Advantage Plan includes all benefits and services covered under Part A and Part B prescription drugs and additional benefits such as vision, hearing, and dental bundled together in one plan.
- Medicare Part D helps cover the cost of prescription drugs.
Most people age 65 or older are eligible for free Medicare hospital insurance if they have worked and paid Medicare taxes long enough. You can sign up for Medicare medical insurance by paying a monthly premium. Some beneficiaries with higher incomes will pay a higher monthly Part B premium. To learn more, read .
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Social Security: Why Not Everyone Will Get An 87% Cola Increase In 2023
Social Security recipients will soon find out what their new monthly payments will be in 2023 after the 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment kicks in. Beginning in December, the Social Security Administration will start mailing COLA notices to beneficiaries providing details on next years payment amounts.
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You might wonder why you have to wait for the SSA to tell you the new amount when you could simply multiply your current payment by 8.7%. Thats not how it works, however. Some payment increases will be higher than 8.7%, and some will be lower.
The reason is that the COLA is applied to your primary insurance amount rather than your current benefit and the two are not always the same. According to the SSA, the PIA is the benefit you would get if you elect to begin receiving retirement benefits at your normal or full retirement age. At this age, the benefit is neither reduced for early retirement nor increased for delayed retirement.
The PIA formula sounds like something youd study in a college calculus course. Its based on the sum of three separate percentages of portions of average indexed monthly earnings, the SSA said on its website. The portions depend on the year a recipient reached age 62, became disabled before age 62, or died before attaining age 62.
Get Ssa Benefits While Living Abroad
U.S. citizens can travel to or live in most, but not all, foreign countries and still receive their Social Security benefits. You can find out if you can receive benefits overseas by using the Social Security Administrations payment verification tool. Once you access the tool, pick the country youre visiting or living in from the drop-down menu options.
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How Much Is Deducted From Social Security
For every month prior to your full retirement age that you begin taking benefits, around 0.55% is deducted from your payout. And, for every year that you defer your benefits, you will receive a larger amount when you finally do begin drawing Social Security. The amount of the bonus is dependent, once more, on your birth date.
How Can I Get A Social Security Statement
You can get your Social Security Statement online by using your personal mySocial Security account. Your online Statement gives you secure and convenient access to estimates for retirement, disability, and survivors benefits you and your family may be eligible for. It also shows your current earnings record and history. If you do not have a personal my Social Security account, you can easily create one at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
If you are have not created a personal mySocial Security account and do not receive Social Security benefits, we will mail a paper Statement to you 3 months before your 60th birthday. If you dont want to wait for your scheduled mailing you can request your Statement by following these instructions. The Statement will arrive by mail in 4 to 6 weeks.
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