The following question came in this week… “I understand the earnings test for those under FRA but my question has to do with the period between filing and arrival of the first payment. I plan to file later this year at the age of 64. Since my current income is over the amount allowed for […]

2019 COLA Changes Well, the wait is over for the 2019 announcement on the cost of living adjustment (COLA) to Social Security.   I have summarized the key changes below.  For all the details you can refer to the 2019 SSA facts sheet here:  https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/colafacts2019.pdf   Socials Security recipients will receive a 2.8% COLA for 2019, […]

As our long-time blog listeners/readers know, divorced spouses are entitled to receive benefits on their ex-spouse’s earnings if certain conditions are met. Collecting on your ex-spouse will not reduce his/her benefits, even if your ex has a new spouse collecting on their earnings as well. In fact, the Social Security Administration will not even inform […]

The following question arrived this week: “I turned 63 in September 2018. I stopped working at the end of 2017, and do not expect to have a job going forward.  I have over 40 years of taxed SS earnings.  My benefit at Full Retirement Age (FRA) is about $600/month more than my benefit would be […]

I received the following question recently: “I need to repay my Social Security benefits after withdrawing my application.  I filed in September of 2017 and withdrew in September of 2018.  I got a letter saying my withdrawal application was approved and it told me how much I had to repay, but there is no due […]

Reader question:  “I am 58 years old and work full time. My spouse passed away in 2016 at the age of 51. I was told that at 60 I could apply for his Social Security benefits. Is that correct? If so, would I be able to collect his Social Security and work full time? Will […]

Reader question:  “I will be in Romania for several years.  If I open a bank account there, can my Social Security benefits be sent there?” Good News While Abroad There is good news on this one.  The simple answer is yes, generally you can have your benefits sent to you when you are out of […]

Reader question:  “I will be 66 next July. I want to begin collecting Social Security in January, if possible. I believe that I can begin receiving benefits in January, minus roughly 3.3%, per SSA formula. Then, beginning in July, it will ramp up to the full amount, plus the SSA will add back the total […]

The Social Security Administration tracks hundreds of millions of records.  Even with a very small error rate, the chance there is a glitch or error in your record is there.  The most common error is for earnings to not be reflected in your earnings record.  This can happen for a variety of reasons, including employers […]

Another great question from a reader this week: “Regarding earnings test, can you please clarify the timing and mechanics? I cannot determine if the earnings test uses previous year’s income or current year’s income. It seems like the earnings test would be based on current income but then how would they know how much to […]