The loss of a member of family might be devastating for family members, both equally psychologically as well as on a financial basis. Social Security is intended to be a survivor program in addition to a retirement program. We are going to discuss one-time lump sum social security death benefit, monthly social security survivor benefits, whom qualifies for survivor benefits, and how you can apply for benefits whenever a family member passes away. (more…)

Once your Average In­dexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) is calculated, the Social Security Administration applies a percentage, called a Replacement Rate, to arrive at your monthly social security statement of benefits amount. The average Replacement Rate is 40 percent. However, the rate tends to be higher for low-income workers and lower for higher income workers. In this progressive way, lower-paid workers—who in theory would have less opportunity to save—get proportionally more of their incomes replaced by Social Security. (more…)

In 1999 the Social Security Administration (SSA) began mailing Social Security statements annually to all adults 25 and over about three months prior to their birthdays. In the statement, you receive an estimate of your benefits under the most current laws, and a record of your social security statement of earnings upon which your benefits are based. If you do not have this statement, you need to get one. Call 800-772-1213 or go to www.ssa.gov and request a statement order form. Because this is sensitive personal information, it is not available online. You have to mail a form to the SSAand wait for a response in four to six weeks. (more…)

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in same-sex partnerships are not eligible for the Social Security spousal benefit or the survivor benefit. This lack of eligibility costs gay elders hundreds of millions of dollars in income per year. The September 11th terrorist attacks illustrated the unfairness of this policy, as same-sex survivors of victims were denied Social Security survivor benefits as well as funds from the victims’ compensation fund administered by the U.S. Justice Department. (more…)

Periodic additions to income payments that enable recipients to purchase the same amount and quality of goods and services over time despite inflation. As experienced by older Americans, Cost of Living Adjustments are annual increases to Social Security benefits and other income payments that reflect the previous year’s inflation rate in urban areas. Although a common perception is that older persons dependent on Social Security are protected from losing purchasing power, in actuality, after a few years they often cannot maintain the level of retirement standard of living they had upon retirement and experience increases in their cost of living greater than increases in their retirement income. (more…)

As I said earlier, the amount you receive from Social Security varies based on how much you put into the system and when you start taking social security benefits. You have limited control over what you put into the system because it’s dictated by the FICA taxes that serve to allocate a portion of your earnings into the system. You do, however, have control over when you and your spouse take money retirement from the system. (more…)

If you check your paycheck stub, you find an entry labeled FICA, which is an acronym for Federal Insurance Contributions Act. Your “contribution” is matched by your employer and is deposited in the Social Security Trust Fund. It shows you how much money was paid into the Trust Fund by employers, employees, and the self-employed in 1998 (the figures used are from the IRS). (more…)

To qualify for Social Security benefits, you must have worked a certain number of years. Your eligibility is measured in credits. If you were born after 1929, you must accumulate forty credits or work for ten years to qualify. You earn one credit for each quarter of the year you work.

You can begin to receive benefits as early as age 62, (more…)