Possible to Work and Collect Benefits
Depending on your age and how much you make, it is possible to continue working and collect Social Security at the same time. There are certain restrictions to this rule.
Q. I have a friend who is still working full time at age 74, earning about $40,000. He told me he is also collecting full Social Security benefits. Is that possible and, if so, why? That doesn’t seem right to me, especially since Social Security is in jeopardy.
A. Your friend’s age makes it legal for him to collect full benefits and earn as much as he does, said employment attorney Troy G. Rosasco of Turley, Redmond, Rosasco & Rosasco in Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
“If you work and are full … retirement age or older, you may keep all of your Social Security retirement benefits, no matter how much you earn,” Rosasco said.
Social Security’s full retirement age for people born in 1942 or earlier, a category your friend falls into, is 65. On the other hand, let’s say you chose to receive benefits before full… continue reading
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How To Increase Social Security Benefits
The Social Security Administration has taken steps to prevent people from increasing their benefits. However, there are still some ways that people can maximize their benefits legally.
BOSTON (MarketWatch) — The Social Security Administration recently put the kibosh on a technique some retirees were using to boost their monthly benefits. But even though that loophole is essentially closed, experts say there are still plenty of ways households can legally maximize the amount of income they receive from Social Security.
In December, the SSA said retirees essentially can no longer do what are called do-overs, or the free-loan strategy. Here’s how it worked: You claim benefits at a given age and then years later repay what you received, pay no interest, and then file for benefits again, getting a higher monthly amount because you delayed filing until a later age. Read MarketWatch’s story on Social Security do-overs, from 2008.
“This strategy is equivalent to a ‘no interest’ loan from Social Security,” said Boston College’s Center for Retirement… continue reading
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Tips for Retirees in 2011
This year, the oldest baby boomers will begin to retire as they turn 65. If you are planning your retirement, you’ll want to follow these seven tips.
Schedule your free physical. Beginning this year, Medicare provides a one-time free physical exam within the first 12 months you have Part B coverage by a doctor who agrees to be paid directly by Medicare. The visit may include a review of your health, vision and blood pressure screenings, education and counseling about preventive care services covered by Medicare, and referrals for treatment you may need. Other preventative services you may be able to get at no out-of-pocket cost include cardiovascular and breast cancer screenings, bone mass measurements, and flu shots.
Delay Social Security until next year. While Medicare eligibility for 1946-born baby boomers begins this year, they still will not qualify for the full amount of Social Security benefits they are entitled to. Boomers will have to wait another year, until age 66, if they do not want their entitlement checks to be reduced. Retirees who claim Social Security this year when they turn… continue reading
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Woman Guilty of Fraud
A 36-year-old woman from Lincoln County pleaded guilty to fraud. The woman was caught filing fraudulent Social Security claims.
A Lincoln County woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to filing a fraudulent Social Security claim so she could continue receiving disability benefits, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney R. Booth Goodwin.
Leslie R. Nelson, 36, of Ferrellsburg, faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 in addition to restitution, the news release states. She is set to be sentenced March 20, 2011.
Nelson started receiving Social Security benefits in October 1993, according to the news release. In March 2003, she got married and resided with her husband, but never informed the Social Security Administration even though her benefits were based, in part, upon her income and living arrangements.
As part of the plea agreement, Nelso admitted to making a false statement to the SSA in which she claimed she had not lived with her husband… continue reading
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Americans Want Rich to Pay to Fix Deficit
Many Americans are upset over the deficit, and feel that the rich should pay to fix the deficit. Meanwhile, people want Congress to keep its hands off of Social Security benefits and Medicare.
According to the Dec. 4-7 poll, taken days after Obama’s commission sounded an alarm over the nation’s “unsustainable fiscal path,” the public still believes it’s more important to “minimize sacrifice” than to take “bold and fast” action to pare the $13.7 trillion national debt.
“The reality is deficit-cutting hurts, and the American public is in no mood for further hurt than the slow economy and high unemployment is delivering,” said J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., a Des Moines, Iowa firm that conducted the nationwide survey.
The one place Americans are willing to see sacrifice is in the wallets of the wealthy.
While they say they strongly support balancing the budget over the next 20 years, when offered a list of more than a dozen possible spending cuts or tax increases, majorities opposed all of them except… continue reading
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Age to Increase for Collecting Benefits
There are new plans to implement a new increased age that Americans can collect Social Security benefits. At the moment most people can collect the benefits at 62, which could increase to 67 by 2050.
David Certner, legislative policy director for the association, says his members fully support efforts to rein in federal spending, but that upping the age for Social Security eligibility isn’t the right way to go about it. Raising the wage cap (currently $106,800) would be better.
Right now most Americans get their full benefits starting at age 62. But under a draft plan floated by the co-chairmen of President Obama’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, the retirement age would rise, indexed to longevity. It would reach 67 by 2050 and 69 by 2075.
Frenchmen have rioted for less.
In fact, social strife in Europe over benefit cuts was one of the factors that prompted Congress to deal finally with Social Security’s problems, before they reach a similar crisis stage.
The idea of raising the retirement age was dealt a setback in November when the… continue reading
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