I wanted to share with you some of my prior published articles written for local financial advisors.
The more information you have the better decisions you can make. Check back for further updates.
Protective Filing
What is protective filing? SSA protects your rights to file your application when they receive a written request indicating intent to file for benefits. This is typically accomplished by you when you reach out to SSA to schedule an appointment or when you establish your online retirement or disability application. Taking these actions protects your filing options and potential month of entitlement. If you're over age 62 and thinking of filing for your retirement soon, it would benefit you to schedule an appointment and discuss your options with SSA. This can be challenging due to t...
Read moreLet’s talk about Widow’s benefits
Am I eligible? To receive widow’s benefits you must be age 60, have been married at least 9 months prior to your spouse’s death (there are some exceptions to this rule), be currently unmarried, provide proof of age, citizenship, marriage, and file an application. When can I claim them? You can file for widow’s benefits at age 60 or as early as age 50 if you are disabled. To be eligible to file for disabled widow’s benefits you must be determined disabled during a prescribed period of eligibility established by SSA. This time frame is usually within 7 years of your spouse’s date of dea...
Read moreSSA updates its debt collection policy
Historically, when an incorrect or overpayment of benefits occurred you would receive an overpayment notice that would demand full repayment within 30 days or your benefits would be placed in full withholding for repayment. Understandably, this could be alarming to the beneficiary who depends on their SSA payments for their monthly bills. If you didn’t agree with the full recovery, you could file an appeal or waiver request of the overpaid funds or negotiate a repayment agreement. The repayment agreement had to be within 36 months or your financial situation would need to be evaluated in order...
Read moreWhat’s New with SSA?
On December 20, 2023, Congress appointed Mr. Martin O’Malley ( https://blog.ssa.gov/martin-j-omalley-sworn-in-as-commissioner-of-social-security-administration/ )as their new permanent commissioner. He is focused currently on reducing long wait times for both in-office and phone inquiries. He will also be addressing the administration’s 25-year low staffing challenges, promoting transparency in operations, and the creation of a common operational platform. It’s that time of year a...
Read moreWill my child get benefits?
Children may be eligible for benefits if their parent is receiving a Social Security benefit or if that parent has passed away. These benefits are auxiliary benefits in addition to the regular benefit rate and are usually paid to the custodial parent. Children’s benefits are payable until age 18 or until the child graduates high school, up to age 19 and 2 months. All of your natural children are eligible whether they reside with you or not and some step children are also eligible. The amount payable to each child depends if it is a life or survivor case. In life cases, a child’s benefit ...
Read moreDo you need representation for SSA claims?
SSA streamlined the retirement application for online filing and while the questions posed seem very straight forward, how they are answered can make the difference on how much return you get on your SSA account. SSA employees will not provide you with any advice on what your most advantageous month of entitlement or how your retirement severance package or date you pick for your retirement retire can impact your total benefits received for the year. These are just a couple examples of what can impact your total benefits. The employees are there to safe gua...
Read moreHow marriage affects your SSA entitlement
You may be familiar with SSA spousal eligibility. If you’re currently married with at least one year duration of marriage or the biological parent of their child, you are eligible as a spouse on their SSA record if your primary rate (rate payable at full retirement age) is less than half of your spouse’s primary rate. So what happens in the event of a divorce? You are still eligible on your spouse’s earnings record if the duration of your marriage was over 10 years AND the divorce is final for at least 2 years. SSA is not restricted in entitling a divorce spouse based on any state divorce d...
Read moreSpousal Filing Options
“When should I start my benefit?” This was one of the most common questions I received in my career. My answer has always been the same, “tell me when your going to die and I’ll tell you when to file” – with the exception of spousal entitlement. It is common for high-end wage earners to postpone entitlement to receive a higher monthly benefit while drawing income from a separate source to increase their SSA entitlement. The longer you wait the higher your benefit will be as well as any widow(er) subsequently entitled on your earnings record. The spouse of the wage earner deciding to postpone...
Read moreSSA 2023 Projections
Social Security beneficiaries will likely see a big increase in monthly benefits starting in January 2023. With inflation at a 40 year high, The Senior Citizens League estimated the Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) for next year could be 8.7 percent. Based on the most recent report on the Consumer Price Index by the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, some estimates reflect a double digit COLA of over 10 percent. If that happens, it will be the first double digit COLA since 1982. In addition to the anticipated large COLA, Medicare Part B premiums are projected to decrease $5.20 in 2023. W...
Read moreSSA Solvency
The COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020 Recession, inflation, fluctuations in entitlements, birth rate, and immigration data have affected SSA solvency. If you have read the headlines, most state SSA extends benefit solvency by a year. This is only a small portion of the complete picture. Current analysis does project the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund to indeed pay full benefits for an additional year, updating to 2034. After 2034 the OASI Trust Fund will only be able to sustain 77 percent of scheduled benefits. The other Trust Funds: The Disability Insurance (DI) Trust fund w...
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