Ask Larry: Questions and Answers | Maximize My Social Security

Displaying 4661 - 4670 of 10063 questions.

Would My SSI Increase Because I Have Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Larry do you think they would raise my SSI CIZ I HAVE Rheumatoid arthritis please let me know ok

Hi,

I'd need more information to properly answer your question. If you're receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), then you're either at least age 65 or you've been determined by Social Security to be either blind or disabled. So, an additional disability wouldn't cause your benefit rate to increase.

However, if you're drawing reduced Social Security retirement benefits and you're under full retirement age (FRA) then becoming disabled could . . . Read More

Category: Disability Benefits
Posted: Aug 27 2019 - 10:01am

Will My Benefit Rate Still Rise If I Wait To Claim Benefits Even If I've Stopped Working?

Larry, i stopped working at 62 for mental health reasons but do not plan to file for Social Security until at least my full retirement age of 66 yrs and 6 months. If i do not earn any income over the coming few years, will my benefits still rise in value by waiting?
Thank you, Bill

Hi Bill,

Yes, as long as you don't start drawing your benefits, your monthly benefit rate will continue to increase until you reach age 70. However, if you aren't working due to mental health reasons you may want to consider applying for Social Security disability ( . . . Read More

Category: Miscellaneous
Posted: Aug 27 2019 - 9:49am

Can I Start Drawing My Social Security At Age 63 And Switch To My Husband's Full Social Security At My Full Retirement Age?

I am 62 and a widow. I am wondering if I take my social security out at age 63 with reduced rates, can I switch to my deceased husbands full social security at age 66 and 4 months without having to have reduced rates on his amount? My social security is about only half of what his would be. I keep getting different answers from social security.

Hi,

Yes, you can start out drawing your own Social Security retirement benefits at a reduced rate as early as age 62 and then switch to widow's benefits at full retirement age (FRA). However, you'll only . . . Read More

Category: Filing Options
Posted: Aug 26 2019 - 5:57pm

Does This Sound Right?

A friend of mine age 67, just started social security, since she didn't take social security at 62 she received a check from social security for the difference between her benefit at 62 and 67 in the amount of $27000 . Does this sound right?

Hi,

No, that doesn't sound right. You can only claim Social Security retirement benefits retroactively for a maximum of 6 months, so unless there was a long delay between the time your friend applied for benefits and the time she was finally paid by Social Security it's very unlikely that she could have been . . . Read More

Category: Miscellaneous
Posted: Aug 26 2019 - 5:50pm

What Terminology Does My Wife Use To Apply For Spousal Benefits Only?

To Whom It May Concern:
I just turned 70 this summer and will start getting my SS benefits shortly. My wife was born in 1953 and will turn 66 (= her FRA) early next month. We have an appointment with the local Social Security office tomorrow (8/27/19). We believe that my wife’s own earned SS benefits will exceed her spousal benefits if she defers getting her own benefits until age 70 (but not initially). My main question is: what is the correct terminology to use with the SS office to have them activate her SPOUSAL benefits at FRA (66), while NOT activating her own . . . Read More

Category: Filing For Benefits
Posted: Aug 26 2019 - 5:31pm

Is It Possible To Start Your Social Security Early And Then Put It On Hold?

Is it possible to start your social security either early (at age 65) or at full retirement age and then put it on hold, if, say, you get a new job and that gives you an opportunity to strength the benefits you will receive later?
I was trying to understand what was meant by file and suspend, and it doesn't seem applicable to me. Thank you.

Hi,

If you start drawing your benefits before full retirement age (FRA) you can't voluntarily suspend your benefits until the month you reach FRA. However, if you work and earn more than the Social Security . . . Read More

Category: Suspending Retirement Benefits
Posted: Aug 26 2019 - 5:20pm

Will My 1099 Income Be Used Just Like W-2 Earnings In Calculating My Benefit Rate?

Larry: I started receiving 1099 earnings as an independent contractor at the age of 60 in 2010. Are the years beginning in 2010 of receiving 1099 income considered earnings just like W-2 earnings in calculating the 35 highest years of earnings for determining social security benefits? In other words, I elected to begin taking taking social security when I reached full retirement age (age 66). I have continued to earn and report income as an independent contractor on my tax returns beginning in tax year 2010. Is that income used to recalculate social security benefits in the . . . Read More

Category: Earnings Subject To Social Security Taxes
Posted: Aug 26 2019 - 5:10pm

Did I Misunderstand Your Column?

RE your July 19 column, "Does My Larger Social Security Retirement Benefit Disqualify Me From Spousal Benefits?" My wife is older than I am and has been receiving her benefits for several years. I hit my FRA in June 2020 and plan to wait to take my benefits until I reach age 70. I read your column as meaning I could claim 50% of my wife's benefit as long as I did not file or file/suspend my own benefits, but when I went to the SS office this month they told me that only applied if I was born PRIOR to January 1954, and I was born in June 1954. Further, I had understood the . . . Read More

Category: Filing Options
Posted: Aug 25 2019 - 3:20pm

Will My Survivor Benefits Increase When I Reach Age 62?

I am about to be 62 in one month, and I’ve been receiving survivor’s benefits since I was age 60. ( I was married to my ex spouse, who was murdered at age 55, about 15 years after our divorce, and who was not yet receiving any type of SS. He and I both never remarried, although he lived with a woman for many years in a common law marriage state —- she is now claiming that she is his legal wife. ) At age 62, in a month, SSA told me I would be eligible for reduced SS benefits on my own earnings, which are higher than my deceased ex husband’s earnings. I am TRYING to wait until I . . . Read More

Category: Divorced Widow(er) Benefits
Posted: Aug 25 2019 - 10:37am

Should I File A Restricted Application?

My wife is 67 and filed on her own record at full retirement age (66) with a benefit of $1438. I worked in England and am receiving $875 per month state pension (English version of social security) That figure is based on contributions from my English wages and also a voluntary contribution to raise my earning years from 24 to 35 years so I could received the maximum amount. . I also qualify for an Irish State pension (social security) of $485 per month based on contributions there and totalization with my England and USA record. My USA contributions to Soc Sec is 6 years at . . . Read More

Category: Filing Strategies
Posted: Aug 25 2019 - 10:11am

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