Ask Larry: Questions and Answers

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How do I maximize my Social Security benefits?

How to maximize on Social Security Benfits ?

Maximizing your Social Security benefits depends on the specifics of your situation, i.e. your marital status, your age, your past and future covered earnings, and if applicable, your spouse's age, and past and future covered earnings, whether you have eligible dependents, etc.
The easiest way to maximize your benefits is to enter your specific data into a high quality program like our "MaximizeMySocialSecurity".

Best,
Mike

Category: Filing Strategies
Posted: Jun 25 2016 - 6:15am

Is My Child Eligible For Benefits On My Account?

My wife and I are both 78, and have been receiving retirement benefits since we became 65.
We have a disabled daughter who receives SSI. We didn't take her disability into account when we started taking benefits.
My wife takes a salary of about $130,000 from her business.
At our age, is it likely that we could make any changes that would increase our benefits, or our daughter's?
Would your program figure that out for us?
Thanks.

Hi,

Assuming that your wife is paying Social Security taxes on her salary, she should be . . . Read More

Category: Child Benefits
Posted: Jun 24 2016 - 5:30pm

Are We Missing Anything?

My wife and I both took our SS benefits at age 65 -- mine in 2008 and my wife a year later. Are there still any opportunities to get additional benefits at this point in time. No dependent children to support, no divorces, both in good health.

Hi,

Probably not. It's too late at this point for you or your wife to take advantage of delayed retirement credits, as well as filing strategies such as one of you filing for spousal benefits only at full retirement age, then switching to your own record at age 70.

I'm assuming that you and your wife are . . . Read More

Category: Filing Strategies
Posted: Jun 24 2016 - 5:15pm

Do We Have Any Options?

I'm age 80 and wife 76. She still works part time as an independent consultant, $5,000 per year. We both began taking SS at age 65. I was a very high earning venture capital partner up to age 70. Suggestions?

Hi,

Unfortunately, you can't go back in time to take advantages of delayed retirement credits, nor strategies such as one of you filing for spousal benefits only at full retirement age, then switching to your own record at age 70.

You don't mention your benefit amounts, but I assume that your wife's own benefit amount is more than one-half . . . Read More

Category: Filing Strategies
Posted: Jun 24 2016 - 5:00pm

Are Benefits Ever Recalculated?

Larry, I have another question that I never see addressed in any article on SS...and I do try to read all of them. If we continue to work after claiming SS, does SS take that new earned income into consideration if it is higher than some of our early years of income? How often, if ever, is there a review and an adjustment? Thanks for all your hard work on this topic!

Hi.

The answer is yes. Benefits are based on the worker's best 35 years of inflation adjusted earnings, and can be recomputed to include earnings after entitlement. Any increases due . . . Read More

Category: Recomputations
Posted: Jun 24 2016 - 4:45pm

Am I Receiving The Right Amount?

I'm 68, very healthy, with a history of longevity in my family. I'm receiving a spousal benefit. My husband decided to file at age 66, because his family history is not as good. I receive a reduced spousal benefit and am told I will receive a reduced SS benefit due to the Windfall Elimination Program. No one in the office where I've gone seems to understand this...and I've tried to read and understand it...but it doesn't make sense. The benefit I receive is nominal from a short stint teaching in CA...and the way I see it, that is my money that I contributed and am now due. Can . . . Read More

Category: Non-Covered Pension - WEP / GPO
Posted: Jun 24 2016 - 2:45pm

Can We Do Anything To Increase Our Benefits?

I'm 77 and have been receiving social security for 15 years. My wife has also taken her social security since she turned 62 (11 years). Is there any strategies for us to look at that could increase our benifits?

Dick

Hi Dan,

Probably not, assuming that you have filed for all of the benefits for which you're eligible. That's no doubt the case if you are both receiving benefits on your own accounts, and neither of your benefits is less than half the amount of the other's benefit. On the other hand, if one of you is receiving less than half the . . . Read More

Category: Filing Strategies
Posted: Jun 24 2016 - 12:45pm

Should I Be Getting More?

I'm age 73 and still work making a meager profit in a couple 1 man businesses. I retired from teaching and took a lump sum to 'wisely' invest, but didn't/couldn't. That began at age 59-1/2. My wife worked, making about 45K a year as an admin assist. Being not wise and naive to boot, I knew nothing of the windfall provision when I filed for the $ benefit at age 68. I was a teacher only about 1/2 my working life, about 25 years, and worked other jobs the rest of the time as well as summers and vacations and moonlighting. Plenty enough SS credits. The agent did not give a whit . . . Read More

Category: Non-Covered Pension - WEP / GPO
Posted: Jun 24 2016 - 11:45am

Will My Foreign Pension Affect My Social Security Benefits?

Dear Larry
I was born and raised in the UK, and started paying USA Social Security taxes when I moved to the USA in my late 20's and began working here as a legal alien. Many years later I became a USA citizen.

I am a single (never married) man turning 65 this month. I had 6 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions in the UK before moving to the USA, and would normally need 10 qualifying years to be eligible for a State Pension from the UK. I can however "buy" up to 10 missing years at a favorable price under the terms of the UK pension scheme (the . . . Read More

Category: Foreign Pensions
Posted: Jun 24 2016 - 11:00am

Should My Husband Suspend His Retirement Benefit

Larry,

My husband started receiving SS at 65 and 8 months. He is now
69. He has and is still working full time. Would his benefits increase if he
suspended SSC benefits and restarted in 6-12 months? He will be 70
in 2017.

Your husband can and probably should suspend immediately. He'll boost his benefit by 8/12 or .67 percent for each month he suspends between now and 70.

best, Larry

Category: Suspending Retirement Benefits
Posted: Jun 24 2016 - 11:00am
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