Will your software take into account my 29 years of active duty military service? I have heard that there is some extra compensation in Social Security for veterans.

Hi,

The answer is yes. Social Security credits extra 'deemed' wages for certain periods of active U.S. military service (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.09/handbook-0953.html). The amount of deemed wages is $300 for each calendar quarter (i.e. Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, etc.) in which a person had active duty from 1957 through 1977. From 1978 to 2001, the credit is $100 for each calendar month in which a person had active duty. These extra deemed wages are then included along with the person's actual earnings when calculating their retirement benefit rate (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10070.pdf).

Starting with 1968, the appropriate amount of extra deemed military wages were automatically added to veterans' Social Security earnings records. So, unless you had active duty before 1968, all you need to do is enter the amount posted on your Social Security earnings record into the maximization software.

Best, Jerry