Hi Larry,
I am 50 years old and I work two part time jobs. How much tax deduction should I have to take out from my paycheck every two weeks so I can have higher social security benefits when I retire?

Hi,

After I retired a couple years ago I review my social security earnings, and found out that 6 years of my earnings are 0, I took all my taxes, to SS and told me that I have 0 on those years due, to the fact that form 4137 is missing from those years, still it does not convince me, because I have 8 years that I don't have unreported income, because the company has reported it on the W-2 form. Also they told me that I can't do anything now because the limit time to correct such error, has past 3 years 3 months and 15 days. Can you please help me. Many thanks in advance.

I worked in Canada from 1990-1993. My earnings report shows no income for those years. Should those earnings be included in calculations for benefits? If so, what can I do about it? Or can I receive benefits from Canada for those years?

Hi,

We lived overseas for three years in the late 1980s. I was teaching part-time in a local school. We reported the income (income earned abroad) to the IRS in order for me to be able to add funds to my IRA account. However, we did not pay Social Security or Medicare taxes on this income. I have 34 years of income reported to SSA, so in that regard I am OK. However, adding these three years of income, even if we must pay additional SS and Medicare taxes, would likely increase my SS payment when I retire--adding the 35th year and deleting one or two of my lower earning years.

I work in the advertising industry as a free-lancer for production companies that service ad agencies that produce television commercials. May I put money in the Social Security system?

Hi,

If you are self-employed operating a trade or business, then the answer is yes, assuming that you have a net profit of at least $400 annually. In fact, it is actually required. For more information, see this pamphlet from Social Security: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10022.pdf.

Best, Jerry