I just filed for my husband to receive his Social Security, he will be 62 next month. He has a nice pension with Florida Retirement, 32 years LEO. I am retired FERS, three prong retirement, retirement, FERS supplement, and TSP. FERS supplement will go away upon my turning 62 and I am "supposed" to begin collecting Social Security to replace it. Well my thoughts on taxes took me to the Internet today and I discovered that if a married couple earns/receives more than $44,000 annually their Social Security is taxed at 85%. Someone, in their infinite wisdom thinks that amount is "doing well" and you don't need your Social Security. Social Security was never meant to be a means of support but a supplement to ones income. Since we are forced to contribute to it and now it is time to collect our money we can't get it. I'm trying to make sense of this lunacy and understand why I have heard no outcry about the unfair treatment of working class Americans...I know there are millions like us and now I'm unsure what to do.

Hi. My expertise is limited to Social Security benefits and not income taxes. However, it sounds like you may be misinterpreting what you read. Social Security benefits are not taxed at an 85% rate. 85% is the maximum percent of a person's Social Security income that can potentially be subject to taxes. The tax rate that you'd actually pay on any taxable amount of your benefits would vary depending on your tax bracket.

For example, let's say that Joe receives $10,000 in annual Social Security benefits, and 85% of that amount is taxable. That would mean that $8500 of Joe's benefits would be subject to income taxes. And, if Joe is in the 22% tax bracket, for instance, then he'd end up paying $1870 (i.e. $8500 x .22) in federal income tax on his $10,000 annual benefit amount.

Note that I am not arguing in favor of taxing Social Security benefits. I'm simply trying to clarify the regulations. You and your husband may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) or our Maxifi planner (https://maxifiplanner.com/) to fully analyze all of your options so that you can determine the best overall strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry