If you're familiar with Social Security claiming strategies, you may remember a strategy called “File and Suspend”. It was used in order to allow one spouse to begin their spousal benefit on the other spouse’s working record while allowing that other spouse to actually delay their Social Security benefits until a later age (while it grew by delayed credits).  Legislation effectively removed this “File and Suspend” strategy described above for those who had not used it by April … [Read more...]

Did you know that you can suspend your Social Security benefits? When can this be done, and why would anyone want to do it? Social Security benefits can be suspended or paused once an individual reaches their Full Retirement Age (FRA). After suspending benefits, they will continue to grow each year by 8% plus cost-of-living increases awarded until being reinstated.  It's important to understand that the suspension of benefits will also suspend anyone else's benefits that are tied to … [Read more...]

Are you or someone you know have the option between Disability Social Security and regular Social Security? Disability Social Security is an area that is not understood by many consumers, and even many advisors. I remember when I was a new National Social Security Advisor, I felt very inadequate to field questions related to the topic. Disability Social Security equals the amount of the individual’s Full Retirement Age (FRA) benefit. Many times this disability benefit is taken before the … [Read more...]

It would be really nice if we could get our first Social Security benefit check a couple weeks after we applied for it. Unfortunately the timing of your first Social Security benefit is much more complex. aThe Social Security Administration uses several conventions and rules that delay the receipt of your first payment. First, using old English common law standards, they consider your birthday to be legally the day before your actual birthday. If you are born October 5, they would consider … [Read more...]

There are many occasions after retirement, either due to opportunity, need, or sheer boredom, that a retiree may decide to go back into the workforce. If you're receiving a Social Security benefit and working, and you are younger than full retirement age, you need to be aware of the impact of that work income on the receipt of your Social Security benefit. Here is the language that Social Security uses to describe the benefit reduction: In 2018, the annual earnings limit is $17,040 if … [Read more...]