How Much Will I Get From Social Security
Your retirement benefit is based on your lifetime earnings in work in which you paid Social Security taxes. Higher income translates to a bigger benefit . The amount you are entitled to is modified by other factors, most crucially the age at which you claim benefits.
For reference, the average Social Security retirement benefit in May 2022 was $1,668 a month. The maximum benefit the most an individual retiree can get is $3,345 a month for someone who files for Social Security in 2022 at full retirement age , the age at which you qualify for 100 percent of the benefit calculated from your earnings history. FRA is 66 and 4 months for people born in 1956 and is gradually rising to 67 for those born in 1960 or later.
Youll only know your own amount for sure when you apply, but there are ways to get a sense of it in advance. The quickest and easiest is to use AARPs Social Security Benefits Calculator or check your online My Social Security account. The latter draws on your earnings record on file with the Social Security Administration for the AARP calculator, youll need to provide your average annual income.
Both tools project what you could collect each month if you start Social Security at age 62, the earliest you can file for retirement benefits at full retirement age and at age 70. Between 62 and FRA, Social Security reduces your benefit for filing early between FRA and 70, it increases your payment as a reward for waiting.
Keep in mind
Fact #: Social Security Is Particularly Important For People Of Color
Social Security is a particularly important source of income for groups with low earnings and less opportunity to save and earn pensions, including Black and Latino workers and their families, who face higher poverty rates during their working lives and in old age. The poverty rate among Black and Latino older adults is roughly 2.5 times as high as for white seniors. There is a significant racial retirement wealth gap, leading older adults of color to face more retirement insecurity than their white counterparts. Black and Latino workers are less likely to be offered workplace retirement plans, and they are likelier to work in low-wage jobs with little margin for savings. Social Security helps reduce the economic disparities between older white adults and older adults of color.
Before You Make Your Decision
There are advantages and disadvantages to taking your benefit before your full retirement age. The advantage is that you collect benefits for a longer period of time. The disadvantage is your benefit will be reduced. Each person’s situation is different. It is important to remember:
- If you delay your benefits until after full retirement age, you will be eligible for delayed retirement credits that would increase your monthly benefit.
- That there are other things to consider when making the decision about when to begin receiving your retirement benefits.
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How Do Benefits Work And How Can I Qualify
While you work, you pay Social Security taxes. This tax money goes into a trust fund that pays benefits to:
- Those who are currently retired
- To people with disabilities
- To the surviving spouses and children of workers who have died
Each year you work, youll get credits to help you become eligible for benefits when its time for you to retire. Find all the benefits Social Security Administration offers.
There are four main types of benefits that the SSA offers:
-
Learn about earning limits if you plan to work while receiving Social Security benefits
Retirement Income Benefits For Qualified Family Members
Even if your spouse has never worked outside your home or in a job covered by Social Security, he or she may be eligible for spousal benefits based on your Social Security earnings record. Other members of your family may also be eligible. Retirement benefits are generally paid to family members who relied on your income for financial support. If youre receiving retirement benefits, the members of your family who may be eligible for family benefits include:
- Your spouse age 62 or older, if married at least one year
- Your former spouse age 62 or older, if you were married at least 10 years
- Your spouse or former spouse at any age, if caring for your child who is under age 16 or disabled
- Your children under age 18, if unmarried
- Your children under age 19, if full-time students or disabled
- Your children older than 18, if severely disabled
Your eligible family members will receive a monthly benefit that is as much as 50 percent of your benefit. However, the amount that can be paid each month to a family is limited. The total benefit that your family can receive based on your earnings record is about 150 to 180 percent of your full retirement benefit amount. If the total family benefit exceeds this limit, each family members benefit will be reduced proportionately. Your benefit wont be affected.
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How Do You Qualify For Social Security Benefits
You qualify for Social Security old age benefits by paying into the program during your working years. Full insurance is based on accumulating 40 quarters or “credits” from covered wages, and a worker can earn up to four credits a year. One credit is awarded for every $1,470 in earnings for 2021 , an amount that is adjusted annually to keep up with inflation.
A payroll tax cap sets the maximum amount of earned income that is subject to the Social Security payroll tax. The payroll tax cap in 2021 is $142,800 .
The SSA keeps track of your earnings throughout your career, indexes each year’s total earnings, and uses the 35 highest-earning years to determine your average indexed monthly earnings . Next, your AIME is used to arrive at your primary insurance amount , the monthly amount you can begin to collect when you reach full retirement age.
For individuals born in 1938 or later, the full retirement age gradually increases from 65 until it hits 67 for those born after 1959. You can collect Social Security retirement benefits at age 62, but the amount of the benefit will be reduced to compensate for receiving it earlier and, presumably, for a longer period of time.
If you wait until you’re 70 instead of 62 to collect benefits, you’ll get an extra 8% a year, which means you’ll collect 132% of your PIA for the rest of your life. Once you reach age 70 the increases stop.
Summary Of The Retirement And Survivors Insurance Programs
Social Security Retirement and Survivors Insurance provides a monthly cash benefit for retired workers and their dependents or survivors. Benefit amounts are based on payroll tax contributions, the FICA tax, that the worker makes during their working life. Eligibility is based on whether the worker is insured under the Social Security system and whether the worker meets Social Securitys age requirements, and for eligible dependents/survivors, whether the insured worker is entitled to benefits or is deceased. Application for RSI can be made at local Social Security offices, some individuals may apply online or via the phone.
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How To Apply For Social Security Disability Insurance
The Social Security Administration provides disability payments to more than 8 million Americans, primarily through Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI. Applicants must be diagnosed with an injury or condition that prevents them from working for at least a year or is expected to result in their death.
Another form of disability benefit is Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, which is funded by the Treasury Department but administered through the SSA. It aids individuals whose financial resources are below specified limits.
Being approved for either program requires substantial evidence and the process can take a considerable amount of time, usually involving an in-person or phone interview.
Here’s what you need to know to apply for Social Security disability benefits, including what is available and what conditions qualify.
For more on Social Security, find out when SSDI checks go out, how to access your benefits online and how retirement benefits are calculated.
Health Disability And Other Welfare Benefits
- Can the Department of Labor assist me with my health, disability, or other ERISA welfare benefit issue, if my benefit is being denied by my plan?You can speak to an EBSA employee with expertise in ERISA and employee benefits. Please contact us by phone at 1-866-444-3272, or online to communicate directly with an EBSA Benefits Advisor. EBSAs Benefits Advisors will review and discuss your issue with you. When appropriate, we can contact employee welfare benefit plans and attempt to address issues through voluntary compliance.
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If You’re Not Sure Why You Received A Payment
If you receive a check or direct deposit payment from the Treasury Department and do not know what its for, contact the regional financial center that issued it. Only the agency that authorized the payment can explain why you received it.
If you received a check, look for the RFCs city and state at the top center. Then contact that RFC to find out which federal agency authorized the payment. It will be one of these:
If you received payment byelectronic funds transfer , or direct deposit, follow the directions under Find Information About a Payment.
Use the Treasury Check Verification System to verify that the check is legitimate and issued by the government.
How To Apply Online For Just Medicare
Are you within three months of turning age 65 or older and not ready to start your monthly Social Security benefits yet? You can use our online retirement application to sign up just for Medicare and wait to apply for your retirement or spouses benefits later. It takes less than 10 minutes, and there are no forms to sign and usually no documentation is required.
To find out what documents and information you need to apply, go to the .
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Already Enrolled In Medicare
If you have Medicare, you can get information and services online. Find out how to .
If you are enrolled in Medicare Part A and you want to sign up for Part B, please complete form CMS-40B, Application for Enrollment in Medicare Part B . If you are applying for Medicare Part B due to a loss of employment or group health coverage, you will also need to complete form CMS-L564, Request for Employment Information.
You can use one of the following options to submit your enrollment request under the Special Enrollment Period:
Note: When completing the forms CMS-40B and CMS-L564:
- State I want Part B coverage to begin in the remarks section of the CMS-40B form or online application.
- If possible, your employer should complete Section B.
- If your employer is unable to complete Section B, please complete that portion as best as you can on their behalf and submit one of the following forms of secondary evidence:
- Income tax form that shows health insurance premiums paid.
- W-2s reflecting pre-tax medical contributions.
- Pay stubs that reflect health insurance premium deductions.
- Health insurance cards with a policy effective date.
- Explanations of benefits paid by the GHP or LGHP.
- Statements or receipts that reflect payment of health insurance premiums.
Some people with limited resources and income may also be able to get .
Benefit Based On Pia And Age
The amount of retirement benefits paid depends on a person’s age when he or she begins receiving benefits. We reduce benefits taken before a person’s normal retirement age and we increase benefits taken after normal retirement age.
We assume the worker in case A begins receiving benefits at the earliest possible age, which is age 62. Because case A’s normal retirement age is 67 years, the benefit amount for case A is reduced for 60 months of early retirement. The $2,079.60 PIA is thus reduced to a monthly benefit of $1,455.00.
The benefit amount for case B, assuming that benefits begin exactly at normal retirement age of 66 years and 4 months, is not reduced except for rounding down to the next lower dollar. The $3,313.80 PIA is thus reduced to a monthly benefit of $3,313.00.
In addition to case B, we also have other benefit examples forworkers whose earnings have equalled or exceeded maximum taxable amounts. These examples show AIME and benefit amounts for retirement at ages 62, 65, 66, 67, and 70.
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Applying For Ssi And Regular Social Security Benefits
If you are eligible for SSI, then it is highly likely that you are also eligible for Social Security benefits. Indeed, when you apply for SSI, you are also applying for Social Security benefits at the same time.
Thus, it is rather easy to apply for SSI and Social Security benefits. That said, it may be a good idea to contact an experienced SSI claims lawyer in Jacksonville to ensure that your application for benefits is granted on the first try. Oftentimes, issues with an SSI application could cause unnecessary delays.
What Income Reduces Your Social Security Benefits
Income that contributes to your yearly earnings limit, which can reduce your benefit amount, include wages paid to you for working and net earnings from self-employment. Income that does not reduce benefits includes interest, annuities, capital gains, investment earnings, pensions, and other government benefits.
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Fact #: Most Older Beneficiaries Rely On Social Security For The Majority Of Their Income
Social Security provides the majority of income to most older adults. For about half of this group, it provides at least 50 percent of their income, and for about 1 in 4 older adults, it provides at least 90 percent of their income, according to multiple surveys and the Census Bureau study.
Most retirees have modest incomes, save for some at the top of the income spectrum. Most low-income older Americans have very little pension income, if any, according to the U.S. Census Bureau study. Among retiree households in the bottom third of the income distribution, most received no pension income. About 1 in 4 of these households lived on less than $20,000 in 2015, and about half lived on $50,000 or less, according to an Social Security Administration study that also matches survey and administrative data.
Retirement For Active Employees
As public servants, State of Texas employees provide critical services to Texans. ERS works to support current and former state employees through the State of Texas defined benefit retirement plan. The State of Texas retirement plan is mandatory for most state agency employees and provides a lifetime annuity when they retire.
In addition to mandatory participation in State of Texas retirement, eligible state agency employees are encouraged to contribute to personal retirement savings. To help them with that, ERS offers the Texa$aver 401 / 457 Program, with low-cost traditional and Roth options. Some higher education employees also can participate in Texa$aver, if their institutions offer it.Along with Social Security, State of Texas Retirement and personal retirement savings make up the of retirement income. Please see the for information about your insurance benefits as a retiree.
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Get Help Qualifying For Disability Benefits
The truth is, applying for disability can be a long and sometimes frustrating process. Most first-time applicants are denied, and appeals can take months. However, this doesnt mean you should give up hope. With the help of an experienced Social Security disability lawyer, you can increase your odds of being approved the first time and strengthen your claim should you need to go through the appeals process.
To find out the difference having dedicated representation on your side can make, contact us at Social Security Disability Advocates USA today. Well arrange a free, no obligation consultation with our legal team to review your disability claim and help you make the right decision for you and your family. Get in touch 24/7 by calling , connecting with one of our LiveChat agents, or by filling out this form to request your complimentary case review.
This is attorney advertising. SSDA, LLC is a group of attorneys that pursues claims for Social Security Disability benefits on behalf of its clients against the Social Security Administration. SSDA, LLC is in no way a part of the Social Security Administration. Further, the information on this blog is for general information purposes only. Nothing herein should be taken as legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, a representative-client relationship.
What Are Social Security Benefits
Social Security benefits are payments made to qualified retired adults and people with disabilities, and to their spouses, children, and survivors. Social Securityofficially the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program in the U.S.is a comprehensive federal benefits program designed to provide partial replacement income for retired adults and their spouses, those whose spouse or qualifying ex-spouse has died, and people with disabilities. Under specified conditions, it also supports the children of beneficiaries.
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How Does Social Insurance Affect Poverty And Income Inequality
Many social insurance programs are targeted by income. To qualify for most of those programs, individuals, households, or families need to have income below a specified level, often a multiple of a threshold known as the poverty line. The income limits for the programs vary, often being set somewhere between from 100 percent and 300 or 400 percent of the poverty line. The US Department of Health and Human Services issues the poverty-line thresholds used in determining eligibility for these programs and updates the thresholds each year, adjusting for inflation. In some of these programs the federal government sets the income limit in other programs the states do, often within federal guidelines. Other social insurance programs do not have an income limit typically, those programswhich include Social Security, Medicare, and UIrequire a past earnings record of a specified duration.
Poverty and Social Insurance
Another way to track the increased anti-poverty effectiveness of social insurance is to examine what percentage of people who are poor before social insurance are lifted above the poverty line by it. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has shown that in the late 1960s, government benefits and taxes lifted out of poverty approximately 5 percent of those who would otherwise be poor, while by 2019, benefits and taxes lifted out of poverty about 48 percent of those who would otherwise be poor.
Poverty and Race
Income Inequality and Social Insurance
