Ask Larry

I have Divorced Spousal Social Security from the U.S. I may qualify for a minimal pension in Belgium of about $100.00 monthly. I do not know if I would be paid from the beginning date April 2020 should I qualify.
How would my Divorced Spousal Social Security be affected?
Could I start the application in Belgium or is it mandatory I start on the US side? Thank you so much, Anne

Hi Anne. No. Receiving a pension from a foreign country does not cause a person's U.S. Social Security auxiliary (e.g. spousal, divorced spousal) or survivor benefit rate to be reduced. Foreign pensions can only cause a person's U.S. Social Security benefit rate to be reduced if the type of U.S. Social Security benefit they receive is either retirement or disability benefits that are based on the person's own Social Security covered earnings history.

You can apply for your Belgian pension directly with them, or if you're living in the U.S. you can apply by contacting your nearest U.S. Social Security office. For more information on filing for benefits, refer to the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/international/Agreement_Pamphlets/belgium.html.

Best, Jerry

I am retiring from Canada and USA and live in USA.
1.can I collect from both countries and will there be a reduction from my U.S. benefit because it will be greater than my Canadian.
2. Can I legally avoid getting this reduction
3. Is there a formula to calculate the reduction
4. Is dollar exchange in the formula because I do not want to be short changed

Hi. Yes, you can potentially collect benefits from both the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and U.S. Social Security. But if you're collecting a CPP pension, then unless you meet one of the exceptions to the U.S. Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) your U.S. Social Security retirement benefit rate will be lower than it would be if you weren't receiving a CPP pension.

WEP can cause a person's Social Security retirement or disability benefit rate to be calculated using a different, less generous, benefit computation formula than the formula that's normally used. And, no, you can't legally avoid the reduction unless you meet one of the exceptions to WEP. The exceptions and the modified computation formula are outlined in the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.

And, finally, yes the foreign exchange rate is accounted for when calculating benefits involving the WEP. By the way, our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) is programmed to handle WEP and non-WEP computations, so you should strongly consider using the software to fully compare and analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry

Larry,
I collect my own Social Security I was and am still self employed
My husbad a school teacher gets a calpers pension and elected t0 take half his pension so I Would get the half he now gets when he dies. I get conflicting info
Yes I can colect his pension and my social security and
No my Social security or his pension will be reduced b 2/3. He took half his pension so I would get his half.
Thank you so much for your help

Hi. All I can tell you for sure is that collecting a survivor pension from CalPERS will NOT cause your Social Security benefits to be reduced. I wouldn't think that collecting Social Security benefits would cause your CalPERS survivor pension to be reduced either, but I can't tell you that for sure because my area of expertise is limited to Social Security benefits.

Best, Jerry

If I switch from RRB to SSI when I turn 70, and if my ss benefit is higher than my rr does that just means that I would only receive the higher of the 2 benefits and who would I be receiving the money from, RRB or SSI
Thank you in advance for your answers

Hi. Railroad Retirement (RR) benefits consist of two tiers. Tier 1 benefits are essentially a substitute for Social Security, so if you apply for both Social Security and RR benefits you can only be paid the higher of your Social Security benefit or your RR tier 1 amount. But, if you're eligible for any tier 2 RR benefits, those benefits can still be paid in addition to the higher of your Social Security or tier 1 RR benefit amount.

Social Security benefits are paid from Social Security trust funds, and RR benefits are paid from the National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust. But, when you're eligible for both Social Security and RR benefits, instead of paying you directly the Social Security Administration first sends your benefits to the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) so that they can make any required adjustments to your RR benefits. The RRB then determines what if any RR benefits you're entitled to in addition to your Social Security, and they then authorize the U.S. treasury department to pay whatever benefits are due from each program.

Best, Jerry

I am fra and qualify for RRB divorced spousal benefits. I plan to keep working until age 70 to collect my maximum benefits with delayed credits on my own SSI. Can I collect the RRB and switch to my SSI when I reach 70 and still receive the delayed credits. I have contacted both RRB and SSI and I am getting conflicting answers from both agencies.The best that I can figure is that my SSI will be higher than my RRB. Thank you

Hi. Yes, your Social Security retirement benefit rate can still be increased by delayed retirement credits (DRC) for any months that you don't collect Social Security retirement benefits between your full retirement age (FRA) and age 70, even if you're collecting Railroad Retirement (RR) benefits during that time. As you're apparently aware, though, once you claim your Social Security benefits your Tier 1 RR benefits will be offset dollar for dollar by the amount of your Social Security benefit.

Best, Jerry

I am marrying a filipina with two minor children--- My wife or kids have never left the philippines' but I have been there more than 5 times and rent a home there now. I receive 1894.00 month at age 69.---

Question: When i die will children and my spouse be able to collect benefits?

Hi. Assuming that your wife and children are citizens of the Philippines only, then the answer is almost certainly no. In order for your wife and step-children to be able to collect benefits from your Social Security record while they are living outside of the U.S., they would likely need to have resided with you in the U.S. for at least five years while you were in a family relationship (https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302610025).

Best, Jerry

What process do I go through to request a review to recalculate my Social Security pay/credits, based upon higher earnings now (over last 3 years as a LtCol USAF) and further much larger earnings, given that I am 64 years old, and will not stop full time nurse anesthesia (civilian) until 70 years old.

Hi. Social Security retirement benefits are based on an average of a person's highest 35 years of Social Security covered wage-indexed earnings, so additional years of earnings only increase a person's benefit rate if they're higher than one or more of the 35 years currently being used to calculate the person's benefit rate.

Social Security does automatically recompute benefit rates for people who are drawing benefits and who earn enough to increase their benefit rate. Therefore, you shouldn't need to do anything to receive any benefit rate increases for which you are due. However, if you think that your earnings since applying for benefits were high enough to increase your benefit rate you can ask for a manual recomputation by submitting a written request to your servicing Social Security office along with proof (e.g. W-2 forms for wages or Schedule SE from your tax return for self-employment) of your recent earnings. Form SSA-795 (https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-795.pdf) is the preferred form to use for such written requests.

Best, Jerry

Hi - I am stumped by this explanation on SSA's website https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/survivorchartred.html; I had a question widow, who wanted to claim widow's benefit at 62, her FRA 67. According to the chart, if for 67 FRA reduction on $1,000 is to $796 if claimed at 62. Yet, SSA list monthly reduction .339, if I multiply this by 60 months difference I am getting a very different result than $796. Kindly, what am I doing wrong? What's the best way to calculate it? Is there a rule of thumb besides the range 71.5% - 99%? Or what's in the footnote 4. Thank you much

Hi. Calculations involving widow(er) benefits are complex at best, especially if the deceased worker collected Social Security retirement benefits prior to their death. There is a calculation worksheet provided in Social Security's operations manual (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0300615322), but it's probably indecipherable to average person.

In short, if deceased worker on whose account the widow(er) in your example did not collect reduced Social Security retirement benefits prior to their death, then the reduction percentages shown in the chart you cite would be accurate. But, if the deceased worker did receive reduced Social Security retirement benefits prior to their death, then the maximum survivor benefit rate that their widow(er) could be paid is the higher of a) the worker's reduced retirement benefit rate inclusive of cost of living increases that occurred after their death, or b) 82.5% of the deceased worker's primary insurance amount (PIA). A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

In the example you cite, the widow would receive $796 if they claim benefits effective with the month they reach age 62, regardless of whether or not the deceased worker collected reduced retirement benefits prior to their death. But, if that widow claims survivor benefits at FRA or later then their monthly rate could be from as low as 82.5% of the deceased worker's PIA to as much as 100% or more of the deceased worker's PIA depending on when or if the deceased worker started collecting Social Security retirement benefits.

Fortunately, our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) is fully programmed to handle widow(er) benefit computations. Anyone contemplating applying for benefits should strongly consider using our software to fully compare and analyze all of their various options in order to determine their best strategy for maximizing benefits.

Best, Jerry

I am a real estate agent in NJ. I have a prospective client who would like to sell his home and move to a more tax friendly state. Currently, he receives approx $14,000 in SSDI and Food Stamps. The home he owns would net him about $350,000 after expenses. His concern is that if he sells the home, he would no longer qualify for his current benefits. In addition, there would be a "look back" where he would be required to return benefits to SSA for the entire time period he received benefits which has been 22 years,

Hi. As long as the type of benefit that your potential client receives is Social Security disability (SSDI) and not Supplemental Security Income (SSI), then selling his home wouldn't have any effect on his current, past or future Social Security benefits. My expertise doesn't extend to the food stamp program, though, so I can't tell you what effect if any a home sale might have on those benefits.

Best, Jerry

Hi Larry,
Several years ago I filed a restricted application and am currently receiving spousal benefits. I want to switch to my own maximum retirement benefits beginning the month I turn 70, which is July 2023. I am filing the application online but there are several questions I do not know how to answer. Am hoping you can help.
1. Since I am receiving spousal benefits, are my Medicare and Social Security Benefits submitted on my wife's or my Social Security number?
2. I want to continue receiving spousal benefits until my benefits start in July. How do I answer the question, "If eligible for both retirement and spouse's benefits, delay receipt of retirement benefit?
Thanks
Armin

Hi Armin. The account on which your current Medicare eligibility was established would depend on whether or not you filed a Medicare only application prior to applying for spousal benefits. Regardless of on whose account your current Medicare eligibility is established, though, since Social Security numbers are no longer used as Medicare claim numbers, any claims submitted for Medicare reimbursement should be submitted using your assigned Medicare number.

There is a question on applications for Social Security retirement benefits that asks if you want to enroll in Part B of Medicare. Assuming that you already have Part B coverage, you would simply answer 'Yes' to that question. A negative response to that question could be interpreted by Social Security to mean that you want to cancel your Part B coverage. But, if you don't already have Part B coverage, then you should refer to the following Medicare website for enrollment period information: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Eligibility-and-Enrollment/OrigMedicarePartABEligEnrol.

Regarding your second question, you'll want to answer 'No' to the question about delaying the receipt of retirement benefits. Answering 'Yes' to that question means that you want to apply for spousal benefits only, which you've apparently already done previously. Your entitlement to spousal benefits will still continue up until the month you switch to your own benefits.

Best, Jerry