Ask Larry

I am a retired USG employments under CSRS. I will no received SS. If my husband predeceases me, am I eligible to receive his SS? Also, if I predecease him, does he still collect his SS and survivor benefits from my pension? Thank you.

Hi. You could apply for spousal benefits while your husband is living, and/or survivor benefits following his death, but your spousal or survivor benefit rate would almost certainly be offset by 2/3rds of the amount of your CSRS pension due to the Government Pension Offset (GPO) (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf). That could reduce your spousal or survivor amount to zero if your CSRS pension amounts to more than 1.5 times the amount of your spousal or survivor benefit rate.

However, if you die before your husband and if he is eligible for a CSRS survivor benefit, that WOULD NOT cause any reduction to his Social Security benefit rate.

Best, Jerry

My father died 5 years ago and I was denied his benefits. I am a mentally handicapped male who was denied because I made to much money on my only near full time job way back in 1995.Since then, I have only had seasonal or part time jobs, and because of surgeries over the years, am no longer able to do much physical labor at all, and I am only fifty one years old. I have led a fairly poor life and would love to get his benefits to actually live and enjoy whatever time I have left on earth. Is there anything I can do to reverse their policies?

Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. Social Security won't reverse their policies, but you can reapply for disabled adult child (DAC) benefits. Other than getting approved for DAC benefits, there's no other way that you could collect benefits based on your father's Social Security record.

To qualify for DAC benefits, you must have become disabled prior to age 22. If you performed work activity after age 22 that Social Security would define as substantial gainful activity (SGA), then they will likely not approve your claim. However, you could then pursue an appeal, in which case you could eventually make your arguments to an administrative law judge (ALJ). You may want to review the following section of Social Security's operations manual to determine if there is any way you could convince Social Security or an ALJ that the work you performed was not in fact SGA: https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0410505010.

Best, Jerry

Please answer two questions that likely have been answered, perhaps in many places, but are not clear to me:

I will be 69 in August, and am thinking of filing for benefits beginning then. My wife of 40 years is 65, and will be at her FRA of 66-1/2 in June, 2024.

I currently have delayed benefits, including COLA additions, that are greater than what my PIA was, or would have been on the day of my FRA when I turned 66.

Ignoring for the moment any reductions if my wife files for spousal benefits before her own FRA , and assuming 50% of my benefit is more than all of her own benefit, will the spousal benefit be based on a new, recalculated amount that I'm eligible for on the day I claim, or on the old PIA as of my FRA.

I suppose the underlying question is whether or not the PIA is a static number, or does it increase with time after my FRA?

A second question: will my spouse's benefit be locked in if she claims early, or can it increase to the full 50% of my PIA once she reaches her FRA?

Thanks!

Hi. No. A person's PIA is initially established in their eligibility year, which is the earlier of their a) year of death, or b) year of disability onset for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits, or c) year of attainment of age 62. All Social Security cost of living adjustments (COLA) that occur after the person's eligibility year increase their PIA, regardless of whether or not they or anyone else is collecting benefits from their account.

A person's initial PIA can also be increased if they work and earn more in a year than they did in one of the years that were previously used to calculate their benefit rate. Again, that's true regardless of whether or not they've started collecting benefits.

Your wife's unreduced spousal benefit rate will be calculated based on 50% of your PIA at the time she claims spousal benefits. Any reduction for age she takes for starting benefits early is permanent, although the reduction would not carry over to her survivor benefit rate if you die before her.

You and your wife should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully compare and analyze all of your various options so that you can determine the best overall strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry

I am a retired federal worker and as such am able to buy and keep my Medical Benefits as though I am still working. I receive SS benefits and am turning 65 in January of 2024. So my question is this, Do I need to take Medicare B,C,D etc if I am enrolled in a major medical plan already? I know I have to file for Part A.
Thank you for any help you can provide.

Hi. No, you certainly aren't required to enroll in parts B,C, or D of Medicare. Unlike most private industry health plans, federal employee/retiree plans do not automatically revert to secondary coverage when you turn age 65. So, if you're happy with the coverage provided by your federal plan you can simply choose to continue your current coverage. Medicare Part A will become your primary coverage for inpatient hospital charges, and your federal plan will continue to be responsible for any covered non-inpatient services and will act as a secondary coverage for inpatient hospital charges.

Some retired federal employees do opt to enroll in the optional parts of Medicare, though, while also keeping their federal plan coverage. If they do so, Medicare then becomes their primary coverage for any services covered by the part(s) of Medicare in which they enroll, and their federal plan works as a supplemental plan. However, they must then pay the premiums for both their federal coverage and for any optional parts of Medicare in which they enroll.

By the way, if you're receiving Social Security benefits then Social Security will automatically enroll you in both Parts A and B of Medicare unless you refuse the Part B coverage. You should receive a notice about 2 to 3 months before age 65 that gives you instructions for what you need to do if you decide to decline Part B coverage.

Best, Jerry

I am a 51 year old woman, I had developed back and neck issues, apparently I haven't worked 5 out of 10 years. And my husband is on disability, is there a loophole for me to get disability? The SSA will not make a judgement if I'm disabled .

Hi. There's no loophole, but I can try to clarify the insured status rules for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits. In order for a person who becomes disabled at age 31 or later to be insured for SSDI, they must have earned at least 20 quarters (QC) of Social Security coverage within the 10 year period ending with the date of the disability onset. So, for example, if you became disabled in July 2022, you would need to have earned at least 20 QCs during the period from July 2012 to July 2022.

The 'quarter' in QC refers to quarters of a year (i.e. January through March, April through June, July through September, and October through December). You aren't required to work in all four quarters of the year in order to earn 4 QCs, though. In 2023, for example, you are credited with one QC for each $1640 that you earn, up to a maximum of 4 QCs for the year. The amount needed for a QC in each calendar year can be found on the following Social Security website: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/QC.html.

The bottom line is that if you didn't earn at least 20 QCs during the 10 year period leading up to the time you became disabled, then you can't qualify for SSDI benefits regardless of how bad your medical impairment is. If you aren't insured for SSDI, you might want to consider applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) depending on your financial situation. SSI is a needs based benefit administered by the Social Security Administration (https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/).

Best, Jerry

Hello
.My husband retired after 21 yrs NYPD after that he work another 15 yrs in another state. Received letters from social security that he was max out and çouldnt put anymore money into social security. So at the age of 62 I his ŵife applied for social security was told I'm only too get 35%. My husband said the amount is not right. and I am disable and should have been collecting from him all. along...plus I have a letter from telling me they withheld $3500
Because I could of been getting disability ssi while I was receiving ss.
Now we all know they can look in the company and verify that wasn't happening. So I called social security and now they're telling me they know nothing about this money.is there anyway I could have then go over my records. Cause something not right
Thank you

Hi. Unreduced spousal benefits are calculated based on 50% of the primary insurance amount (PIA) of the worker on whose record the spousal benefits are paid. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA). Unless you have an entitled child in your care, though, you must wait until your FRA to start drawing spousal benefits in order to get a full 50% of the worker's PIA.

If you start drawing regular spousal benefits prior to your FRA, then your benefit rate is reduced for age. For people born in 1960 or later, for example, starting to draw spousal benefits at age 62 results in a 35% reduction for age. Thus, if a worker's PIA is $1000, the unreduced spousal amount would be $500, but the age 62 spousal rate would be $325 (i.e. $1000 x 50% x 65%).

The reduction for age applied to spousal benefits for starting to draw them prior to FRA applies regardless of whether or not the spouse is disabled. Being disabled does not entitle a person to a higher spousal benefit rate. If you're insured for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits based on your own earnings history you could apply separately for those benefits, and your SSDI benefit rate would depend on your full earnings history.

You mention SSI, which is the abbreviation used for Supplemental Security Income. SSI is a needs based benefit, so you can only qualify for those benefits if you have little or no income or countable assets. If you live with your spouse, your spouse's income and assets are counted when determining SSI eligibility. Therefore, if you've been living with your spouse and if he had a substantial income then you likely wouldn't have qualified for SSI even if you had filed an application for those benefits. You can still apply for SSI if you think you might qualify, but you can't be paid SSI retroactively for past months.

Best, Jerry

I was a representative payee for someone for one year and during that time I reported he is been working and submitted his paystubs to social security so they found out he is owing social security and he is been overpaid a year before I become his payee and now ssi is holding me responsible for his debts if he can't pay.what should I do am worried

Hi. If Social Security is asking you to repay an overpayment then you should be able to appeal that decision. Here is the website that tells you how to go about doing so: https://www.ssa.gov/apply/appeal-decision-we-made.

Best, Jerry

Hi - I was married to my first husband for 11 years and divorced. My 2nd marriage - also 11 years - ended when my spouse died. My ex-husband died after my 2nd had died, so I was unmarried (widowed) at the time of his death. My ex was receiving SSDI when he died.
I am 52 now (born Dec 1970) & will be eligible to draw on my own record.
My question is: can I file for surviving ex-spouse benefits at 60 then switch to full widow's benefits at FRA? And will my record also be used to determine surviving ex-spouse benefits if so?
Thanks in advance for your answers

Hi. Yes, that's certainly a viable option. Your own earnings history would be irrelevant with regard to what you could receive as a survivor, but depending on how your own benefit rate compares to your survivor benefit rates you may be able switch entitlements more than once. For example, you could potentially file for one survivor benefit at age 60, then your own benefits at age 62, then the other survivor benefit at your full retirement age (FRA). Or, you could potentially file for one survivor benefit at age 60, the other survivor benefit at FRA, and your own benefits at age 70.

The best overall strategy for maximizing your benefits depends on a number of different variables, so you may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully compare and analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry

I applied March 23, 2023. When do I get my check?

Hi. That depends on your date of birth and your initial month of entitlement to benefits. For example, if you were born on March 23, 1961 and if you chose to start your Social Security retirement benefits effective with April 2023, your first payment would be due on the 4th Wednesday of May (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10031-2023.pdf).

You may want to consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze and compare all of your various options in order to determine if you have better options for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry

My wife and I are 63. Both retired with no plans ever to work for money again. Her full retirement age ss benefit will be less than 50% of my FRA benefit. We can afford to defer collecting and thus have deferred. Q. Could she collect now without losing the ability to collect 50% of mine later. We are both healthy and plan to live into our 90's. Yuk, yuk so I was gonna defer as long as it makes sense. Obviously not past 70.

Hi. No. Once a person starts collecting their own Social Security retirement benefits, those benefits continue for life. And, if your wife starts collecting her own prior to her full retirement age (FRA), she'll be stuck with the resulting reduction for age applied to her benefit rate will continue for as long as both of you are living. However, your wife could claim her own benefits at FRA and still be able to receive a combined benefit rate equal to 50% of your primary insurance amount (PIA) if you file for your benefits then or in the future.

It isn't possible for a person to start out collecting their own Social Security retirement benefits first and then switch to a higher spousal or survivor benefit later. What is possible is to start out drawing your own benefits initially, and then claim a partial spousal or survivor benefit later. Any reduction for age that applies to either or both of the benefits is determined based on the person's age at the time they become entitled to the benefit.

For example, let's say Joy files for her Social Security retirement benefits at age 62. Joy's PIA, which is equal to the amount she'd be eligible for if she started drawing her benefits at full retirement age (FRA), is $600. But, Joy's benefit rate is reduced for age to $420 because she's claiming her benefits at age 62. Six years later Joy's spouse applies for his benefits, and his PIA is $2000. Joy's unreduced excess spousal benefit would then be calculated by subtracting her PIA from 50% of her husband's PIA, which in Joy's case amounts to $400 (i.e. $2000/2 - $600). And, since Joy is above FRA when she becomes eligible for spousal benefits, her spousal rate isn't reduced for age. Thus, Joy would then be paid her full excess spousal rate of $400 in addition to her own rate of $420 to give her a combined reduced benefit amount of $820.

You and your wife should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of your options so that you can determine the best overall strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry