Social Security Is More Than Your Own Retirement
If you think of Social Security retirement benefits as only a choice between claiming for retirement on reaching age 62, age 66 for full retirement benefits, and age 70 for more expansive benefits, you may be short changing yourself on some of the varied opportunities under the Act. Here are just a few options available under Social Security. There are more.
You Might Claim on Your Parent’s Earnings Record. As stated by attorneys from The Bollinger Law Firm, P.C., if you developed a chronic disability before age 22 you might fit a category known as developmentally disabled and receive and continue to claim on your parent’s work record through adulthood. You can hire workers comp lawyer in Arizona over here for disability cases and workers compensation claims.
You Might Claim on Benefits Based on Your Spouse’s Earnings. Workers who pay into the system know they can claim benefits on retirement on their own work record. Many do not know they might be able to claim on the earnings record of their spouse at 50%. What has complicated this issue recently is changes made to Social Security laws last year changing the rules on file and suspend and on restricted application., two popular planning strategies. If either you or your spouse will reach age 66, that is full retirement age, by April 29, 2016, you might seek help now to see if you qualify to apply for file and suspend. If so, the filing must be done by April 29, 2016. Restricted application continues for a bit longer. This is a complicated analysis and one you probably should not do on your own.
You Might Claim on Your Ex-Spouse’s Benefit. If a marriage lasted at least ten years, a divorced spouse might claim on the ex-spouse’s earnings record. These benefits do not affect the benefits of the contributing spouse. There are limitations. If the former spouse is not collecting Social Security retirement benefits, the divorced spouse can collect benefits only after two years have elapsed from the date of the divorce and the contributing spouse must be at least age 62 and fully insured even if he is not receiving benefits. The dependent ex-spouse must be at least age 62 and unmarried. Remember , however, claiming at age 62 reduces benefits from that which would have been received at full retirement age, currently 66.
Social Security Disability Is An Option for Younger Disabled Workers. Before retirement age, workers who are disabled may claim for Social Security Disability based on their earnings record. They need to have earned enough credits by working and they need to be determined to be unable to engage in substantial gainful employment for at least a year or have a condition that could result in death. Social Security Disability is not a welfare program. The disabled worker can have assets but is unable to work except on a very restricted basis. After two years on Social Security Disability, the recipient can receive Medicare for health insurance . On reaching retirement age, the Social Security disability benefits are converted to retirement benefits.
There Are Death Benefits Under Social Security. Where a spouse dies who was the higher wage earner, the surviving spouse may move up to his benefit although she does not keep her own in addition.
Specifics would need to be consulted in each case but death benefits might include those for widows and widowers age 60 or older, widows or widowers age 50 or older and disabled, widows or widowers at any age if caring for a child under 16 or a disabled child, a child receiving Social Security benefits, children if unmarried and under age 18 or under age 19 but full time students in elementary or secondary school, children 18 or older and severely disabled if the disability began prior to age 22, parents if dependent on the decedent for at least half of their support.
Supplemental Security Income. For those who do not have enough credits in the system because they have not worked and contributed into the system long enough and are disabled using the same standard for disability as Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) may be available if assets are $2,000 or less and income is extremely low. The main benefit is that SSI comes with Medicaid for health insurance.
Social Security is more complicated that your own retirement and has more rules and exceptions than can easily be explained here. Get help if needed.
About the Author Janet Colliton
Esquire, Colliton Law Associates, P.C. Janet Colliton has practiced law for over 38 years, 37 of them in Chester County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Her practice, Colliton Law Associates, PC, is limited to elder law, Medicaid, including advice, applications and appeals, and other benefits planning including Veterans benefits, life care and special needs planning, guardianships, retirement, and estate planning and administration.