Redo for Social Security Retirement Benefits

Did you sign up early to start receiving Social Security benefits? If you’ve only recently begun to take benefits, you can still change your mind. For the first twelve months that you’re receiving Social Security income, you have the option to reset this to a later date and increase your payments.

During the initial year, you can halt your monthly payments and delay benefits to get further increases with age 70 being the maxed benefit. This flexibility comes at a cost though; you’ll have to pay back any amount you have already received. For some people, doing so is worth it, if you took benefits at age 62 this is up to a 30% reduction in benefits for the rest of your life. Each year you delay between ages 62 and 70 gives you a nice increase. If you’re the breadwinner in your family ideally you should wait as long as possible as a survivor spouse only gets the higher of the two.  

It isn’t just the currently calculated benefits that will be affected, either. Since Social Security cost of living increases (COLA) are figured as a percentage of your current benefits, delaying until full retirement age or longer means that each year you receive benefits you’ll have a higher amount from which to calculate annual COLA increases.

Unless you really need Social Security income as soon as you are eligible, it’s usually best to wait until your full retirement age or when it maxes out at age 70. One of our Social Security retirement advisors can help you find the best time to take benefits, or help you halt benefits now to increase your retirement income later. www.socialsecuritybp.com to read more, info@socialsecuritybp.com or call 877-270-SSBP (7727)

Not associated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other government agency.

7 comments on “Redo for Social Security Retirement Benefits

  1. Alice Grainger on

    i took social security at age 62 and now am 77 and still have to work 24 hours per day. Is the money I’ve earned since starting to receive my SS benefit going towards increasing my monthly SS income? Is there any way to get an increase based on employment over the past 18 years?

    Reply
  2. Tony on

    Alice – You might want to look at current legislation H.R. 141 titled: The Social Security Fairness Act and one of the sponsors is Congressman Pete Aguilar of California. You can call and talk with “Evan” in his Washington DC office.

    1. To make is simple, if you paid into a separate retirement program like Railroad Retirement Board, or a teacher’s pension plan, or a County pension plan then Congress enacted a law managed by the Social Security Administration (SSA) called the Windfall Act during year 2002 that allows SSA to CONSOLIDATE all pensions earned into one pension benefit that essentially only gives the retiree ONE pension at the SSA rate meaning no credit or monies for the other pension EARNED! So much for Congress claims to help the retiree PLUS we have a dollar limit that we can earn in retirement and if we exceed that dollar amount then our pension amount is REDUCED for exceeding the annual dollar amount again CONGRESS is treating the retiree unfairly.

    1. Example – see Social Security Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 2, 2008 on page 49, section “notes #7” states: “Some workers are eligible for both Social Security and RRB benefits. When this occurs, the RRB retains jurisdiction, but SSA authorizes the RRB to make payment on its behalf. In most cases, SSA certifies Social Security benefits to the RRB whenever the recipient is also eligible for an RRB annuity (SSA 2002). If an RRB recipient is eligible for, and requests, Social Security benefits, the RRB reduces the Tier I annuity to account for the Social Security benefit and in most cases, there is no change in total monthly benefit payments. The RRB cannot alter the calculated Social Security benefit amount, as these computations remain the authority of SSA, regardless of certification (SSA 2002).

    2. SSA website explains: “Your Social Security retirement or disability benefits can be reduced The Windfall Elimination Provision can affect how we calculate your retirement or disability benefit. If you work for an employer who doesn’t withhold Social Security taxes from your salary, such as a government agency or an employer in another country, any retirement or disability pension you get from that work can reduce your Social Security benefits……”

    3. The good news is H.R.141 will eliminate the ridiculous “calculations and percentages” used by SSA to justify their eliminating RRB, or teacher pension, or County government pensions by CONSOLIDATION all pensions into one lousy SSA payment. This was Congress and SSA plan to help save the other RRB etc pension plans by “eliminating” their pension obligations….instead the excuse was Congress enacted the Windfall Act so SSA must follow the law?

    4.So Alice, you might be able to “REDO” the SSA benefit OR if you earned another pension and when H.R. 141 is signed into law then you will get the additional benefit i.e. a RRB pension with an earned $2000 a month payment in addition to your SSA monthly benefit.

    5. FYI, I retired in year 2012 so I am requesting my monthly RRB pension be paid retroactively from year 2012 to date under H.R. 141.

    Call your Congressman and ask him/her about H.R. 141. GOOD LUCK!

    Reply

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