The Social Security Act with all of its associated rules and regulations is extremely complex.

The Act and all subsequent rulings/regulations/procedures and forms (approximately 8000), are referenced at SSA.GOV in the form of general and semi-specific information.  Another more detailed tool used mostly by representatives, is the Program Operations Manual Systems (POMS).

Social Security created the more accessible SSA.GOV for the general public, and those who do not spend their lives reading government manuals.  The establishment of SSA.GOV reduced foot-traffic into Social Security offices, and reduced the volume of telephone contacts.  Sounds good, but the general public, older beneficiaries, and many boomers prefer face-to-face/phone contact.

Social Security employees work hard to maintain the level of service Americans are entitled to.  The most damaging impediment has been the budget reductions of operating funds, which in turn reduced employees.  Computers do not process claims – people do.

Social Security – 101

Urban legends and well-crafted misinformation harmful to us all (concerning social security benefits) are part of the landscape everyone must deal with.  Retirement & Disability benefits are (ostensibly) funded by the payroll taxes we all pay as FICA and Medicare taxes. Truth told: If you had deductions taken out of your paycheck for FICA and Medicare…. you earned Social Security benefits and Medicare coverage.  Yes, EARNED.

Non-covered workers who do/did not have deductions taken out of their paychecks for FICA & Medicare (e.g.: Federal, State & public employees, school teachers, municipal workers, etc., may not receive any SS benefits or Medicare.

As defined by SSA: “Retirement benefits – Entitlement Requirements”.

One must:  “…Be fully insured, and

Have attained age 62, and

Have filed an application”

Realizing you are only months from retirement can be very stressful.  Word on the street is: Get yours as soon as possible… or before the money runs out.

With new found knowledge obtained from SSA.GOV, you decide to file, online of course.  Oh wait! You were married twice before; your 1st ex-wife has your disabled adult son (DAC) in her care.  Your second divorced wife is only 40, has a 10 year old you adopted and your current wife isn’t working and is two years older.  While breathing into a paper bag, you run to SSA.GOV.  Better yet you think:  “I’ll go to my local office.”  They were really nice to me when I first got my SSA card.  I mean, really, what could have changed??!

Every retiring person asks: “What is the most advantageous month for me to retire?”

Answer: “When will you stop working or reduce your wages below the allowable limit?”

You will receive $benefits as of that date?

Question: “Isn’t there one month better than others?”

Answer: “Tell me…????” – And ’round and ’round we go.

Of course, there actually IS a most advantageous month to receive benefits.  No two people have the same wages, month of birth, years of employment, beneficiaries, spouses etc.

To properly answer the question, one must take into consideration:  age, the month you will stop working and/or the amount of your monthly/yearly wages; divorced spouses, other income, minor children, disabled adult children… and the list goes on.  Figuring out your individual particulars such as: financial planning, or legal ramifications to your estate, is not the job of Social Security employees.

SSA employees administer the rules and regulations of the Social Security Administration.  They are prohibited from interviewing their personal friends or relatives.  Nor, can they ask status questions of a co-worker for anyone they know.  And, they are prohibited from making political, legal, financial, or any comment that would lead the individual to believe they are providing an opinion.

The first two words you need to know are entitlement and eligible.  They are not interchangeable; at least not for Social Security employees. For any SSA benefit to be payable, you must establish entitlement first.

Once you have acquired 40 quarters (credits) of coverage, have attained age 62-70, stopped work or have wages below the earnings test for the calendar year of retirement, and have filed an application, you can be eligible for a benefit.

The highest 35 years of covered wages will be used to determine a benefit amount. Ladies, if you stayed home caring for your children and did not record wages, SSA will remove up to five zero years from the 35 years of earnings.  Therefore, your full retirement benefit will be based on 30 years not 35 (assuming you did not work those five years).

Sorry non-covered employees… you may not be entitled to a benefit.  Of course, the government has exceptions – which we will not go into here.

Simply put:  Look for a well-trained, highly experienced individual.  Get all the information and answers specifically to your personal retirement needs.  No two individuals have the same life story.

Professional Secure Assistance, LLC was established in 2007, utilizing the accumulated SSA experience and knowledge of 26 years to provide timely, professional, customized information to the public; particularly, the retirement & disability questions SSA employees are prohibited from answering.

We also represent our clients before the Social Security Administration if necessary, to ensure that our client’s receive their maximum benefits.

Written by Cape Coral resident David Hampton, PSA (Professional Secure Assistance),  www.askpsa.com