Social Security Benefits

Because we are living longer lives, we can expect to spend more years in retirement than our parents and grandparents. Upon retirement, it is wise to plan for 70 percent of your pre-retirement earnings to maintain your present standard of living before retirement. Social Security benefits will replace only 40 percent of your present income. 

 

Spouses Benefits: If a marriage lasts for 10 years or longer, the current spouse or the divorced spouse may be eligible for Social Security benefits. The spousal benefit is half the benefit of the worker. If you are a divorced spouse, you may apply for benefits if you are at least 62 years old, you are unmarried and you are not entitled to a higher Social Security benefit than your own. Generally, benefits cannot continue if the divorced spouse remarries. Disability benefits are received if the surviving divorced spouse is over the age of 60 or remarried after 60, or after 50 at the time of remarriage you were eligible to receive disability benefits, then the new marriage is discounted and doesn’t interfere with benefits.

 

Disability: If you have worked long enough and recent enough, you can receive benefits upon becoming totally disabled. This benefit can be accrued even if you are not retirement age. A formula is used based on age, earnings and years to determine the disability benefit. There are strict guidelines to prevent Social Security fraud. The worker must be unable to continue at the previous job and be unable to adapt to another job. Severely disabled children may qualify for a supplemental Social Security income. Standards and requirements are different for a child’s benefits than that of an adult. If a parent dies or becomes disabled, a child may receive dependent or survivor’s benefits. 

 

Survivor’s Benefits: If a parent covered by Social Security dies, the surviving spouse or children can receive survivors’ benefits. At age 18 or upon graduation from high school, benefits cease. A widow or widower may begin receiving benefits at age 60. These benefits may be paid to a widow/widower, unmarried children under 18 and dependent parents at 62 or older. A widow/widower receives reduced benefits at 60 and then full benefits at full retirement age.

 

Age: If you start receiving benefits at 62, the benefit will be lower than if you wait until you are older. At age 65, Medicare Part A starts automatically. Beginning with people born in 1938 or later, full retirement age will gradually increase until it reaches 67 for people born after 1959. The increase is calculated by months. For example people born in 1955 full-retirement benefits begin at 66 and 2 months. If you were born after 1960 or later, full-retirement begins at 67.