Tag: Social Security

There Is No Marriage Penalty With Social Security

July 30, 2021
AdviceBusinessSocial Security
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I frequently hear from readers who ask me about an alleged marriage penalty associated with Social Security. Or they say they heard there is a maximum amount that can be paid to members of a married couple. These rumors are untrue. Today’s emails illustrate what I am talking about. Q: I am living with a…

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Privacy Laws and Social Security

July 23, 2021
AdviceBusinessmoneySocial Security
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I recall my days as a trainee with the Social Security Administration. And gosh, that was almost 50 years ago! The very first thing drilled into our heads was a law called The Privacy Act, which prevented us from disclosing any information about anyone’s Social Security record to anyone other than the record holder. Almost…

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People Who Don’t Want Social Security

July 16, 2021
AdviceBusinessmoneypersonal financeSocial Security
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When we are talking about Social Security benefits, almost everyone wants more, not less. You can probably find 10,000 articles on the Internet if you search “maximizing your Social Security.” But I’ll give you $1,000 if you can find one story headlined “minimizing your Social Security.” Or consider this. Over the past 50 years, I…

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When the Wife Is the Primary Breadwinner

June 26, 2021
AdviceBusinessfinancemoneySocial Securitytaxes
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Every Social Security rule I can think of is gender-neutral. In other words, the same laws apply to men and women equally. But society hasn’t always been gender-neutral. We’ve all heard the statistics: Men tend to make more money than women. And because Social Security benefits are based on lifetime income, men end up getting…

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File a Social Security Claim to Protect Your Rights

June 18, 2021
AdviceBusinessmoneypersonal financeSocial Security
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I frequently hear from readers who tell me that they contacted the Social Security Administration with the intention of filing for Social Security benefits of one kind or another and then were either told they weren’t eligible for any benefits or were just otherwise talked out of filing. Of course, sometimes that is good advice….

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WEP and GPO: A Brief Explainer of Complicated Laws

June 14, 2021
AdvicebenefitsBusinesspensionSocial Security
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Because of the high volume of emails I get from the small minority of government employees who don’t even pay into Social Security, I guess it’s time for me to trot out my old WEP and GPO column. (I’ll explain what those abbreviations stand for in a minute.) Who are these folks? They are primarily…

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There Oughta Be a Law!

June 4, 2021
AdviceBusinessSocial Security
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Readers are always asking me to explain various Social Security rules and regulations. But sometimes they want more. They want to see something official—something in black and white. In other words, they want me to give them a legal reference for whatever rules I am explaining to them. I sort of know where they are…

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Clarifying Benefits for Wives

May 21, 2021
AdviceBusinesspersonal financeSocial Security
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Several weeks ago, I wrote a column explaining benefits that are payable to spouses. And by spouses, I almost always am referring to a wife and the benefits she might be due on her husband’s Social Security record. And whenever I write such a column, my inbox is immediately flooded with emails from women who…

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What Happens to Your Social Security Check If You Live Abroad?

May 16, 2021
AdviceBusinessfinancial advicepersonal financeSocial Security
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Maybe it’s because COVID-19 restrictions are easing up a bit. And some people probably have a bad case of wanderlust. I’m sure others are just thinking about retiring and returning to their homeland. Or perhaps still others see some of the same websites I do that entice you with headlines similar to this one I…

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Never Send Unsolicited Money to the SSA

April 30, 2021
AdviceBusinessSocial Security
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Every once in a while, I get an email from a reader with a horror story of sorts involving sending unsolicited money to the Social Security Administration to pay back benefits that were received but were not due. Here is my advice: Never send money to the SSA until you are asked to do so….

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