Clever yet Lawful Ways to Boost Your Social Security Benefits – PART 2

In a recent blog post, a Los Angeles permanent disability lawyer featured few of the most clever but lawful ways to increase your social security benefits. Unfortunately, he was not able to provide everything you need to know. Therefore, he continues his blog with some addition information, which he thought would be useful for recipients in coping with today’s financial challenges.

There are actually lots of tricky strategies that could help you maximize your social security earnings as you approach the retirement age. Kindly see below for these additional tips:

Claim spousal benefits

Being married gives you an option in obtaining benefits. You can either take the benefit based on your own work history, or half your spouse’s benefit. You can compare which one will give you the higher benefit. Also, although if you are divorced or separated, you can still claim for social security benefits based on your estranged spouse, given that you were married for at least 10 years. Fortunately, doing so would not harm your former spouse’s benefit. In fact, they would never even know that you applied.

Claim benefits for your children

As you start collecting social security benefits, your unmarried children under the age of 18 may be entitled to receive benefits worth up to half of your full retirement benefit amount. Meanwhile, if they reach 19 years of age and above, they may also receive benefits given that they are a full-time student or with disability that started before the age of 22.

Plan ahead for taxes

As it is, up to 85 percent of your entire benefits may be taxable. Therefore, to at least minimize said expense, seek for some certain tax-saving moves like investing in annuities that allow you to earn interest that isn’t taxed until you withdraw it.

Always check your account statement

Although inaccuracies are uncommon, the chances of having such scenario are still present due to possibilities of clerical errors.

Clear your debts

Although your social security benefits are protected from most debt collections, the sad part is that it can be taken to collect unpaid federal taxes such as federal student loan balances, child support or alimony. Apparently, to ensure that your social security benefits will be left untouched, clear all your debts.

Clever yet Lawful Ways to Boost Your Social Security Benefits – PART 1

In a previous news report, the Social Security Administration (SSA) claimed that the average monthly Social Security benefit for a retiree by 2013 is approximately at $1,261. Consequently, that is just $15,132.00 a year, which is apparently hardly enough to cope with financial challenges these days.

Therefore, several Los Angeles Social Security Disability lawyers share some insights  that they have gathered in their years of experience. Below are few tips on how recipients could boost their social security payments during their retirement:

Maximize your years of employment

Generally, social security benefits are calculated based on a wage-earners’ 35 highest-earning working years. Unfortunately, if you have years with zero income averaged in – it will decrease your future pay out.

Ask for an increase

As recently explained, Social Security considers the 35 highest-earning years of your career. Therefore, having a jump in salary will definitely boost your future earning from the federal fund.

Take a second job

The more you work results in more earnings you may get. Also, the same logic applies to the recently explained social security protocol.

Wait for your full retirement age to claim benefits

Usually, a beneficiary can start collecting Social Security benefits as early as the age of 62. However, your payment will likely be reduced by 25 percent for life. Consequently, it is best to start collecting benefits once you reach your full retirement age which is 66-67.

Wait until you reach 70

Apparently, waiting until you reach the age of 70 is the best option. The agency offers a special credit which it calls “delayed retirement credits”. The agency provides a benefit increase of eight percent in every year you delay digging into the federal fund – up until the age of 70. Therefore, waiting for a just a few years will definitely mean nearly a third more income for life.

In addition, if you mistakenly took your benefit as early as your full retirement age, you could still have the chance to avail the said policy by repaying all the benefits you have received so far. Subsequently, you may then restart at a higher level based on your age.

Make use of online tools in your advantage

You may use online tools provided by the agency to know the best time to secure online agency. The agency’s MyAccount page is purposely created to estimate recipients’ benefits once they reach their early retirement age of 62, full retirement age of 66, or at the age of 70. Incidentally, there are lots of online tools with various uses available to recipients.

Meanwhile, more tips on how to boost your social security benefits will be further provided on the next blog post of the social security disability benefit lawyers herein.

Paper Checks Soon to End for Social Security Payments

As previously mandated by the federal government, Social Security payments will no longer be delivered to recipients via snail mail beginning March 1.

In an effort to cut costs, the government previously announced that it will stop sending paper checks to social security, permanent disability and other benefits recipients by March 1 this year. In fact, early in 2011, recipients were informed that they are required to switch their prior accounts to electronic payments; either direct deposit into their bank account or into a U.S. Treasury Department-issued 'Direct Express' debit card.

The switching of account is expected to save printing costs which is said could save at least $1 billion in taxpayers’ money in 10 years. Also, it is also said that it could avoid Social Security checks delivery interruptions caused by unexpected circumstances such as natural calamities. It could be remembered that last November, hundreds of thousands of social security benefit recipients were left waiting for their pay checks due to disrupted mail service brought by Hurricane Sandy.

However, despite the promising advantages of going one-hundred percent electronic, not all recipients welcome the idea of switching into electronic payments for some reason, particularly the elderly. However, in a statement released by the Treasury Department, it pledged that it would not stop sending payments via paychecks to those who ignore or miss the mandatory deadline. No penalties would be incurred as well.

Nevertheless, the department still never loses hope on those people who continue to resist the electronic payment. It claimed that it would pursue on communicating with them in a more direct way.

Meanwhile, retirees aged 92 and older are exempted from the changeover. Moreover, if a beneficiary has a mental impairment, or lives in a remote area and he or she finds it more convenient to continue receiving paper checks, then they are automatically permitted not to switch to the alternative.

In California alone, nearly 6 percent of the 6.5 million Social Security and SSI recipients still get paper checks, according to the Social Security Administration. So far, the state has the largest number of residents receiving benefit checks through mail.

As the said deadline of switching of accounts comes close in a few weeks time, some Los Angeles social security claim lawyers speculated that more recipients and beneficiaries will eventually realize the convenience of switching to the electronic payment.

SSA further Expands Services Available Online

Approximately eight months after the Social Security Administration (SSA) launched its online service, the agency proudly announced in its official press release that it has further expanded the feature of its online service.

The SSA’s Commissioner, Michael J. Astrue announced that the agency is expanding its online services called ‘My Social Security Account.’

The agency’s new online service feature is a personalized account that people can use right from the start of their working years and until they begin receiving Social Security benefits.

It can be remembered that it was just May of last year when the SSA launched its online service and in less than a couple of months’ time, there are already 1 million people who access the same to view their Social Security statements.

Now, more than 60 million Social Security Beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients reportedly access the agency’s online service. Most members now access their online accounts to view their verification letter, payment history, and earnings record. Also, others use the said online facility to update their personal information while some access the same to begin or to direct their deposit information.

Since the agency is dedicated to making it convenient for Social Security members to access their Social Security account at the comfort of their own home or office, the agency made it a lot easier for members and beneficiaries to instantly get an official benefit verification letter.

Incidentally, the benefit verification letter is very significant for securing loans, mortgages, and other housing processes since it is a valid proof of income. In addition, people use the said letter, which is printable, as evidence to their current Medicare health insurance coverage, retirement or disability status, and age.

Last year, the agency was bombarded with almost nine million requests for benefit verification letter. Therefore, the agency thought of a way on how people could conduct business without having to visit an office or make a phone call and wait for the letter to arrive in their mailbox.

Aside from providing ease to members and recipients, the extended online service is expected to reduce the time consumed by the agency’s employees in completing said requests and in effect free them to focus on other important workloads.

Meanwhile, a completed detail of the agency’s expanded online service was explained on its official website. Consequently, upon reading its recent announcement, the Los Angeles social security disability firm herein lauded the agency for another milestone that it has achieved in just a few months.

Facts to Know about Divorce and Social Security Benefits

One of the most common questions often asked regarding social security is whether divorce can affect social security benefits and how.

Accordingly, the Social Security Administration (SSA) briefly explained the effect of divorce into social security benefits in its official page and the same was summarized and simplified below:

When claiming, the agency requires a claimant to meet several standards before being eligible to collect from his of her former spouse’s social security benefits:

•    Married or not, relationship should have lasted for at least 10 years.
•    Claimant should be at the age of 62 and below.
•    The spouse should be entitled for retirement or disability benefits.
•    The benefit that one is entitled to receive based on his or her own work is less than the benefit he or she would receive based on the former spouse’s work.

On the other hand, if your spouse has not yet applied for a retirement benefit but could absolutely qualify for it, you have to be two-years divorced before you could avail of his social security benefits.

A divorce can only hurt social security benefit once a claimant remarries. Nevertheless, in an event wherein the recent marriage ended whether by death or annulment, the former spouse can still collect benefits on his or her ex-spouse’s record. 

Hopefully, the above facts could help you understand social security benefits even more. Consequently, a Los Angeles disability lawyer hopes that he has provided the answers to your most frequently asked questions regarding divorce and social security benefits.