Social Security

For most current and future retirees, the social security administration will average your 35 highest years of earnings. Years in which you have low earnings or no earnings may be counted to bring the total years of earnings up to 35.
The Social Security administration has a Benefits Planner which is located at http://www.ssa.gov. The planner is divided into 4 sections including retirement, disability, survivors and calculators. Employees can determine their own social security benefit by using the calculate section.

When the social security administration averaged out your 35 highest years of earnings to estimate your benefits on your social security Statement, it was assumed you would continue to work up to age 62, making the same earnings you made last year.
If, instead, you have zero earnings each year over the next 6 years, your average earnings will probably be less and so will your benefit.
You can use the Social Security Benefits Calculators to see how this will affect your monthly benefit amount. The Social Security Benefits Planner is located at http://www.ssa.gov. In addition to using the SSA website, you can call SSA toll-free at 1-800-772-1213.

If you and your wife both worked and contributed to Social Security then you can each get your own benefits or she can get half the amount of yours, whichever is greater.
If your wife's own benefit is more than one half of your amount, you will each get your own benefit.,
If your wife's own benefit were less than half of yours she would receive her amount plus enough on your record to bring it up to the half amount.

If you work in a job that is covered by Social Security, you and your employer must pay the Social Security and Medicare taxes on your earnings even if you are already receiving Social Security benefits.
The same is true if you are self-employed. You are still subject to the Social Security and Medicare taxes on your net profit.

Unless you are disabled, you are not eligible for monthly survivors benefits based on your husband's earnings record until you reach the age of 60.
At that age, your benefit would be about 71.5% of your husband's basic benefit amount.
If you wait until you reach your full retirement age, you will receive 100% of his amount. Disabled widows or widowers can receive benefits as early as age 50.

Social Security benefit records do not have the ability to name specific beneficiaries. The Social Security Act specifies which family members can receive benefits on your record when you retire, die or become disabled.
The social security administration cannot pay benefits to people who do not meet the requirements of the law, nor can they refuse to pay benefits to people who do meet those requirements.
This is true even if you ask the social security administration not to. Any payments made to your former spouse based on your record will not affect the amounts that can be paid to a subsequent spouse or your children.

The lump-sum death benefit of $255 is payable upon the death of a person who has worked long enough to be insured under Social Security. The one-time lump-sum death payment of $255 is payable to a surviving spouse if he or she was living with the deceased; or, if living apart, was receiving certain Social Security benefits on the deceased person's record; or If there is no surviving spouse, a child who is eligible for benefits on the deceased person's record in the month of death.
If no spouse or child meeting these requirements exists, the lump-sum death payment will not be paid.
The lump-sum death payment cannot be paid to funeral homes or estates for funeral expenses. To file for the benefit, call 1-800-772-1213.
You must file the application for the lump-sum death payment within the two-year period ending with the second anniversary of the insured person's death.

The IRS Social Security Benefits Planner is located at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2/.
This planner provides detailed information about your Social Security retirement benefits under current law.
If you are Looking for information, you can find your retirement age, Estimate your life expectancy, Estimate Your Retirement Benefits and use our other benefit calculators to test different retirement ages or future earnings amounts, apply for retirement benefits.
If you are close to age 65, you can find out how to apply for just Medicare. You may need to sign up for Medicare close to your 65th birthday, even if you will not be retired by that time.

In the current year, the Social Security and Medicare taxes that are withheld from your paycheck from your wages are not deductible by you on your tax return.