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What's Best for Mom in a Mom-and-Pop Business?
Q: My wife and I are in our 30s. We're partners in a business that nets us about $80,000 per year. What's the best way to report our income on our tax returns to maximize our Social Security benefits?
A: Even though you're asking about your future …Read more.
Bleeding Hearts and Bootstraps
Q: I was surprised by the woman who wrote to you and said that people living on a small amount of Social Security were just lazy. Let me share my story to help this callous woman understand why people like me don't get very much from Social Security.…Read more.
Don't Base Critical Decisions on Prophets of Doom
Q: I'm about to turn 66. I want to put off starting my Social Security until age 70 because if I do, I'll get an extra $600 or so per month in a delayed retirement bonus added to by Social Security checks. But my husband said I should take my Social …Read more.
Geezers and Floozies
Q: I'm part of a group of old geezers who gets together every week at the local coffee place. Social Security is a frequent topic of conversation. At our last meeting, the subject of benefits for divorcees came up.
One of our geezers was married to …Read more.
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Columnist's Bet is Worse Than His BarkQ: You wrote a column about this "ARF" business. I took Social Security at 62, but my benefit did not get adjusted at age 66 like you said it should. Why not? Q: I took reduced benefits at 63 and I'm now 80. I don't ever remember getting higher benefits at 66 like your last column said I should. What can I do about this? Q: I took Social Security at 62. I just turned 66. Based on your recent column, I called my Social Security office and asked for my ARF. They just laughed at me! Now what do I do? A: These are just three examples of the scores of e-mails I received in response to a column I wrote several weeks ago about a Social Security provision called the "adjustment to the reduction factor" or ARF. It's a policy that allows a working person who is at least age 62 to get some reduced early retirement benefits from Social Security, and then at age 66 have his or her benefit adjusted to remove the reduction factor for those months when no benefits were paid. Almost every e-mail I received came from someone who was not eligible for an adjustment. And now I know I should have listened to one of my former colleagues at the Social Security Administration. He bet me $20 that if I tried to explain the ARF provisions in a column, no one would understand it. Well, buddy, the check is in the mail! But I'm not giving up. I am going to try one more time to explain the reduction factor adjustment as simply and plainly as I can. It's not that I'm trying to be a noble public servant helping people understand complex provisions of the law. It's just that I need to open up some space in my e-mail inbox! If you started your Social Security benefits before the full retirement age of 66, those benefits came with an early retirement reduction of roughly one-half of 1 percent for each month you received early benefits. And if you are still working and making more than the earnings penalty threshold (currently $14,160 per year) — forcing the Social Security Administration to suspend some or all of your monthly Social Security checks due to your excess earnings — the ARF provision says when you reach age 66, your benefits are AUTOMATICALLTY refigured to give you credit for those months when you did not get a Social Security check. For example, let's say you took Social Security at age 62.
The advantage to the ARF policy is that you are able to collect some Social Security benefits before age 66, even though you are working. And your long-range retirement benefit is reduced only for those months when you actually received a Social Security check. So, one more time, let's go over these important points about the adjustment to the reduction factor (ARF) provision. One: You would be due an ARF adjustment only if you took early retirement AND there were some months when your Social Security benefits were suspended because you were working and making too much money to qualify for Social Security. Two: If you are due an ARF adjustment, you get it automatically. The Social Security Administration will refigure your benefit for you, paying you any extra amount you are due once you turn 66. Three: If you still have no clue what I'm talking about, please contact your local Social Security office for help. Maybe someone there can explain it better than I can! If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has the answer. Contact him at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. To find out more about Tom Margenau and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM.
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