About Tom Margenau

Tom Margenau

Tom Margenau

Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. For many years, he was the director of SSA's public information office at the agency’s headquarters in Baltimore, Md. In that post, he was the chief editor for more than 100 informational publications produced by SSA.

He also was SSA’s deputy press officer for several years, serving in that position as a chief spokesman for the Social Security Administration. Prior to that, he was a speechwriter for the Commissioner of Social Security. Before he moved to SSA's headquarters, he worked for 12 years in Social Security field offices around the country, where he processed Social Security claims while writing Social Security columns for local newspapers.

He has written the “Social Security and You ” column for national syndication since 1997. Margenau graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1971. He is married and has two grown children and five grandchildren.

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Social Security Benefits Rarely Cut Feb 18, 2026

In prior columns, I gave readers a brief history of Social Security by highlighting the major changes to the program brought about by annual amendments to the original Social Security law. Every once in a great while, there is a dramatic change, such... Read More

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Questions About Spousal Benefits Never Stop Feb 11, 2026

I've been saving up questions I've gotten from readers about benefits for spouses. It's an issue I've covered a hundred times in this column. But the questions still keep coming. So, here is column No. 100 — one about benefits paid to wives and... Read More

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Some Oddball Questions Feb 04, 2026

As I've pointed out before, I usually find myself answering the same questions over and over again. But I've saved up a couple of oddball questions — and here they are. But first, I want to make it clear I am not calling the people who emailed ... Read More

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Your Friends and Neighbors Are Wrong! Jan 28, 2026

Here is a bit of advice from a guy who gives Social Security advice for a living. Don't take any advice from your friends or neighbors about Social Security. It's always wrong! OK, it's not always wrong. But I've learned from many thousands of reader... Read More