My columns are usually focused on one theme or topic. But every once in a while, I like to just dig into my email inbox and pull out random questions. Here are six for today.
Q: I was married to my ex for 23 years. Of course, I worked all of those years. But I also worked and paid into Social Security for about 10 years before we were married. Since we divorced five years ago, I have continued to work and pay Social Security taxes. I expect my ex-wife to claim benefits on my record. Will that benefit be based on just the 23 years we were married? Or will it be based on my entire earnings history?
A: If your ex will be due any benefits on your record, they will be based on your entire earnings history. But you‘ll notice that’s a big IF. She wouldn’t get anything on your account if she has remarried or if she has worked and her own benefit is higher than the smaller spousal rate she’d be due from your earnings history.
Q: Since I was 65, I have been on Medicare and have been paying my Part B premiums quarterly based on bills I get from Social Security. But I will be turning 67 soon and plan to apply for my Social Security then. From that point on, my Part B premium will be deducted from my Social Security checks. I am wondering what to do in this transition period. Should I pay my next quarterly bill? Or should I just let the premiums come out of my checks?
A: Millions of people each year go through what you will be going through. There is always some overlap in this transition period, but after a few months, it all gets reconciled. To be safe, it would be best if you just pay the premiums you are billed for. If they also deduct premiums from your Social Security check for the same month (or months), they will reimburse you. But as I said, it always takes a couple months to work out and for you to get reimbursed.
Q: When my father died several years ago, my mother got the $255 one-time death benefit (in addition to ongoing monthly widow’s benefits). However, when my mom recently died, we inquired about the $255 death payment and were told we were not due anything. Can you explain why not?
A: The law says that the miserly one-time death benefit can be paid only to a spouse (or to minor children). Assuming that you and your siblings are grown-ups and assuming that your mom hadn’t remarried after your father died, then there was no husband eligible for the $255 payment.
Q: I will be turning 62 in June 2025 and plan to file for Social Security at that point. I will be working full time until the end of May and will probably make about $40,000 until then. But after that, my earnings will be nil. I heard that there is a $22,000 earnings limit. I assume that begins in June, after I go on Social Security. Can you clarify this for me?
A: You don’t have it quite right. First of all, the earnings limit will be $23,400 in 2025. And second, that limit applies to the whole year, not just to the months after you apply for Social Security. But there is a special “first year of retirement rule” that, in a nutshell, says that even if your earnings exceed the annual limit, you can get a Social Security check for any month that you’re not working.
Those rules are way too complicated to explain in this column. So I suggest you go to Amazon or other booksellers and spend $15 and get my little Social Security guidebook called “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” One of the chapters in the book explains the earnings penalty rules and the special rules for the first year of retirement. It will answer all of your questions.
Q: For a variety of reasons, I am planning to take my Social Security when I turn 62 next year. My wife, who has been a homemaker all of the 50 years we have been married, is older than I am. She is 67. When I file for benefits, will she get half of my age 62 benefit? Even though I’m younger, I expect to die before she does. So what will her widow’s benefits be?
A: When you retire, even though you will get a reduced retirement benefit, your wife’s spousal benefit will be 50 percent of your full retirement age rate. That’s the good news. The bad news is that part of the reduction you took by filing for early benefits will carry over to her eventual widow’s benefits. Assuming that you do file at age 62, you will be getting an amount equal to 70 percent of your full retirement-age (FRA) benefit rate. But a widow is guaranteed at least 82.5 percent of your FRA benefit. In other words, when you die, she'll get your benefit rate with an extra 12.5 percent added on.
Q: Will the money stolen from Social Security ever be repaid?
A: It’s an urban myth that money has been stolen from Social Security’s trust funds. Every nickel ever collected in Social Security taxes has been invested in U.S. treasury notes. And those notes have always been redeemed to pay Social Security benefits while earning the prevailing rates of interest. But explaining the financing of Social Security is way more than I can do in today’s column. Once again, I suggest you check out “Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts.”
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