Social Security

This maximum benefit is much lower if you claim benefits at 62 instead of 70. Age affects the maximum benefit because of delayed retirement credits and early ...

That's why the maximum Social Security benefit is so much larger than the average benefit. So the maximum Social Security benefit equals a percentage of the highest possible countable income that could have been earned during a 35-year period by any current retiree. After all, Social Security pays out based on average wages that people earn over their lifetimes, so why do monthly checks cap out at $2,364, $4,194, or any number at all?

Even when you have retirement savings, things don't always go as planned. Seniors are often forced to retire early for a number of reasons: Medical issues can ...

The House and Barn is at 1449 Chestnut St. in Emmaus. · Bethlehem's Back Door Bakeshop will reopen as a wholesale operation at 7 E. Church St. in the city's historic district. Ciao already operates in downtown Easton at 12 N. Third St The nonprofit, located at 4059 Skyron Drive, Doylestown, will close June 30. · The Easton area has a new gym: Homemade Fitness at 444 Cedarville Road in Williams Township. · The Brothers That Just Do Gutters are opening a new location in Allentown at 1302 N. 18th St. · 25th Asian House opened at the location of the former Tin Tin Chinese restaurant in the 25th Street Shopping Center in Palmer Township. · While Wells Fargo has been the leader in closing banks lately, it will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new downtown Allentown office at 740 Hamilton St. on June 30. · St. Luke's University Health Network opened a new pediatric inpatient unit next to the eight-bed pediatric intensive care unit at St. Luke's University Hospital – Bethlehem. · Coal Winery and Kitchen at 81 Broad St., Bethlehem, has closed as its owner searches for a new location for the business, according to its Facebook page. · The latest PrimoHoagies location in New Jersey held a grand opening at 1930 State Route 57, Hackettstown. · The Wiz Kidz outlet at the Madison Farms residential/retail development in Bethlehem Township will hold a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting at noon on July 15.

When you get older, you get to decide when to claim Social Security retirement benefits. You can start your benefits anytime between ages 62 and 70.

On the other hand, if your partner is going to claim spousal benefits on your work record rather than their own retirement benefits, you must start your payments before that can happen. First, if you are the higher earner and you start your payments early, you'll shrink the survivor benefits your widow(er) will get. Or you may get them for such a short time that the higher payments you'd receive due to waiting won't make up for all the payments you passed up by not claiming ASAP. If you don't expect to live long because you're in poor health, your best bet may be to file for Social Security as soon as you can. On the other hand, if you prefer to maximize monthly income, you may want to delay your first payment. And if you start payments more than 36 months prior to FRA, each month before that will result in an additional reduction in your standard benefit of 5/12 of 1%.

It's good to get an estimate of your future monthly benefit -- but know that it may not fully come through.

But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. But you may end up being forced to claim Social Security early, and in doing so, you could wind up locking in a lower monthly benefit for life. That way, you'll be less likely to struggle financially if Social Security winds up letting you down. But what if you end up earning a lot less for the second half of your career than the first? It's a good idea to do some digging to see what sort of monthly Social Security benefit you might be in line for.

Social Security benefits are often the cornerstone of retirement funding in America, but there are three specific reasons why looking at the benefit program ...

For all these reasons, you should work aggressively to save a generous nest egg that will work in conjunction with Social Security and help make your retirement a secure one.” Granted, this figure goes up noticeably to $4,194 per month for those who elect to take their Social Security benefits later in life, at age 70. “The average benefit in 2022 is $1,661 [per month],” the column reads.

There's a good chance Social Security will end up being an important retirement income source for you down the line. And so knowing what monthly benefit ...

Each year, Social Security has a maximum benefit it pays out to workers who are receiving retirement income. But this max benefit is not the same for all ...

But focusing on the lifetime benefit ignores the reality so many seniors face: Older Americans often can't afford to worry about how much Social Security they' ...

Many people don't have a choice about when they start taking Social Security benefits because they need the money as soon as possible. Even if you have money to cover your basic expenses, starting benefits before you're 70 can be a good move. But if you're struggling to pay for housing, healthcare, utilities, or groceries, taking Social Security long before age 70 is a no-brainer. If you don't need the money right away, it does make sense to consider your lifetime benefits. Holding out for the biggest possible Social Security benefit is a luxury many Americans don't have. But the reality is that about half of adults in the U.S. over age 65 rely on Social Security for at least 50% of their income.

When you get older, you get to decide when to claim Social Security retirement benefits. You can start your benefits anytime between ages 62 and 70.

On the other hand, if your partner is going to claim spousal benefits on your work record rather than their own retirement benefits, you must start your payments before that can happen. First, if you are the higher earner and you start your payments early, you'll shrink the survivor benefits your widow(er) will get. Or you may get them for such a short time that the higher payments you'd receive due to waiting won't make up for all the payments you passed up by not claiming ASAP. If you don't expect to live long because you're in poor health, your best bet may be to file for Social Security as soon as you can. On the other hand, if you prefer to maximize monthly income, you may want to delay your first payment. And if you start payments more than 36 months prior to FRA, each month before that will result in an additional reduction in your standard benefit of 5/12 of 1%.

Ohio-resident Cindy Hardway has been sentenced to six months in prison for collecting $254116 from her deceased father's pension fund and Social Security, ...

She admitted to not reporting her father’s 2005 death to the Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Plan or to the Social Security Administration, according to the department. Hardway pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public money and one count of theft or embezzlement from an employee benefit plan. Ohio-resident Cindy Hardway has been sentenced to six months in prison for collecting $254,116 from her deceased father’s pension fund and Social Security, according to the US Departent of Labor on Monday.

Hardway's guilty plea comes after she collected $254,116 from her deceased father's pension fund and Social Security following his death in 2005. The court's ...

Using her father’s debit card, Hardway accessed the funds and used them for her personal benefit. Hardway’s guilty plea comes after she collected $254,116 from her deceased father’s pension fund and Social Security following his death in 2005. Hardway must report to prison by Sept. 6.

There is a good chance that social security will end up being an important source of retirement income for you. And so it is definitely a useful thing to ...

It’s a good idea to dig a little deeper to see what kind of monthly social security benefit you might be queuing up for. Once you have learned how to maximize your social security benefits, we believe you can retire with the peace of mind we are all after. It could be that you are in a stressful job that is harming your health. However, you may end up being forced to claim social security early, and by doing so, you may end up locking in a lower monthly benefit for life. But what if you end up earning much less in the second half of your career than the first? You can get an estimate of your future monthly benefit even if you are years back from retirement.

Deemed filing means that when you file for retirement benefits, you are deemed to file for both spousal and worker benefits at the same time.

You can confirm this effect by checking the spousal benefit calculator on the Social Security website. One Senior Place is a marketplace for resources and provider of information, advice, care and on-site services for seniors and their families. Your “full retirement" age is based on the year of your birth. Your best first step is to go online to SSA.gov and create your account. The important takeaway here? A digital subscription is incredibly affordable and makes you the most informed person around.

The monthly benefit Social Security pays you is based on your lifetime earnings. It takes many years of consistently high wages to score the highest possible ...

All you need to do is save well so that you have income on hand to supplement the benefit Social Security gives you. Add in your $2,000 monthly Social Security benefit, and you're set with the $4,000 a month you were hoping for. For most people, that's just not doable, but that doesn't mean you don't have other options for setting yourself up with a generous retirement income. But that's OK, because the reality is that you don't need a $4,194 monthly benefit to retire comfortably. Rather, it's the highest monthly benefit Social Security will pay this year. If you're looking at a monthly benefit of $4,194, that's a different story.

There's a good chance Social Security will end up being an important retirement income source for you down the line. And so knowing what monthly benefit ...

Those who claim benefits at age 62 have a maximum benefit of just $2364, while those who claim benefits at age 70 could see checks as high as $4194.

That's why the maximum Social Security benefit is so much larger than the average benefit. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. So the maximum Social Security benefit equals a percentage of the highest possible countable income that could have been earned during a 35-year period by any current retiree. Knowing why can help you make much more informed choices about the best age to file for your first Social Security check. After all, Social Security pays out based on average wages that people earn over their lifetimes, so why do monthly checks cap out at $2,364, $4,194, or any number at all?

However, those trust funds won't last forever, and they're expected to run dry by 2034. When that happens, the Social Security Administration expects that the ...

Picking up a side gig in retirement is also a possibility, and the extra income means you won't need to rely as much on Social Security. In fact, since 2000, Social Security benefits have lost roughly 40% of their buying power, according to a report from the Senior Citizens League. The Social Security Administration has tried to combat this problem with annual cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, but that still hasn't been enough. As a result, the Social Security Administration has had to dip into its trust funds to cover the deficit and continue paying benefits in full. There are also a couple of other reasons why Social Security may not be as reliable in the future. Social Security depends on payroll taxes to fund benefits.

You'll often hear that it's really difficult to retire on Social Security alone. But that assumes your monthly benefit is in line with the average payday ...

Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. Add in your $2,000 monthly Social Security benefit, and you're set with the $4,000 a month you were hoping for. All you need to do is save well so that you have income on hand to supplement the benefit Social Security gives you. Rather, it's the highest monthly benefit Social Security will pay this year. If you're looking at a monthly benefit of $4,194, that's a different story.

In a perfect world, timing your Social Security benefits wouldn't be such a critical decision. Everyone would have ample retirement savings, and those monthly ...

Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Many people don't have a choice about when they start taking Social Security benefits because they need the money as soon as possible. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. If you don't need the money right away, it does make sense to consider your lifetime benefits. Even if you have money to cover your basic expenses, starting benefits before you're 70 can be a good move. But if you're struggling to pay for housing, healthcare, utilities, or groceries, taking Social Security long before age 70 is a no-brainer.

And the increase is substantial. That's because Social Security designed its formula so people who claim benefits at a young age get more checks, but every one ...

As a retiree, every dollar of income counts since you no longer have a paycheck to help support you. But while you want to maximize the money coming into ...

When the Inspector General of the Danish Social Insurance Agency earlier this year investigated allegations that one of the agency's top managers was ...

If a manager is unable to perform their job, it “violates one of the key principles of the federal merit system to” manage employees efficiently and effectively. The spokeswoman, who refused to be named, wrote that Social Security “is solely responsible for any personnel action” arising from an investigation by an agency employee. They described that she needed to remind her of meetings in her calendar, or that she did not show up for meetings at all. The behavior was seen in meetings large and small on Microsoft Teams, the video conferencing software Social Security has used to communicate during the pandemic. Some employees were so alarmed during gatherings that they would send instant messages questioning her behavior and wondering if she had been drinking, according to investigators. “The Social Security leadership is clearly protecting one of their own,” said Nick Schwellenbach, a senior researcher at the Project on Government Oversight, which oversees the work of federal inspectors and advocates system reforms after The Post described it. “If you just sweep the issue under the rug, it’s the kind of thing that kills public confidence in federal agencies.” These employees also called her an outspoken leader who can be harsh and recently crossed the line into “intense anger … often for insignificant problems,” the report said. The investigation was launched by Ennis’ staff in December, the report notes. “She is MIA and they do not hold anyone responsible,” said this person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss matters publicly. The acting Commissioner announced that she would investigate after one report from The Post in May. The program is paused indefinitely. A senior official interviewed by The Post described a “helpless” department under Gruber as sometimes does not communicate with his staff for several days at a time, the official said.

Staff members told investigators that while they did not directly witness Gruber consuming alcohol on the job, her comportment led them to wonder if she had ...

For context, the wage cap -- the amount of earnings that are subject to Social Security taxes and count toward calculating benefits -- changes annually, and it ...

Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. Add in your $2,000 monthly Social Security benefit, and you're set with the $4,000 a month you were hoping for. All you need to do is save well so that you have income on hand to supplement the benefit Social Security gives you. Rather, it's the highest monthly benefit Social Security will pay this year. If you're looking at a monthly benefit of $4,194, that's a different story.

Most people see Social Security as a programme offering monthly payments for retired Americans and other groups to help towards the cost of essentials.

Doing so will see your monthly payment increase until you reach the age of 70, at which point your entitlement will remain the same. Individuals can begin claiming Social Security payments from the age of 62, but will have to wait until at least the age of 66 (for those born between 1943 and 1954) to receive their full monthly entitlement. Most people see Social Security as a programme offering monthly payments for retired Americans and other groups to help towards the cost of essentials.

You'll often hear that it's really difficult to retire on Social Security alone. But that assumes your monthly benefit is in line with the average payday ...

Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. Add in your $2,000 monthly Social Security benefit, and you're set with the $4,000 a month you were hoping for. All you need to do is save well so that you have income on hand to supplement the benefit Social Security gives you. Rather, it's the highest monthly benefit Social Security will pay this year. If you're looking at a monthly benefit of $4,194, that's a different story.

Giving up eight years of checks could actually leave you with more money in the end.

The House and Barn is at 1449 Chestnut St. in Emmaus. · Bethlehem's Back Door Bakeshop will reopen as a wholesale operation at 7 E. Church St. in the city's historic district. Ciao already operates in downtown Easton at 12 N. Third St The nonprofit, located at 4059 Skyron Drive, Doylestown, will close June 30. · The Easton area has a new gym: Homemade Fitness at 444 Cedarville Road in Williams Township. · The Brothers That Just Do Gutters are opening a new location in Allentown at 1302 N. 18th St. · 25th Asian House opened at the location of the former Tin Tin Chinese restaurant in the 25th Street Shopping Center in Palmer Township. · While Wells Fargo has been the leader in closing banks lately, it will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new downtown Allentown office at 740 Hamilton St. on June 30. · St. Luke's University Health Network opened a new pediatric inpatient unit next to the eight-bed pediatric intensive care unit at St. Luke's University Hospital – Bethlehem. · Coal Winery and Kitchen at 81 Broad St., Bethlehem, has closed as its owner searches for a new location for the business, according to its Facebook page. · The latest PrimoHoagies location in New Jersey held a grand opening at 1930 State Route 57, Hackettstown. · The Wiz Kidz outlet at the Madison Farms residential/retail development in Bethlehem Township will hold a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting at noon on July 15.

As a retiree, every dollar of income counts since you no longer have a paycheck to help support you. But while you want to maximize the money coming into ...

Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. Your spouse will end up better off because Social Security survivor benefits enable your widow(er) to keep the larger of the two payments coming into your household. If you've given up eight years of Social Security to maximize your monthly payment, your partner will get to keep the much larger check you earned after you're gone. But while you want to maximize the money coming into your household each month, it can actually make sense to pass up eight full years of Social Security benefits. But that's not the only benefit of putting off your Social Security claim.

It's the same today. Constituent service is as important as ever in part because federal agencies are struggling to serve the public effectively. This can be ...

They may just get the help they need, and in the process, they may help Congress get back to fulfilling its obligation to make government work for the people. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. Such an analysis could be summarized in an annual report that is delivered to the authorizing and appropriations committees to help improve programs and funding for agencies. David A. Weaver, Ph.D., is an economist and retired federal employee who has authored a number of studies on the Social Security program. This would improve the reputation of Congress as an institution because the public could see members doing work that matters. Constituent service is as important as ever in part because federal agencies are struggling to serve the public effectively.

Social Security recipients are likely in for another large cost-of-living increase in 2023 and it could be even bigger than last year's.

Even if seniors get a substantial raise this year, it’s likely to be mostly wiped out by increased housing costs. The hikes are meant to help seniors and other Social Security beneficiaries keep pace with rising prices, but the increases won’t arrive until next year, even though inflation is high now. Inflation has remained high all year, with prices increasing 8.6% in May, Fortune noted.