Myths about social security

Social Secu­rity Col­umn By Erin Thompson

Social Secu­rity Pub­lic Affairs Specialist

Like any other suc­cess­ful and long-standing pro­gram or orga­ni­za­tion, there are a num­ber of myths sur­round­ing Social Secu­rity. Some of them are grounded in truth but just slightly mis­con­strued. Oth­ers are com­pletely out of line with the truth. Let’s take a look at a few.

Myth 1: Social Secu­rity is just a retire­ment program.

Social Secu­rity is more than a retire­ment pro­gram. It pro­vides ben­e­fits to retirees, sur­vivors, and peo­ple with dis­abil­i­ties who can no longer work. In fact, almost seven mil­lion dis­abled work­ers and nearly two mil­lion of their depen­dents get Social Secu­rity dis­abil­ity ben­e­fits. Six and a half mil­lion depen­dents of deceased work­ers (includ­ing two mil­lion chil­dren) get Social Secu­rity sur­vivors ben­e­fits. Social Secu­rity is more than just retirement.

Myth 2: I don’t need to save because Social Secu­rity will take care of me when I’m retired.

Social Secu­rity was never intended to be a person’s sole income in retire­ment; it should be com­bined with pen­sion income and per­sonal sav­ings and invest­ments. Your Social Secu­rity State­ment, avail­able at www.socialsecurity.gov.mystatement , is a great place to get an idea of what to expect dur­ing retire­ment. You can also visit our Retire­ment Esti­ma­tor at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.

Myth 3: If I work after I retire, I’ll be penalized.

Once you reach your full retire­ment age, there is no penalty and no limit on the amount you can earn. You can deter­mine your full retire­ment age by vis­it­ing www.socialsecurity.gov/retirecharted.htm.

The earn­ings limit for work­ers who are younger than “full” retire­ment age (age 66 for peo­ple born in 1943 through 1954) is $15,120 in 2013. (We deduct $1 from ben­e­fits for each $2 earned over $15,120.) The earn­ings limit for peo­ple turn­ing 66 in 2013 is $40,080.

(We deduct $1 from ben­e­fits for each $3 earned over $40,080 until the month the worker turns age 66.) Keep in mind that if we with­hold some of your ben­e­fits due to work, we will re-compute your monthly ben­e­fit amount when you reach full retire­ment age to account for those months that we with­held your ben­e­fit. There is no limit on earn­ings for work­ers who are full retire­ment age or older for the entire year.

Myth 4: To apply for ben­e­fits or do busi­ness with Social Secu­rity, I need to go to an office.

Not only is this false, but we encour­age you to do busi­ness with us the most con­ve­nient and fastest way: at www.socialsecurity.gov. At our web­site, you can apply for ben­e­fits, use our Retire­ment Plan­ner, get an esti­mate of your ben­e­fits, request a replace­ment Medicare card, and much more. You’ll find it all, along with answers to your ques­tions, at www.socialsecurity.gov.Myths

Posted by kpotts on Jan 28 2013. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.