You Should Know These 3 Lesser-Known Social Security Rules

The largest retirement plan in the country, Social Security offers vital retirement income to employees, spouses, survivors, people with disabilities, and in certain situations, children. In addition, Social Security is a large and complex program, with many of its regulations being poorly understood.

In light of this, the following three little-known Social Security rules are crucial to understand and should be known by all potential beneficiaries.

How benefits for spouses work

Social Security spouse payments are an important but frequently misunderstood benefit. In summary, spousal benefits are meant to cover retirement costs for those who either never worked or made a much lower lifetime income than their spouse. Spousal benefits, for instance, are frequently awarded to those who were stay-at-home parents.

The whole retirement benefit of the higher earner may be divided in half by the spousal benefit. When you reach full retirement age, for instance, your spouse, even if they never worked, could receive $1,250 per month if you are eligible to $2,500 per month.

There are a few crucial guidelines to follow. First, the primary earner has to be a Social Security filer in order to be eligible for a spousal payment. Secondly, a spouse may be eligible to receive a Social Security benefit based on their own work history or a spousal benefit, depending on which is greater.

One particularly little-known law about spousal benefits is that if you wait into full retirement age, your payments will not rise, even though they may be lowered for early claims. It might not make sense to wait until after your spouse reaches full retirement age to claim your benefits if you were the principal earner and they are expecting a payout on your record.

The earnings test and how it works

Many individuals who have filed for Social Security are aware of what the earnings test includes.

First of all, the existence of an earnings cap is accurate. If an individual has filed for Social Security benefits but is not yet at full retirement age (67 for those born in 1960 or later), this applies to them. Benefit recipients who will reach full retirement age after this year in 2024 are allowed to earn up to $22,320 without having any impact on their benefits. In addition, Social Security benefits will decrease by $1 for every $2 in extra income. There is a different, far higher earnings cap for pensioners who will reach full retirement age in 2024. If you’ve already achieved full retirement age, there is absolutely no earnings test.

The most frequently misunderstood aspect is that the money isn’t lost if the earnings test reduces your benefits. These payments are being delayed by the SSA, but once you reach full retirement age, any withheld benefits will increase your monthly check indefinitely.

Make sure you understand the ins and outs of the earnings test if you are still working and have not yet reached full retirement age.

Social Security considers all of your earnings

Employer-sponsored defined benefit plans often only take into account a few years’ worth of your income. Some will base your benefit on the latest few years of compensation, while others will use the highest few years of your earnings history.

However, Social Security evaluates your whole earnings history, adjusted for inflation, and the 35 highest years to determine your benefit. Knowing this can be especially helpful if you’ve worked for 35 years yet had some relatively low-paying years throughout that time. Additionally, the calculation used to determine your lifetime average will include zeros if you have worked for fewer than 35 years. Put another way, working an extra year or two could have a bigger influence on your Social Security than you might imagine if you have 33 or 34 years on your work record and are thinking about retiring.

There’s a lot to learn about Social Security

Regarding retirement plans, Social Security is one of the more complicated ones, with a lot of features, regulations, and other information to be aware of. Before you retire, educate yourself as much as you can about Social Security. This will help you prepare for retirement and put you and your family in a better financial position to make wise financial decisions.