Filed for Social Security

Congrats, Leann! My husband is younger than me but left work on Disability in 2017. Our plan was for both of us to file for Soc. Sec. at FRA (Full Retirement Age) in my case was 66 & 2 months. So I applied last year - online (it WAS easy!) against my own account and intended to wait for DH to reach his FRA to get the spousal "bump" that brings my payment equal to half of his. HOWEVER, since he was recieving SSDI (Soc. Sec. Disability Insurance) Soc. Sec. called me to tell me that I was eligible for the extra amount then - since DH was already collecting his full amount - as disability. So, I get 2 deposits and he gets 1. We assume, that when he reaches FRA - the name of it will change from SSDI to just Soc. Sec. but the amount will not.

Just thought that might reassure someone else in a similar situation. Best of luck to all!
 

I began researching Social Security a while back and was pleasantly surprised to learn that my check plus my wife's check combined will total about 2400 dollars more than we typically spend in a month. Even with the Medicare Part B premium taken out.
I'm delaying retirement until 68 to increase my payment because my wife is six years younger, has a lot of longevity in her family tree and will probably outlive me.
Just wish Congress will pass laws ensuring the fund doesn't run dry!
 
RE: Devi - Medicare WILL cover some eye issues. I just had a long talk with my Eye Dr's office and she says that, as long as it is deemed a "medical issue" they will bill medicare and my supplement. She checked my chart and since "Cataracts" is mentioned, it is considered a medical issue and they will bill them. However, there were a couple of things medicare will not cover and I would have to pay for - part of the exam $39 and/or $40 (depending on the procedure) and the glasses and lenses. Call your local Eye Dr's office and ask a few questions. Paying for external "Eye Insurance" is not worth it for us.

Dental is another issue and when we checked in 2019, there were NO dentists within 50 miles that would take medicare. We are fortunate enough to have continued dental insurance with Delta Dental through DH's former employer in TN. Turns out to be cheaper than picking up a new policy in Maine.
 

Don M. said:
I signed up for SS as soon as I became eligible, and my wife signed up for spousal benefits when she became eligible....after all, no one knows how long they will live. When I reviewed how much I paid in when I was working vs, what we've received, we have received at least 4, and rapidly approaching 5 times what I paid in SS taxes. I wish some of my other "investments" were doing equally well.
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The US social security is funded by buying US treasury bills. Here in Canada we have a Canada Pension Investment Board that invests the money that is paid into the CPP by workers and their employers. The CPIB OWNS dozens of business operations in Canada and in other parts of the world. In Germany, the CPIB is one of the biggest owners of rental apartment buildings and shopping centers in that country. At this time the CPP plan is fully funded to the year 2065. By that I mean that it has secure funds for the next 43 years. I wonder how reliable the US social security funding is today ? Link to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board website. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) – Corporate Mapping Project
 
@Myquest55 — thanks; you are right.

I had forgotten that Medicare will cover some eye issues. For instance, my cataract surgery, including touch-ups to the new cataract lenses. I believe there are specifics that have to be fulfilled in order for Medicare to cover cataract surgery and "touch-ups". I believe certain things had to be fulfilled in order to qualify for Medicare coverage on these, but those issues are easily fulfilled.

Paying for external insurance for eyeglasses it not worth it for us, either.
 
Lanny said:
I began researching Social Security a while back and was pleasantly surprised to learn that my check plus my wife's check combined will total about 2400 dollars more than we typically spend in a month. Even with the Medicare Part B premium taken out.
I'm delaying retirement until 68 to increase my payment because my wife is six years younger, has a lot of longevity in her family tree and will probably outlive me.
Just wish Congress will pass laws ensuring the fund doesn't run dry!
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Congratulations!

Be sure to look at how your SS benefits will impact your federal income tax.

It really annoys me that those benefits are subject to income tax.

IMO it's a means-test on an entitlement that was already bought and paid for during our working years.
 
jimintoronto said:
The US social security is funded by buying US treasury bills. Here in Canada we have a Canada Pension Investment Board that invests the money that is paid into the CPP by workers and their employers. The CPIB OWNS dozens of business operations in Canada and in other parts of the world. In Germany, the CPIB is one of the biggest owners of rental apartment buildings and shopping centers in that country. At this time the CPP plan is fully funded to the year 2065. By that I mean that it has secure funds for the next 43 years. I wonder how reliable the US social security funding is today ? Link to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board website. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) – Corporate Mapping Project
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There are big differences between the Canadian Pension Plan and US Social Security, including that Social Security is legally precluded from investing in private enterprise. Not saying either strategy is better, only that there are differences.

Also, the Canada Pension Plan monthly payout averages CA$640 a month ($509 US). Average US Social Security payout is $1543.00 US.
Maximum CPP payout for someone retiring today is CA$1253.59 ($998 US). Maximum SS individual payout is $4194.00 US.

If US Social Security paid out CPP amounts, our Social Security would be unlikely to have funding issues.

Most non-Canadians quite like Canada, cheer it on and admire its successes, myself and other members of this forum included. Please don't step on other countries as a way to elevate your own. We all have aspects we love about our countries as well as areas that could use improvement.
 
jimintoronto said:
I wonder how reliable the US social security funding is today ?
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From what I've read it is worrisome, in eleven years if congress doesn't do anything, there will only be enough annual contributions to cover us getting 78% of our SS checks. We need more workers paying in, wish all those unfilled jobs would hurry up and get filled.
 
Aunt Bea said:
Congratulations!

Be sure to look at how your SS benefits will impact your federal income tax.

It really annoys me that those benefits are subject to income tax.

IMO it's a means-test on an entitlement that was already bought and paid for during our working years.
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Good advice Bea, thanks.

We've got things planned where our taxable income will be below the standard deduction after I retire. My wife will be working part time then. She plans to retire around the age of 65.

And you're right about S.S. benefits being subject to taxes. Truly annoying.
 
An update on my SS filing:

I filed online and it was quite simple. The website has a 3 part progress bar so you can somewhat tell the status of your application (received, reviewed, approved). Mine seemed eternally stuck at being reviewed.

A few months after I applied, I got an email that was suspect. It was supposedly from the SS Administration but it was incomplete and it had a phone number that I was to call. I felt uneasy. There was no way to respond to the email because it said that the mailbox from where it was sent is unmonitored. I waited a few days then decided to call. The answering message was truncated and did not say anything about being the SS office. I hung up. I let another few days pass, called again, got the same odd answering message and decided that it could be someone trying to steal identities.

In late May I called the main phone number for SS that is posted on their website. I was transferred to the regional office that could help me. Guess what? The email that was sent to me and the phone number that was included with it were real! Not scammers but honestly, it was all so poorly done that I felt it had to be hackers, scammers or identity thieves.

I got through to a real SS person who was very helpful. I told him that his email and the message on their voicemail both raised my suspicions. He was a nice person but didn't seem at all interested in my feedback.

I answered some of the questions he had so he could finalize processing my application. A week or so later, I received a letter in the mail that my application was approved, the amount I would be receiving monthly and the date of the first payment. Yahoo!
 
I thought I responded to this months ago. I filed at age 62. I'd been retired 11 years, wasn't in the best of health at that time so I didn't want to wait. My older half sister, who I didn't get a chance to meet, wanted to wait until full retirement age. According to my other (half) sister our older sister and I had the same heart condition (cardiac arrythmia) and she wound up dying before she could collect.

Congratulations Leann. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.
 
One comes to appreciate the COLA benefit of SS these days. I waited until I was 70 to file. I figure if I got hit by a bus the next day, my wife would still benefit from me having waited. If my wife got hit by a bus the day after, who cares about SS at that point?

I called to make a phone appointment when I filed. SS called me right on time, the lady who helped me was very pleasant and helpful. One of the more enjoyable interactions that I've had with the federal government.
 
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HarryHawk said:
One comes to appreciate the COLA benefit of SS these days. I waited until I was 70 to file. I figure if I got hit by a bus the next day, my wife would still benefit from me having waited. If my wife got hit by a bus the next day, who cares about SS at that point?

I called to make a phone appointment when I filed. SS called me right on time, the lady who helped me was very pleasant and helpful. One of the more enjoyable interactions that I've had with the federal government.
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Exactly the perspective DH & I have.
 


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