Dear Editor:
Social Security is one of the biggest federal government programs. And sometimes it seems the number of myths and misconceptions about Social Security has a direct correlation to the size of the program. I will help clear up some of those misunderstandings and set the record straight. Myth 1: “My benefit is based on my last three years of work or my highest five years of earnings.”
Social Security retirements benefits are based on your lifetime average earnings, not just your last three years or five highest years. In almost all cases, we use your highest 35 years (not necessarily consecutive) to figure your retirement benefit. If you haven’t worked for 35 years, we must add “zero” years to your computation. One upside to the high number of years used to compute benefits is that a few years of lower earnings won’t have a dramatic impact on your Social Security pension. Many people retire before they turn 62 (the earliest age they can get Social Security) or they work part-time for a few years before they retire. A few years of lower earnings, when averaged out over a 35-year time span, will not have a great impact on your eventual Social Security benefits.
Myth 2: “I can start my Social Security at 62 at a reduced rate and later switch to full retirement benefits.”
Sorry, but that’s just wrong. If you take a reduced benefit, the reduction generally will stay with you for the rest of our life. There are only two exceptions. One happens if you retire and take reduced benefits and then return to work for a while, forcing us to stop your benefits while you’re working. When you reach your full retirement age, we will refigure your benefits and charge you with a reduction only for those months you actually got a Social Security check. The other exception applies only to widows and widowers. They can start getting reduced benefits on one record and later switch to a full benefit on another record. Let’s say you are a widow due a $1,000 retirement benefit or a $1,500 widow’s benefit. You could take a reduced retirement benefit of about $800 at age 62 and then switch to your full $1,500 widow’s benefit at your full retirement age.
Myth 3: “There’s a limit that you will pay to a married couple.”
That’s true only in the sense that there is a limit to the Social Security retirement benefits that any person can receive. But two people married to each other can each receive the maximum payment. In other words, there is no “marriage penalty.” A husband’s Social Security benefit does not offset a wife’s Social Security benefit, and vice versa. In 2003, the maximum retirement benefit payable to someone turning 65 and 2 months (the “full retirement age”) is $1,741. So if a husband and wife each turned 65 and 2 months this year and if each earned the maximum benefit, each would get $1,741 or $3,482 combined.
Yvonne Bryant
Social Security Manager
Jersey City