Social Security Income

Social security is lot more than just a retirement program. It can help people whether they are young or old, male or female, single or with a family . It can also provide benefits if you become severely disabled and help support your family when you die. And it's there for you when you retire. Social security is also the largest source of income for most elderly Americans and plays a major role in keeping them out of poverty. But it can't do it all. Social Security benefits were never intended to be the only source of income for you and your family when you retire. Most people will need to supplement their benefits from a pension, savings or investments. So essentially you should think of social security as a foundation on which to build your financial future.

You must apply for social security benefits to start receiving your checks. You'll also need to apply for Medicare benefits(part A) that covers hospital expenses. If you're looking for additional insurance, for example medicare part B, remember to apply within six months of medicare eligibility to be accepted without regard to pre-existing conditions. You can also decide if you'll collect your own social security benefits, based on your earning history, or you want to use your spouse's earnings. Obviously, you'll want to choose the one that pays the most. If you retire before your spouse, you can collect your own benefits, then switch and choose the spousal benefits if they are higher. You should also apply a few months before you retire rather than waiting until you retire. It takes a few months to process all the paperwork, including SSN, proof of age and evidence of recent earnings.

You should also reconcile your social security earning report with your own records and report any discrepancies to Social Security Administration(SSA). Also remember that social security is not meant to be the sole source of income in retirement and you should consider social security as only a small mart of your total retirement plan and other savings set aside. This is even more important with the concerns that social security might not be able to pay beyond year 2035. Most people are asking if social security is going to be there for them when they retire. Chances are that it will. But changes will be needed to meet the demand of the times. American are living longer, healthier lives; and 76 million "baby boomers" will start retiring in about 2008; and, in about 30 years, there will be nearly twice as many older american as there are today. Social security currently takes in more in taxes than it pays out in benefits. Excess funds in social security's trust fund is expected to grow to over $4 trillion before we start to use them to pay benefits. According to SSA estimates, in 2015, we will begin to pay out more in benefits than we collect in taxes. By 2037, the trust funds will exhausted and the payroll taxes collected will be enough to pay only about 72% of benefits owed. So there is definitely work to be done to resolve these issues.

Social Security Benefit Estimates

To qualify for benefits, you earn "credits" through your work - up to four each year. When you have earned 40 credits, you're eligible to receive retirement benefits. For disability and survivors benefits, young people need fewer credits to be eligible. Social Security Administration provides some good information on their web site(www.ssa.gov) to help you understand your benefits and payout process.

One of the important fact that is often overlooked in benefit calculation is the age when you retire. Currently you can retire at the normal retirement age(65 or 67 depending on when you were born) and receive full benefits. You could retire between 62 and 65 and receive a reduced benefit. However, if you delay your retirement, you get bonus for each year worked past your normal retirement age. Delayed retirement credit is raised to 8% for year 2008 and beyond.

Here is a table showing bonus for extra year .

Here is some more information from SSA retirement planner for social Security. This planner provides detailed information about your Social Security retirement benefits under current law and points out things you may want to consider as you prepare for the future. If you are:

Looking for Retirement information
Find your Retirement age
Use the Benefit Calculator
Learn about Social Security Program
How earning and pension can affect you Social Security paycheck

Already near Retirement
Apply for benefits online
Frequently Asked Questions
Survivors Planner
What happens if you work after retirement