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Another Soc Sec question

My mother says, "I originally received Soc Sec benefits as a survivor, not based on my own earnings". Could that be right?!

I asked her to send me the last "Your Social Security Statement" that she might have gotten. The above statement was her reply. Klunk! I am 350 miles away, so I do not have access to her records. I rely on her to fish out the documents I request. But as you know, GIGO. (Is it possible that she does not have a YSSS? I don't know when the SSA started sending YSSSes.) Facts....

My mother is now 82 years old. Midlife, she worked full-time as a teacher for many years. Earlier in life, she held full-time positions on a local newspaper. So she "must" have an earnings record of her own. I don't know how many years that covers. That is why I asked for the YSSS document. My father died a few years ago at age 79. Their ages differed by about 3 years. During his lifetime, he worked in his own law and CPA firm for at least 35 years. Before that, he worked full-time in other firms for many years. He probably had earnings history even before that; but I don't believe any of that is relevant. Some time after my father's death, my mother incorrectly reported self-employment income for a one-time royalty agreement. Her CPA agreed that that was a mistake under the circumstances, so he filed an amended return, shifting the self-employment income to royalty income and eliminating the self-employment income altogether. As a result, the IRS sent a notification that the self-employment would be reduced to zero for that year. I am trying to determine if that reduction will affect her Soc Sec benefits adversely, based on the 35-year formula that the SSA uses. I suspect not, even if her Soc Sec benefits are based, at least in part, on her own earnings. Certainly not if her Soc Sec benefits are based entirely on her as a survivor. Anyway, I think my question is independent of those facts. I simply want to know: if a person has earnings of their own, and they are a survivor of a person who had earnings of their own, are the (surviving) person's benefits based on the deceased person's earnings alone, or on some combination of their earnings, or something else altogether? If I omitted some relevant facts, what additional facts are needed in order to answer my question? I will continue to search my own SSA documents, ssa.gov and fairmark.com for the answer. I am "sure" I read about this somewhere, but it went in one eye and out the other :-). In the meantime, I thought someone here might offer a simple answer. And a specific pointer would be helpful.

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Reply to
nomail1983
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You should rest assured that she is most probably receiving the maximum SS benefits. And this is why I say so. My own mother started drawing based on father's ss after he died, i.e. widow's amount. Meanwhile she continued to work as secretary at local church (subject to ss withholding of course) for many years until she retired at about age 78 or so. Since my father's earnings had been so much more than her1's before he died, her SS benefits were based on that fact alone, just like in your mother's case. However there came a time, about when she was 82 , maybe 84, that Social Security sent her a letter advising that perhaps she could qualify for more on her own account. Accordingly she made an appointment and I took her over to the office in a neighboring town. Sure enough, she had qualified retroactive to first of year, so she got a catch up check and a small increase in monthly amount. Remember too, that in order to talk with Social Security about her "case", you will need her with you at office or a power of attorney. As a note on the POA for tax pros reading this, SSA has their own POA requirements and will not accept our own beloved form 2848. ChEAr$, Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

Reply to
Harlan Lunsford

The survivor has a choice to receive 1/2 the deceased spous'es SS based on his earnings, or their own SS.based on her earnings. The formulas drop out unproductive years and you can get printout of her and his earnings records for this purpose. ed

Reply to
ed

Your mother's comment "I originally received Soc Sec benefits as a survivor, not based on my own earnings." could very well be correct. You state she worked for some years as a teacher. It is quite possible that as a government employee at the time, she was not covered by social security. Therefore, her benefits would be higher as a survivor. All that said, the SSA would be more than happy to answer any question your mother has relating to her benefits and would also prepare a calculation using both methods. All she needs to do is call them at 1-800-772-1213.

Reply to
Alan

This question comes up on soc.senior.issues regularly and a lot of SS advice is presented there... A spouse may draw an amount up to one-half of the "other" spouse's benefit. This is NOT survivor benefits, and may be drawn whether the other spouse is alive or not. It may not be implemented until the "other" spouse is actively drawing benefits, AND the person applying is eligible for benefits themselves. In other words, both spouses must be eligible for benefits, but the spouse with the lower benefit may draw a larger amount up to one-half that of the spouse with the higher benefit. Survivor benefits are something else entirely.

Give a call to the SS toll free number which will be listed at

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, and talk to the representatives about this. They will give you exact information about what the requirements are , and who is eligible. Andy in Eureka, Texas

Reply to
AndyS

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