Anne_in_VA
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Jun 17, 2015 12:17:15 GMT -5
I got 9/10. I missed the one about kids. It's no wonder that so many people get the answers wrong the way the questions are worded.
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Jun 17, 2015 12:21:38 GMT -5
I couldn't figure out how many right you needed to get to pass the test? I would think that younger people wouldn't have much of a reason to know many of the answer to the quiz... especially if their parents aren't particularly old (a 20 something with a parent in their 50's). I can see a younger person being more knowledgeable if they have a parent who is starting or has gone thru the process of accessing SS benefits. I'm trying to figure out if 72% passed (article) or 72% failed (headline). 10/10 for me, but I've recently been trying to figure out all the quirks for future finances.
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garion2003
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Post by garion2003 on Jun 17, 2015 12:59:30 GMT -5
9/10. I missed the one about kids too (don't have any, never will)
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Plain Old Petunia
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Post by Plain Old Petunia on Jun 17, 2015 13:57:48 GMT -5
I got 8/10, according to them. However, number 5 is true (they say false). The question is:
I can continue working while collecting my full Social Security retirement benefits – regardless of my age.
That is true. You certainly can. You may lose benefits, but that is not the question they asked. In the answer they say:
You can work and receive Social Security retirement benefits. However, if you have not reached full retirement age, your earnings will be subject to the retirement earnings test.
So they even acknowledge the statement is true, while saying the correct answer is false.
But the US citizen one I did actually get wrong. Did not know that. I knew you could live abroad, but did not know you could live here, not be a citizen, and collect benefits.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jun 17, 2015 14:28:15 GMT -5
10/10 in answering as I deduced the intend of the questions to be.
In adittion to the divorced spouse question and legal residents issuess question 5 was very imprecize: "True or False? I can continue working while collecting my full Social Security retirement benefits – regardless of my age."
You are not eligible for full benefits until you reach full benefits retirement age. However, once you have reached that age and you receive full benefits there won't be a deduction on your SS for earned income and the answer becomes "true"
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jun 17, 2015 14:30:58 GMT -5
Dang, someone walked into my office during luch and now Plain Old Petunia beat me to it.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Jun 17, 2015 14:43:58 GMT -5
What I wonder is why so many people take it early. I thought the general advice was to wait to collect unless you needed the money for living expenses, or didn't expect to live long due to health issues.
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mollyanna58
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Post by mollyanna58 on Jun 17, 2015 14:47:35 GMT -5
What I wonder is why so many people take it early. I thought the general advice was to wait to collect unless you needed the money for living expenses, or didn't expect to live long due to health issues. Some people want to retire as early as possible. Or it may be the best option for some people. I had a client get laid off at 61. He couldn't find another job in his field, and decided to start collecting at 62.
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lexxy703
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Post by lexxy703 on Jun 17, 2015 14:52:17 GMT -5
I failed miserably
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Plain Old Petunia
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Post by Plain Old Petunia on Jun 17, 2015 15:26:50 GMT -5
Why would you expect you have to be a citizen to collect social security? Resident aliens pay SS tax too. . I assume that the people who think that must assume non-citizens don't have to pay the taxes. We still have to pay for the same length of time as every other person in order to qualify. I got my 40 quarters in last year and I only just my green card. I almost managed all 40 quarters before I got through the green card waitlist!
Oh, I know non-citizens pay FICA taxes. There is no deduction on Form 941 for wages earned by non-citizens.
I suppose what I was thinking is that illegal aliens pay FICA taxes but never collect, and somehow lumping that together with legal aliens.
It makes perfect sense for legal aliens to collect benefits. After all, you pay just like everyone else.
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Plain Old Petunia
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Post by Plain Old Petunia on Jun 17, 2015 15:28:25 GMT -5
What I wonder is why so many people take it early. I thought the general advice was to wait to collect unless you needed the money for living expenses, or didn't expect to live long due to health issues. Some people want to retire as early as possible. Or it may be the best option for some people. I had a client get laid off at 61. He couldn't find another job in his field, and decided to start collecting at 62. Those are good reasons. Another could be that they want to reduce withdrawals to their nest egg.
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Baby Fawkes
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Post by Baby Fawkes on Jun 17, 2015 15:43:14 GMT -5
I suppose what I was thinking is that illegal aliens pay FICA taxes but never collect, and somehow lumping that together with legal aliens.
It makes perfect sense for legal aliens to collect benefits. After all, you pay just like everyone else.
Ha! Sadly there are too many instances where non-citizen and illegal alien get used interchangeably. Not on this board, but quite often in the aftermath of general media hype and political narrative. Even the immigration process makes it feel like I was doing something wrong for years. My official status was a "Legal Alien with Advanced Parole" for approximately 7 years. That term definitely carries negative connotations if you mention it to anyone who is involved with the immigration process in some way
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Jun 17, 2015 16:01:45 GMT -5
I got 8/10, according to them. However, number 5 is true (they say false). The question is:
I can continue working while collecting my full Social Security retirement benefits – regardless of my age.
That is true. You certainly can. You may lose benefits, but that is not the question they asked. In the answer they say:
You can work and receive Social Security retirement benefits. However, if you have not reached full retirement age, your earnings will be subject to the retirement earnings test.
So they even acknowledge the statement is true, while saying the correct answer is false.
Although I have to admit I just thought it was taxed, not reduced.
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txbo
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Post by txbo on Jun 17, 2015 16:08:13 GMT -5
What I wonder is why so many people take it early. I thought the general advice was to wait to collect unless you needed the money for living expenses, or didn't expect to live long due to health issues. Here's an example using Social Security's "quick calculator": If you were born in June 1960 and currently earn $50,000 annually, then you can expect roughly the following benefits depending on the age at which you started collecting:
Retirement Age 62 67 70 Monthly Benefit $1,050 $1,578 $2,014 Annual Benefit $12,600 $18,936 $24,168
Between the earliest and latest dates, the amount you'd receive each year nearly doubles! But there's more to it than the size of your benefits. Between age 62 and age 70, there are eight years, or 96 months. So if you waited until age 70, you'd miss out on 96 payments of $1,050, or $100,800 altogether. That's roughly four years' worth of the age-70 payments. The Social Security Administration itself explains, "As a general rule, early or late retirement will give you about the same total Social Security benefits over your lifetime."
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Jun 17, 2015 16:09:44 GMT -5
Some people want to retire as early as possible. Or it may be the best option for some people. I had a client get laid off at 61. He couldn't find another job in his field, and decided to start collecting at 62. Those are good reasons. Another could be that they want to reduce withdrawals to their nest egg. Yeah, my dad started collecting when he was 60 when my mom divorced him. He wasn't making enough money to support himself working. They had filed BK and house was leveraged 100%.
Although I do remember him saying that "everyone tells you to take it as soon as possible so you can get the most amount of money". Ummm o.k. He's 79 on Medicaid and getting food stamps. I don't think he actually did the math.
When we did our initial retirement planning we thought about taking early SS and investing the payments. I think that approach is probably a draw although there's certainly market risk vs the guaranteed SS 8%. I suspect though between many Baby Boomers inability to save or under save plus a fear that SS will "run out" will be a real drag on the system. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Jun 17, 2015 16:12:28 GMT -5
9 out of 10 smarty pants!
I missed #5. See my excuse reasoning at post # 45
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Jun 17, 2015 16:21:44 GMT -5
9 out of 10 smarty pants!
I missed #5. See my excuse reasoning at post #
see my comments in the next post...
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Jun 17, 2015 16:35:36 GMT -5
1.True or False? Social Security retirement benefits are based on my earnings history, so I’ll receive the same monthly benefit amount no matter when I start collecting. This is not true as there are reduced benefits if you take SS before the full retirement age (say 62 instead of 67 in my case). In addition, there are COLA adjustments so the benefits will change in any event.2.True or False? If my spouse dies, I will continue to receive both my own benefit and my deceased spouse’s benefit. Nope, you get the higher of either your separate benefit, or your spouses' benefit, but not both.3.True or False? I must be a U.S. citizen to collect Social Security retirement benefits. I've had the pleasure of managing both inpat and expat relocations, tax return prep, and tax equalization calculations so yeah, I had some insider knowledge on this one.4.True or False? Under current Social Security law, full retirement age is 65. Nope - I get to wait until I'm 67 5.True or False? I can continue working while collecting my full Social Security retirement benefits – regardless of my age. Knew firsthand someone who negotiated in their post-retirement/consulting contract that if the "employer" wanted/needed them to work over the max you could work without reduced benefits, then the company would equalize them for the difference. Ended up being a pretty expensive proposition for the company as they were nowhere near prepared for the individuals' retirement.
6.True or False? If I file for retirement benefits and have minor dependent children, they also may qualify for Social Security benefits. To be honest, this is the only one I guessed at. Had a 50/50 chance.7.True or False? As a divorced person, I can collect Social Security retirement benefits based on my ex-spouse’s earnings history. I can't tell you the number of bitter divorced people I know who hate this rule.8.True or False? Once I start collecting Social Security, my benefit payments will never change. Not true, there are COLA adjustments, spouse could die, etc.9.True or False? Government workers may have their Social Security retirement benefits reduced. In IL a substantial number of governmental employees do not pay into the SS system. In more than one article I've heard quotes complaining about the reduction of spousal payments (upon death) due to the government pension offset. Wahh, Wahh.10.True or False? My spouse can qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, even if he or she has no individual earnings history. See #7. IMHO this is one outdated provision that needs to be eliminated.
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Jun 17, 2015 16:39:37 GMT -5
What I wonder is why so many people take it early. I thought the general advice was to wait to collect unless you needed the money for living expenses, or didn't expect to live long due to health issues. I'd prefer to wait, too. But, a former coworker of mine got divorced in the last couple of years, & took it as soon as she was eligible to help pay her expenses. I guess everyone has a reason...
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Plain Old Petunia
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Post by Plain Old Petunia on Jun 17, 2015 16:57:12 GMT -5
What I wonder is why so many people take it early. I thought the general advice was to wait to collect unless you needed the money for living expenses, or didn't expect to live long due to health issues. I'd prefer to wait, too. But, a former coworker of mine got divorced in the last couple of years, & took it as soon as she was eligible to help pay her expenses. I guess everyone has a reason... If I work until FRA, I will draw based on ex-husband's record and let mine continue to grow. Then, switch to mine at age 70. Maybe she is doing that too?
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jun 17, 2015 19:41:03 GMT -5
I'd prefer to wait, too. But, a former coworker of mine got divorced in the last couple of years, & took it as soon as she was eligible to help pay her expenses. I guess everyone has a reason... If I work until FRA, I will draw based on ex-husband's record and let mine continue to grow. Then, switch to mine at age 70. Maybe she is doing that too? Now the text in red is the important part. I belive that if you take early retirement on the xHs record SSA will look at what will give you the highest payout: his record @50% or yours. And that's what you'll get whether you want it or not. As a result there are (mostly) women out there that took early retirement without even knowwing they did so and it is an irrevocable decision.
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Jun 18, 2015 6:12:08 GMT -5
10/10 here
However:
I am retired Late DH was on disability & we got payments for DD2 DDs are teachers (gov pensions) & not pay into soc
Prob a couple more I KNOW from real life experience.
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Value Buy
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Post by Value Buy on Jun 18, 2015 8:53:18 GMT -5
10/10 But the questions were sort of simple,especially if you are older and have been paying attention to retirement goals . Plus, if I do not work for the government why would I care how it affects government workers?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2015 14:25:26 GMT -5
9/10
I was wrong on the children question, but really had no reason to know that.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jun 18, 2015 19:15:58 GMT -5
If anything needs to be cut from SS this is the first one that needs to go IMO: "6.True or False? If I file for retirement benefits and have minor dependent children, they also may qualify for Social Security benefits." I am totally fine with men, and now increasingly women, deciding that they want to (re)start a family in their late 40s or even later, however I do not believe that society should have to pay for this. And why is there no outrage over this rule? Is this really any different from a 16 yo teen mom living of foodstamps etc.? We seem bound and determined to despise this very young group of parents who made a decision they were really not yet equiped for and need help with. Yet when children are receiving SS because their parents decided to have kids late in life -when they (the parents) DO know better - we don't start yelling at these parents about their decision and just meekly pay up.
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