Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about how continued work might be able to increase retirement benefit rates, how survivor’s benefits are calculated and how a non US citizen might be eligible for US Social Security benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc.
See more Ask Larry answers here.
Have Social Security questions of your own you’d like answered? Ask Larry about Social Security here.
Why Hasn’t My Social Security Retirement Benefit Rate Increased Yet?
Hi Larry, I have worked part time since retirement at 65 and my Social Security benefit has not been recalculated. I was not earning over the limit and I paid SSA taxes for about seven years. I stopped this part time work two years ago because of covid and I still have not received a recalculation. Thanks, George
Hi George, Social Security retirement benefits are based on an average of a person’s highest 35 years of Social Security covered wage-indexed earnings, so the earnings you had after you started drawing benefits will only increase your benefit rate if you earned more in a year than you did in one or more of the 35 years currently being used to calculate your benefit rate.
If you think that you earned enough to be due a benefit increase, you can submit a written and signed request to Social Security for a recomputation of your benefit rate. The preferred form to use for that purpose is a form SSA-795, and you can mail it to your nearest Social Security office.
You may want to consider using my company’s software — Maximize My Social Security or MaxiFi Planner — to ensure your household receives the highest lifetime benefits. Social Security calculators provided by other companies or non-profits may provide proper suggestions if they were built with extreme care. Our software can also confirm your correct benefit amount, ensuring you aren’t being paid too little or too much, which could lead to potential clawbacks due to Social Security’s overpayment to you. Best, Larry
What Portion Of Our Spouse’s Amount Will We Receive When One Of Us Dies?
Both my husband and I received full Social Security retirement benefits. In the event of one of our deaths, what portion of our spouses benefit rate do we receive and do we continue to receive our own full benefit? Thanks, Ralph
Hi Ralph, Based on your description, the surviving spouse would receive the higher of their two benefit rates. If the spouse with the lower benefit amount dies first, the surviving spouse will only receive their own higher benefit amount. In that event, the only survivor benefit that could be paid is the onetime death benefit of $255.
However, if the spouse with the higher benefit amount dies first, the surviving spouse will continue to get their own benefit plus a survivor benefit equal to the difference in their two benefit rates. The result would be that the surviving spouse would end up with a combined benefit equal to the higher spouse’s full amount. Best, Larry
Do I Qualify For US Social Security Benefits?
Hi Larry, I am a First Nations Canadian citizen with a US Social Security number from time spent in California many years ago. Do I qualify for US Social Security benefits? I am 66. Thanks, Niimi
Hi Niimi, You could only qualify for US Social Security retirement benefits if you worked and paid US Social Security taxes long enough to be insured for benefits. Normally, you need at least 40 quarters of coverage (QC), or roughly 10 years of Social Security covered work, to be insured.
However, if you have at least six US QCs you might qualify for a totalization benefit if you also worked and paid into the Canadian Pension Program long enough to be insured based on combined credits from the two countries.
If you have fewer than six US QCs though, the only way you could qualify for US Social Security benefits is if you’re eligible for auxiliary or survivor benefits based on the US Social Security insured status of a spouse, former spouse, parent or deceased child. Best, Larry
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