The Benefits Blog

Colorado is a common law state.  Mary and Lee were together for over 30 years until he passed three years ago.  Mary has attempted to get his social security but has had constant push back from the Lakewood, CO Social Security office.   They said she was not entitled because they did not live togeth...

Have a client who is going to start Soc Sec benefits at 62. Her estimate is about $2,400 per month.  She has a daughter who is 24, and will be 25 in Sept.  She has been physically and mentally disabled and receives SSI (which is $947 per month). Will she get an increase when my client retires next y...

I have a client just turned 62 and they haven’t filed or paid taxes in many years- probably 8-10.  My question is- How will this affect their SS benefits.  Will there be penalties? I know they have very little to no income for several years and I believe they may have been living off an inheritance ...

I have a client who delayed his benefit after FRA for 4 months which equates to a total of $60 (DRC) which will be added in January. His current benefit is $3,488 a month gross.  What is the order of applying DRCs and COLA or is this a simultaneous calculation?

When it comes to applying Delayed Ret...

Wife is collecting SSDI, but the husband with a much larger benefit has not filed for SSB.  Since she has SSDI, does deemed filing apply?  Meaning she will get a reduced Spousal benefit when the husband does file. This makes me think that she can refile for spousal at FRA if she wanted to get the ma...

Do you know of any situation where a sibling can receive a payment off their siblings work record?  For example, if sibling A is providing 50% or more for siblings B support?  Can sibling B file a claim for a benefit based on sibling A’s work record?

There are no benefits under Social Security to d...

We have a client who called SSA. My primary question is how could the client be getting the exact same amount of Benefit if he files in November compared to filing at FRA this past July. To me it doesn’t make sense but she swears she called three times. Three SSA representatives, and they all said t...

I understood that surviving spouse benefits include any Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs) earned by the deceased. However, I found information online stating that if a person dies before age 70 after delaying benefits past Full Retirement Age, the surviving spouse only receives benefits based on the...

I ran into a Social Security situation the other day and I was surprised about what happened. I had a client who was planning on taking a spousal benefit and I thought we could do the application online. When they came to our office for our appointment, we helped them log in and I couldn’t see the “...

I have a client who is considering waiting to age 70 to draw her benefit. Her husband started drawing his benefit at age 66.  There are 9 years difference in their ages. He is currently 67 and she is 58. If she postpones this decision and he dies before she reaches age 70, is she able to draw off hi...