With approximately 68 million beneficiaries, Social Security is a well-known federal program that has been in place for about 90 years. Nonetheless, many people are still ignorant of a lot of information regarding Social Security. The results of a recent online survey conducted by MassMutual to gauge Americans’ knowledge of retirement benefits from Social Security around the ages of fifty-five and sixty-five were not encouraging. 41 percent of those who took the test failed it.
Social Security Retirement Benefits
Merely approximately 3 percent of American respondents received an A on the Social Security exam of the MassMutual. A further 7% earned a B, and 13% earned a C. Thirty-seven percent of students were in danger of receiving a D. Even with these abysmal results, a minimum of 75% of respondents correctly answered multiple questions. For instance, when asked if they would typically see a reduction in their retirement benefits if they applied for Social Security prior to reaching their FRA (full retirement age), 92% of respondents said “yes.”
The amount of your retirement benefits will be lowered by five-ninths at 1% for every month up to 36 months prior to your FRA. Retirement benefits are cut by five-twelfths of 1% prior to that. The majority of respondents (84%) were also aware that the Social Security pension payments might be lowered if they remained to work until their full retirement age (FRA) and earned more than a certain threshold. But, they weren’t questioned about whether they expected to get the money that was withheld when they arrived at their FRA.
When a spouse does not have a separate earnings history, 75% of respondents to the online survey were aware that their spouses may be eligible for retirement benefits from Social Security based on their employment history. As much as fifty percent of the greater-earning spouse’s payments at their FRA may be received as spousal benefits. On MassMutual’s online survey, though, there were a few questions that less than 60% of participants properly answered.
Full Retirement Age
Based on the ex-spouse’s prior wages, you may be eligible to receive retirement payments from Social Security following a divorce. If nothing changes, by 2035 Social Security payouts might be cut by at least 20%. Regardless of when you were born, your full retirement age is 65 years old. Your dependent children who are 18 years of age or younger may also be eligible for Social Security payments if you register for retirement benefits from Social Security. You will continue to get increases in your delayed retirement credit if you wait until after the age of 70 to begin getting Social Security retirement payments.
Just like with withdrawals from a typical IRA, your Social Security pension earnings are liable for income taxes. To be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, an individual must hold US citizenship. In addition, participants were asked how long they believed their retirement income would last them. Thirty-six percent said they were younger than ten years old. Twenty-seven percent more people said that their retirement income would only last them eleven to twenty years. Regardless of how you fared on Social Security questions, it’s critical to have strong responses for both questions.
