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I've known a few who live that way, don't pay taxes. If they live long enough they are in for a big shock, since if you didn't pay Social Security tax, you won't collect Social Security.
A whole lot of people are going to be in a world of hurt who are "self-employed" or whatever but have been doing so mostly off the books.
In particular those who say for a good part of their working lives were employed, then were fired or whatever and began working for themselves to earn money.
Few realize and or even understand just how SS bennies are calculated. In short is basically is an average and for any years without reported income you get a big fat *ZERO*. Any grade school kid can (or should) be able to tell you what adding zeros does to an average.
social security benefits are calculated off your 35 highest years not 40 quarters .. you need 40 credits to be eligible for ss .
How are Benefits Calculated?
First, a worker’s previous earnings are restated in terms of today’s wages to reflect wage growth.
Second, earnings for the highest 35 years are averaged and divided by the number of months in 35 years to arrive at Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME).
Third, the Social Security benefit formula is applied to AIME to produce the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), the benefit payable at Full Retirement Age (FRA).
Anyone born in 1929 or later needs 10 years of work (40 credits) to be eligible for retirement benefits. People born before 1929 need fewer years of work
A whole lot of people are going to be in a world of hurt who are "self-employed" or whatever but have been doing so mostly off the books.
In particular those who say for a good part of their working lives were employed, then were fired or whatever and began working for themselves to earn money.
Few realize and or even understand just how SS bennies are calculated. In short is basically is an average and for any years without reported income you get a big fat *ZERO*. Any grade school kid can (or should) be able to tell you what adding zeros does to an average.
if i could have invested all the money i paid in taxes and in to ss over the years by hiding income i could have the equal to multiple ss checks coming in from that money .
social security benefits are calculated off your 35 highest years not 40 quarters .. you need 40 credits to be eligible for ss .
How are Benefits Calculated?
First, a worker’s previous earnings are restated in terms of today’s wages to reflect wage growth.
Second, earnings for the highest 35 years are averaged and divided by the number of months in 35 years to arrive at Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME).
Third, the Social Security benefit formula is applied to AIME to produce the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), the benefit payable at Full Retirement Age (FRA).
Anyone born in 1929 or later needs 10 years of work (40 credits) to be eligible for retirement benefits. People born before 1929 need fewer years of work
There are people out there getting "bare quarters" SS checks. That is they have enough quarters (11 years) to qualify for something from SS; but it is special minimum benefits. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/progdata/tableForm.html
That is they only had an employment record (for SS purposes) that allowed them to *barely* qualify for the lowest amounts of payments. Needless to say such persons are in not so great shape financially; to wit poor.
Many of these persons are the ones who are on Medicare *and* Medicaid. The first is because are eligible by virtue of making enough payments into system (regardless of how low). Latter comes from their total household income being so low they are indigent or darn near.
No end of domestic (and some other) workers work off the books. Some of their own choosing, others because employer sets things up that way and they don't challenge.
Either way when it comes time to file for SS people are in for a shock. This sometimes extends to those employers who *should* have been deducting payroll taxes but didn't.
Of course the self-employed cannot use these arguments. Their income is wholly determined by what they themselves report.
There are people out there getting "bare quarters" SS checks. That is they have enough quarters (11 years) to qualify for something from SS; but it is special minimum benefits. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/progdata/tableForm.html
That is they only had an employment record (for SS purposes) that allowed them to *barely* qualify for the lowest amounts of payments. Needless to say such persons are in not so great shape financially; to wit poor.
Many of these persons are the ones who are on Medicare *and* Medicaid. The first is because are eligible by virtue of making enough payments into system (regardless of how low). Latter comes from their total household income being so low they are indigent or darn near.
spousal benefits allow many to get benefits far beyond their own record or even with no record .
i always thought that was an unfair perk today . we should all eat what we kill . not working is a personal choice .
spousal benefits allow many to get benefits far beyond their own record or even with no record .
i always thought that was an unfair perk today . we should all eat what we kill . not working is a personal choice .
Hell with that, spouse should be entitled to it. it is a family unit, a family decision, thus a family benefit. If wife stays home raising kids or whatever, husband works, why should the wife not be allowed to have such benefits if the husband dies?
I was self-employed for many years as an engineering consultant, and I always paid both my share and employer's share of all payments due to Social Security and Medicare. I doubt that I could have hidden my obligation anyway, but in any case I'm glad I made the payments because now I have full Medicare coverage and a modest Social Security income.
I can't see how anybody but a low life would benefit from going off the radar. And even then, in the end it may do them more harm than good.
Hell with that, spouse should be entitled to it. it is a family unit, a family decision, thus a family benefit. If wife stays home raising kids or whatever, husband works, why should the wife not be allowed to have such benefits if the husband dies?
Because *she* or *he* didn't directly pay into SS?
In many European countries spousal and or survivor benefits have been phased out at least for those born after a certain date. This and or benefits are mean tested, or will kick in if a surviving spouse is truly destitute.
SS in USA is one of the few if not only where both married and single persons pay same rates, but the former receive far more back in benefits. Ditto for those with children versus the childless.
A woman who has never worked a day in her life can receive a higher SS award (both spousal and survivor) than one who had a career spanning > 30 years.
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