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About a week ago I looked on the calendar and yup - 4 months to my FRA.
I am already on Medicare - signed up online a year ago.... and making quarterly payments to them.
I wanted to make this easy on myself - because I have in the past gotten on the phone with Social Security Customer Service - only to be told WRONG information. (They indicated they thought my employer's contribution to my govermment 401K would affect my SS benefit - Employer does not pay into SS and I get a pension). ONLY my work years of service not paying into SS affects that - my 401K has nothing to do with it...... but I digress.
So I had all of the required documents and filled out the benefit application online. And pressed - SEND.
I have tried to have prior knowledge of what my benefit would be.... I have worked since I was 15 - but the last 18 years of government service was for an entity that opted out of Social Security in the 1980's. That contribution was in turn made to the state retirement fund for which I now draw a pension. So I did all the calculations based on my income over the years - on the Windfall Elimination Calculator provided by SS. I had my number and I was OK with it.
Fast forward and I get an email and voicemail from Social Security to call - about my benefits. I am a little concerned. I call and talk to the person I was directed to - who, (god bless her) talks to me like she's reading a script. And does not let me talk or ask questions. Then she says to me that based on my NON-contributory history my benefit will be reduced 70%. WHAT? I told her I had done the calculations - and knew what number I would have gotten without the non-contributory years.... and this simply did not compute.
Then she told me what my benefit would be - and it was the exact number I had calculated. WUT?
Whatever. I left it at that. My benefits will be delivered to me in November and I am OK with that.
What I am NOT OK with is that all through the years of service - not working in a place where the employer contributes to SS - we NEVER got a straight answer - either from HR or Social Security - on how much our benefits would be reduced. NEVER. They basically all gave the same crafted answer - "Look at what your statement says and cut that by 50%". Just nasty.
Well - I am hear to tell you they are WRONG again. I will receive almost 80% of what my statement indicates. Bottomline - always do the math and be prepared.
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