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My case is very, very different from yours as you have presented it. I have a very low SS retirement benefit because I did not pay FICA taxes very many years, perhaps 15 years or so, and in addition, my FICA wages were never for full-time work. Therefore I would expect to get a small benefit; I have almost 20 years of zeros to average in with my 35 years of highest earnings.
Something is very wrong with the way SS computed your benefit if you paid FICA taxes for 40 years and you are getting $68 per month. Please file some sort of appeal with the Social Security Administration. Perhaps you should start by going to an office and sitting down face-to-face with someone. You should be entitled to retroactive benefits after the correction, it seems to me.
Much of my contributions which began in 1954 was based on $1 to $2 per hour work. My contributions were reduced by the school my last 7 years by only paying for my school bus driving and night classes. The teacher's didn't pay into FICA.
My teachers pension started at $1552.00 per month. The reduction of the teachers pension plus early age deduction possibly resulted in the $68 per month. I wasn't aware of the pension reduction until I started reading on C-D about WEP.
I apoligize for hi-jacking your thread Escort Rider but appreciate your replys. I do have a question on property taxes I will post later.
Much of my contributions which began in 1954 was based on $1 to $2 per hour work. My contributions were reduced by the school my last 7 years by only paying for my school bus driving and night classes. The teacher's didn't pay into FICA.
My teachers pension started at $1552.00 per month. The reduction of the teachers pension plus early age deduction possibly resulted in the $68 per month. I wasn't aware of the pension reduction until I started reading on C-D about WEP.
I apoligize for hi-jacking your thread Escort Rider but appreciate your replys. I do have a question on property taxes I will post later.
Although I have a number of posts in this thread, it is not "my" thread - i.e., I am not the original poster. No apology necessary in my opinion. I still suspect strongly that SS may have made a mistake in your case:
1. The wages in 1954, although very low even for that time, are indexed for inflation before the 35 year averaging takes place. So the $1 to $2 per hour are being computed as far more than that.
2. Even if your are subject to the WEP, the reduction in your SS amount still seems excessive to me.
What have you got to lose by checking into this with some stubbornness? All you can lose is your time. It could turn out to be time extremely well spent. Please do not shortchange yourself.
I had never gotten an annual statement until I got the 40 years of contributions and letter of what my benefits would be.
You can go online and get an annual statement. In that statement it lists every year you worked, your taxed SS earnings and your taxed Medicare earnings. You can see it online and print it out.
Definitely worth it if SS screwed up because I agree with ER that something doesn't sound right about that amount.
You can go online and get an annual statement. In that statement it lists every year you worked, your taxed SS earnings and your taxed Medicare earnings. You can see it online and print it out.
Definitely worth it if SS screwed up because I agree with ER that something doesn't sound right about that amount.
Thank you for the suggestion HappyTexan. I found and read the site, but decided not to put my personal info even though it was a secure site. I am O.K. with my SS so far. After 15 years I am at $189 per month SS plus the $108 they are deducting for Medicare due to COLA raises. If inflation catches up with my income, I will do as EscortRider suggested and check in personally at the SS office for verification of benefits. I took my wife there in 2002 for a problem she had with them. They had paid her too much and wanted some if it back.
Thank you all for the suggestions and information.
Yes, this will probably be moved to the Health Insurance forum but most of our retirees have no reason to follow that forum.
Here's the tidbit from the Medicare Trustee Report that no one has yet mentioned. It is anticipated that the average third quarter CPI-W for this year will not be higher than 2014's third quarter CPI-W. Thus, will be no increase in your SSA check (some refer to this as a COLA) for 2016.
However, the Medicare B and D premiums for 2016 will absolutely increase. But for whom?
It was published in Investors Business Daily about a week ago. They were quoting The Congressional Accounting Office. The year that they gave was 2029.
................. If inflation catches up with my income, I will do as EscortRider suggested and check in personally at the SS office for verification of benefits.....................
I do not understand. Why wait? If you think, as I do, that your benefit is too low (i.e., not calculated properly), why not do it now? You deserve the correct benefit as provided by law. All you have to lose is a couple of hours of your time.
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