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Complete Home & Office Legal Guide
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Complete Home and Office Legal Guide (Chestnut) (1993).ISO
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#help.tut Extra help for tutorials
#define.stb On line glossary- definitions of legal terms
/* Part two of social security basics */
Overall Program And Benefit
Information
YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY
INTRODUCTION
Social Security is the Nation's basic method of providing a
continuing income to you and your family when your earnings stop
because of your retirement, disability, or death.
Social Security payments are not intended to replace all lost
earnings. People should try to supplement Social Security
payments with savings, pensions or other insurance. Nine out of
10 workers in the United States are earning protection under
Social Security. About one out of every six persons in the
country receives monthly Social Security checks. Over 24 million
people 65 and over, nearly all of the nation's older population
have health insurance under Medicare. Another 3 million disabled
people under 65 also have Medicare. Nearly every family then has
a stake in Social Security.
This booklet is about your Social Security. It tells how you earn
protection under Social Security, the kinds of benefits you and
your family can get, how Social Security is financed and other
information that can help you in planning for the future.
***************
WHO GETS CHECKS
***************
Benefits For An Individual
Monthly Social Security checks may go to workers and their
dependents when the worker retires, becomes severely disabled or
dies. Then, there's Medicare, which helps pay the cost of health
care for eligible people who are 65 or over or disabled.
Monthly Social Security benefits include:
Retirement checks - When you retire, you can start getting
retirement checks as early as 62.
Disability checks - A worker who becomes severely disabled
before 65 can get disability checks.
Survivors checks - If the worker dies, survivors checks can go to
certain members of the worker's family. A lump-sum payment can
also be made when a worker dies. It is generally $255. This
payment can only be made if there is an eligible surviving widow,
widower or entitled child.
Checks For A Worker's Family
Monthly Social Security checks are also paid to certain
dependents of a worker who has retired, become disabled or died.
Retirement or Disability - If a worker is receiving retirement or
disability benefits, monthly benefits also can be made to his or
her:
- Unmarried children under 18 (or under 19 if full-time high
school students).
- Unmarried children 18 or over who were severely disabled before
22 and who continue to be disabled.
- Wife or husband 62 or over.
- Wife or husband under 62 if she or he is caring for a child
under 16 (or disabled) who's getting a benefit based on the
retired or disabled worker's earnings.
Survivors - Monthly payments can be made to a deceased worker's:
- Unmarried children under 18 (or under 19 if full-time high
school students).
- Unmarried son or daughter 18 or over who was severely disabled
before 22 and who continues to be disabled.
- Widow or widower 60 or over.
- Widow or widower, or surviving divorced mother or father if
caring for worker's child under 16 (or disabled) who is getting a
benefit based on the earnings of the deceased worker.
- Widow or widower 50 or older who becomes disabled not later
than seven years after the worker's death, or within seven years
after mother's or father's benefits end.
-Dependent parents at least 62
Checks also can go to a divorced spouse at 62 or over, or to a
surviving divorced spouse at 60 or to a disabled surviving
divorced spouse 50 or older if the marriage lasted 10 years or
more. Under certain conditions, children may be eligible for
Social Security benefits based on a grandparent's earnings.
A divorced spouse, who has been divorced at least two years, can
receive benefits at 62 whether or not her or his former spouse
receives them. The former spouse must be eligible for Social
Security benefits regardless of whether he or she has retired.
Generally, a marriage must have lasted at least one year before
dependents of a retired or disabled worker can get monthly
benefits; survivors can get benefits in most cases if the
marriage lasted at least nine months.
SSA-6
***************
WHO GETS CHECKS
***************
Overall Program And Benefit
Information
Monthly Social Security benefits include:
Retirement checks - When you retire, you can start getting
retirement checks as early as 62.
Disability checks - A worker who becomes severely disabled
before 65 can get disability checks.
Survivors checks - If the worker dies, survivors checks can go
to certain members of the worker's family. A lump-sum payment can
also be made when a worker dies. It is generally $255. This
payment can only be made if there is an eligible surviving widow,
widower or entitled child.
***********************
HOW TO BUILD PROTECTION
***********************
Work Credits (quarters of coverage) Explained
Before you or your family can get monthly cash benefits, you must
have credit for a certain amount of work under Social Security.
The exact amount of work credit depends on your age.
Social Security credit is measured in "quarters of coverage." In
1985, employees and self-employed people receive one quarter of
coverage for each $410 of covered annual earnings. No more than
four quarters of coverage can be credited for a year. The amount
of earnings needed to get a quarter of coverage will increase
automatically in the future to keep pace with average wages.
For more information about how self-employment earnings are
covered under Social Security, ask for a free copy of the
leaflet,"If You're Self-Employed... Reporting Your Income For
Social Security."
If you stop working under Social Security before you've earned
enough credit, you can't get benefits. But the credit you've
already earned will stay on your record. You can add to it if
you return to work under Social Security.
Having enough credit means only that you or your family can get
checks. The amount of your check depends on your earnings over a
period of years.
Mandatorily covered employees of nonprofit organizations 55 or
older on Jan. 1, 1984, may get retirement or survivors benefits
with less credit for work. You can get more information about
this or any other question at any Social Security office.
Credits Earned While Working
As An Employee
In 1985, you can earn one quarter of coverage for each $410 of
your covered earnings, up to a total of four quarters for the
year. No more than four quarters of coverage can be earned for
any one year.
The amount of covered earnings needed for a quarter of coverage
will increase automatically each year to keep up with increases
in average wage levels.
If you work as a domestic employee in a private household, your
wages are covered if an employer pays you $50 or more in cash
wages in a three month calendar quarter. You get one quarter of
coverage for each $410 of your covered wages, up to a maximum of
four quarters for the year.
If someone hires you to do farm work, including domestic work in
a farm home, your wages are covered by Social Security if:
- You receive at least $150 in cash pay from that employer during
a year;
-OR-
- You are employed on 20 or more days during a year for cash pay
figured on a time basis (by the hour, day, week, etc.),
regardless of the amount of pay.
You will receive one quarter of coverage for each $410 of your
covered earnings, up to a maximum of four quarters for the year.
These employees earn quarters of coverage in the same way as
other workers.
Employees of certain churches and church controlled
organizations, however, are treated as self-employed persons for
Social Security purposes.
Most Federal employees hired on or after Janua