What Every Woman Needs to Know About Social Security: Planning for Early Retirement

  Welcome to the 2nd post in my Series on Planning for Early Retirement!

I am by no means an expert on this subject but I would like to share what Joe and I learned in preparing for our own Early Retirement.

First, I want to thank Sinea, over at Ducks N' a Row, for featuring my post, What We Learned About Social Security: Planning for Retirement, as among the" Very Popular" from last week's Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!

Thanks so much for Sinea and all the others hosts of this great party!!

Please take some time to stop by and link up!! 

If you missed the first post in this Series, What We Learned About Social Security..........

  Please click HERE

I was originally planning on addressing the use of a Financial Planner for this post but because of some of the wonderful comments that I received on the first post and because of some of the questions asked, I thought I would look more into Social Security for all Woman and not just for me and my personal situation.

One particular comment really got me thinking and wondering......

Carol stated " Married couples can not take both SS checks"

Meaning that a husband and wife can not receive 2 checks

 This comment was something I had not heard about because my mother, Joe's mother and several of my co workers that retired ALL received their own Social Security check in addition to their husbands.

So I went to the Social Security Web Site and I found a very interesting Fact Sheet about benefits titled:

 "What Women Should Know About Social Security"

Here is just an excerpt from the Fact Sheet:
 

"Nothing keeps you from getting own Social Security benefit

If you’ve worked for at least 10 years and earned a minimum of 40 work credits, you are vested in the Social Security system.

Once you reach age 62, you will be eligible for your own Social Security benefit

whether you’re married or not and whether your husband collects Social Security or not.

Your retirement benefit is figured the same way a man’s retirement benefit is figured. It’s based on a percentage of your average monthly wage using a 35-

year base of earnings. If you don’t have 35 years of earnings, we must substitute “zero” years to reach the 35 year base.

If you become disabled before your full retirement age, you might qualify for Social Security disability benefits if you’ve worked and paid Social Security taxes in five of the preceding ten years.

If you also get a pension from a job where you didn’t pay Social Security taxes (e.g., a civil service or teacher’s pension), your Social Security benefit might be reduced."

 There is a lot more information on this fact sheet so please click HERE to read!!

Also in my research on this subject, I came across an online Phamplet also titled:

"What Every Woman Should Know"

This Phamplet is for women of every age and go over a wide variety of subjects such as Divorce, Disability, Limited Income, Widows and of course, Retirement!

Click HERE to view the online Phamplet 

I also came across an article for Stay at Home Mom's titled:

 "What every Stay at Home Mom Should Know about Social Security and Medicare"

Here is an excerpt from that article:

 "It sure would be nice if those years as primary caregivers of young children weren’t so potentially damaging to a full-time parent's future Social Security and Medicare benefits."

" Here’s the rub: A person’s Social Security benefit—which is the value of the monthly check she will receive in old age—is based on having a total of 35 years of paid employment. For each year worked, a certain number of “credits” are provided. You need to have 40 credits to be eligible for your own Social Security retirement and Medicare health insurance benefits. (At the current four credit maximum per year, that requires at least 10 years of employment.) To calculate the value of a person’s retirement benefits, the Social Security Administration totals the earnings from the highest 35 years of income, and then divides that number by 35. Using various rate sheets and tables, that sum is then translated into a benefit. Men generally have no problem meeting or exceeding a work-life of 35 years (unless of course they die). Women have a tougher time."

This article explains that in order for a woman to receive her own Social security check, she must work a minimum of 10 years ( 4 credits per year) to receive 40 credits over a 35 year span to obtain benefits.

Click HERE   to read this article

Another interesting article that I came across was from The Huffington Post about Stay at Home Parents losing their chance to receive Disability Benefits....

"How Stay at Home Moms ( Dads) Lose Their Social Security Disability "

This article states......
 
" Once a person leaves the work force for more than 5 years, Social Security Benefits evaporate. Simply put,The money you paid into the system is gone, returned to the "pool" for others to use!"

Click HERE  to read this interesting article! 

Unfortunately, those women that chose and were able to financially stay home when their children were born will not fare out well when looking to receive Social Security benefits in retirement unless they later returned to the work force and worked at least 10 years total in a 35 year span.

However, they can receive Social Security based on their husband's earnings....

This is stated in the Fact Sheet from Social Security mentioned above:
 

"A wife is due between one-third and one-half of her husband’s Social Security.

Most working women who reach retirement age get their own Social Security benefit because it’s more than one-third to one-half of the husband’s rate."

  
So even though a woman may not have worked outside the home, she can get a Social Security benefit through her husband but it may be very small.  
 
 Another great article I found was from AARP, which Joe and I both belong to....

"Women and Social Security Benefits"

Please click HERE to read

So to sum it up on a personal level:

Yes, I will receive my own Social Security benefit check

It will be several hundred dollars more than Joe's because I have earned more money and will have worked for 41 years when I retire at 62 years old

I will NOT receive Widow's benefits should Joe die first because my check will be the larger one

Joe will receive Widower's benefits if I die first because my check is the larger one

I am glad I heeded my mother's advice to  " Never be dependent on a Man for anything especially money."

 She worked from the age of 16 years old to 67 years old.

I hope this post was informative and I hope that all women, no matter what age your are, whether you work outside the home or not, look into what Social Security will mean for you when they approach Retirement age....

In my next post in this series on Planning for Early Retirement.....

 I will be touching on developing a Plan for Retirement!

It is never too early to develop such a plan!!

I wish we had started on our plan earlier but better late than never!!

So I hope you will be back to visit soon!!

And thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......

Hugs,
Debbie

 

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