Money

We just started Medicare and received an IRMAA penalty for 2023 when my wife was still working full time. She is now retired. Somewhere I was told that I can file form SSA-44 and get the penalty reduced since we no longer have that income. Is that correct?  

Come 2033, we may all have a chance to find out - That’s what the 2025 Social Security Trustee Report is telling us - and it has been telling us this for the last 15+ years even though the date wobbles a few years from 2032 - 2035 between the annual reports.SSA.gov - 2025 Social Security Trustee Report Summary  from the link ~ Based on our best estimates, this year's reports show that:• The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, unchanged from last year’s report. At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 77 percent of total scheduled benefits And the Conclusion is always the same (again from the link )Lawmakers have many options for changes that would reduce or eliminate the long-term financing shortfalls. Taking action sooner rather than later will allow consideration of a broader range of solutions and provide more time

I've been hearing about a social security monthly limit for a couple and wondered if there were any truth to this.  My husband and I will both will be waiting until FRA to collect at 67 in 2028.  My SS will start in Jan and will be $2400 and his will start in Oct at $3695.  Together we feel pretty comfortable with this amount but is there a limit on how much a "family" can receive?  I have checked the SS site and find no answers to this.  Thank you in advance! 

If I change my bank account for direct deposit, when will it happen? 

SSA.gov - A Summary of the 2025 Social Security Trustee Report  You can read the linked report, it isn’t long - this is the summary only. Just some highlights:Based on our best estimates, this year's reports show that: • The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, unchanged from last year’s report. At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 77 percent of total scheduled benefits. • The Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund is projected to be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits through at least 2099, the last year of this report’s projection period. Last year’s report projected that the DI Trust Fund would be able to pay scheduled benefits through at least 2098, the last year of that report’s projection period. • If the OASI Trust Fund and the DI Trust Fund projections were combined, the resulti

https://secure.ssa.gov/RIL/SiView.action provides two options for creating an account: Login.gov and ID.me. Are there any pros or cons for each one? For example, has the government said anything about phasing out one? I don't want to run the gauntlet of creating an account and then have the SSA or other federal agencies discontinue using it. Thanks!

The government promise of an additional $4K of deduction for seniors at tax time does not go far enough to deal with SS and taxes.  In 1983 when they started taxing SS income, only 10% of people receiving SS paid taxes, today is it over 50%.  This is because the income level for taxing of 25K-35K has not changed since 1983. (25K in 1983 is about 80K in 2025 according to a website calculator).  So they regularly increase the amount for people paying the SS tax but they never adjust this income level for paying taxes. So either the government is very poor at math, or they are ripping off the seniors. They need to adjust this 25K-35K threshold and then push up the taxable income limit.  Someone in Congress suggested using a donut hole approach and leaving the current approx 176K max in place and then starting the tax up again for incomes over 400K.  This would save SS.  I would hope that AARP would stand up to Congress and tell them that seniors deserve

Originally was lured in by AARP recommending Consumer Cellular. Hope they got a piece of the action! Was having significant problems with consumer Cellular's voicemail or receiving alerts. Had to change service. Thought I received my last $115 bill but when calling customer service they told me I'll receive another one for the same amount? It will be debated with my charge card company as these people are cheats and AARP should have nothing to do with them! Neither should you

 US Bank --I signed up for a no fee senior acct?? They switched me to a $14.95 month acct --I was unable to monitor acct  -- When I noticed they won't refund past fees-- Stay away from them  Mark Olson   

Discussion was created on May 18, 2021.With retirement, some of us now have time to think, explore, change and so on.Any aha moments to share with us?Stop by to read the comments and/or add a comment.We luv hearing from you!

 Hello,Not retired yet and a ways off, but we're looking at NE TN in the Tri-cities vs the west side of VA from the South to North and in either state as long as it's country and less people per square mile where it's not as hot either. We will have SS, 401K and pension income that will need to stretch and last. Will need to pay for healthcare and hopefully be in good health in retirement years. Comparing where we live now in NC, where too many people have moved to it's not as retirement friendly where homes and taxes keep climbing along with insurance. Although healthcare and modern conveniences are around the corner we need to visit them at certain times because there are just too many stoplights and people, which now that it takes us longer if you go when everyone else is out and about.  With that said where do you go to pick apart and really dissect which place is better to retire? It seems many websites are out of date and cannot be updated on the fly because it say

As a service, our financial institution provides, free of charge, our FICO score on a monthly basis. This month, my wife's score was lowered albeit by only one point. But the reason given is what concerns me. They lowered her score because....... wait for it......wait for it......wait for it SHE DIDN'T SPEND ENOUGH MONEY!!!!!! That's right, folks.  To me, that's counterintuitive. Can anybody explain why your FICO score should go down when you are careful with your money and save, save, save rather than spend, spend, spend????

Married, divorced or widowed and need to know about how these affect your Social Security benefits? Explore answers to make informed decisions about your benefits.   Social Security Spousal and Survivor Benefits Tuesday July 13, 7 p.m. ET & 7 p.m. PT  

We were married in 1978.We Divorced in 1999.Neither one of us ever re-married.My EX-Wife died in January of 2020 (21 years after we divorced) at age 60, she would have been 61 this past July.I will be 62 in a few weeks (Nov 2020).I retired in 2018 at 59. I have had no W2 earnings since and plans to.My earnings over our lifetime are higher than hers so my benefits will be higher.I'm researching survivor benefits and would like to apply for them. I meet the criteria that we were married longer than 10 years and I never remarried. From my research I can collect them and put off my own benefits and let them grow. Then when I decide to take mine at FRA or whenever the survivor benefits will stop. Also by taking the survivor benefits it will not reduce my own benefits. So with info I provided and I understanding this correctly? Thanx in advance for any input.

I'm retiring on September 30, 2025. If I select September as the month of election, my income for that month will exceed the $1950 limit resulting in no payment due in October. Since I won't have any countable income in October onward, I assume I should select October as the month of election, with the first payment to be received in November. Is my understanding correct?

Hi everyone! I'd like to warn you about the possibility of scam. Freewallet org is a website, created to commit online Fraud. It's owners, are Russian citizens Dmitry Gunyashov and Vasilii Mesheryakov.  Among investors, traders, and clients of other financial services, interest in cryptocurrencies is growing every year. Freewallet is named as a crypto wallet but actually it's a scam service , created to steal digital assets. I am writing this post because scammers order active advertising, including through mailings to clients of financial forums. I don’t know where they get the information, maybe they look at emails in user profiles somehow. Of course, they can't just hack your accounts. But if you receive a message advertising Freewallet, you should know that this is a scam mailing list!  

Ism anyone else hear sick of hearing the Save SS ad. I think you have already beaten that dead horse.

Discussion created on May 18, 2021 9:30am EST.Let's have some fun!!!Add your responses to - I know I am getting old because...Keep adding each day if you want to 😁

hello,I am helping my husband w/his SS benefits application. We started it online, but then paused it because it was too early to submit if he wanted benefits to start at age 70. So my question:His birthday is 11/1. When we complete the application for benefits, do we choose November as the start date? Or October? I know SS pays one month behind, but we've waited this long to start benefits; we do NOT want to start them a month early by mistake and miss out on the full retirement benefit amount.  If we are supposed to choose October as the start month, we can resume his application tomorrow. If we choose November, we have to wait another month. Thanks for any insight.

I'm interested in the idea of no taxes on Social Security benefits.  I understand that this is a campaign promise by a presidential candidate but feel it is something that AARP should support.

Does anyone have experience with this organization?  I received a letter from them offering to buy some property I own in Oklahoma.   Is it legitimate?  How can I know if it's a scam?

FROM THE ARTICLE: Social Security Drops 3-Day Hold on Benefit Claims by Phone.Application backlog grew as SSA added ID procedures, cut staff. By Andy Markowitz, AARP. Published May 23, 2025. A month after introducing new protocols intended to flag fraud risks on benefit applications made by phone, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has dropped a key element of the program that required a three-day hold on such claims before processing could begin.An SSA official said the updated policy took effect May 17. USE THE LINK BELOW TO READ THE ARTICLE. https://www.aarp.org/social-security/ssa-changes-phone-checks/

Will Social Security just deduct the difference from my workman's comp

There is no debate that a senior that has little income and NO other liquid assets would qualify for most all, if not all, helping-hand benefits like SNAP, Section 8, Medicaid.  Low income is defined as the Federal Proverty Level.   But what else should count or not?  A retirement account?  Savings which earns interest?  Individual stock holdings or a brokerage account with index funds or some other grouping of stock holdings?  The dividends/capital gains received from such holdings?An inheritance that is so substantial that the earnings from it pushes them over the FPL limits.self-employed income from whatever the source - how will Uncle Sam know if no tax documents are filed?Do all seniors file an annual tax return documenting their income for eligibility for various helping-hand benefits?   Some seniors and others get hit hard when they come into some extra money that produces added income either as a result of a COLA increase or some oth

Discussion created on April 18, 2021 9:50am EST.Adventurer - ventures into the unknown.Continuer - continues to do what they have been doing.Easy Glider - no  agenda.Searcher - figuring out next move.Lol, you are unique and do not have a type!!! 😂🤣Stop by to read the comments and/or leave a comment. We luv hearing from you!