The Social Security Board and it's Ineptitude - Page 4

Mmsfoxxie · ‎06-19-2010

@kdgn wrote:
@Mmsfoxxie wrote:
I understand what the law is from reading comments and the links offered but to @Caffeina and my point.....it's not a fair law. If you paid into the system when working, no matter who you worked for, if you earned the units, you earned the benefit.

And my other point is that since they made the mistake of not lowering my benefit (I made them aware more than once that I had retired), I should get some kind of a break. For the next 36months I have to pay them with about half of my now lowered benefit. I refuse to pay them one lump sum out of my savings because if I die, that's money that could go to my husband or children.

Also, I don't understand why I'm allowed a higher benefit while I'm working when I really don't need it but when I retire with a pension that's lower than my salary was, they worry about a so called windfall. I always thought a windfall was when you come out of a financial situation with more than you had, not less.

You were allowed a higher benefit because you were STILL working and not collecting your state pension.

For years both the California teacher's unions and the retired teachers' association have fought to have the laws repealed. They are unfair.

Not all states require teachers to pay SS, California is one of them.

However, if something were to happen to a spouse who paid into SS their entire career, the chances of a retired teacher spouse collecting ANY of the deceased spouse's SS are slim to none. The windfall and other formula are used and chances are the remaining spouse gets very little if anything. I would get nothing and his SS would go unclaimed.

It stinks.

@kdgn, you hit it right on the nose! This is exactly what happened. It doesn't matter that as a teacher ass't, my salary was modest. It's very unfair that I can't receive hubby's social security if I outlive him. The question is, why was it allowed as long as t was working? Making no sense!

AARP dropped the ball on this one.

“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore to be happy”. (By Nightbirde, singer of the song, It’s Ok)

AuntG · ‎03-09-2010

I think it is a fair law and however you pay it back is your business. The installment plan makes the best sense to me. I don't think it is fair that I pay taxes for a failing public school system, but I follow the law just like a retired teacher should.

Mmsfoxxie · ‎06-19-2010

@AuntG, I'm not understanding what it is that you think is fair in that you mention the public school system.

Working and paying into SSA with a job prior to working in the school should not have anything to do with my benefits relating to my husband or having those earned benefits reduced. I can't see how one has anything to do with the other.

I realize that we all pay for things that don't directly benefit from.....we don't have kids in the school system at all yet in the suburb we live in, we pay extremely high property tax for those that do. We have almost no commerce here. But that's spread across the board. I feel targeted, to be honest.

And my secondary point to my post was that SSA let this mistake ride for a whole year before notifying me despite the fact that I kept checking with them. That's not fair to me. I paid taxes on that money. It should also be in the law that they handle their business correctly. The didn't and now I have to be penalized for their negligence. For three years.

“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore to be happy”. (By Nightbirde, singer of the song, It’s Ok)

Plaid Pants2 · ‎03-14-2015

@Mmsfoxxie wrote:
@AuntG, I'm not understanding what it is that you think is fair in that you mention the public school system.

Working and paying into SSA with a job prior to working in the school should not have anything to do with my benefits relating to my husband or having those earned benefits reduced. I can't see how one has anything to do with the other.

I realize that we all pay for things that don't directly benefit from.....we don't have kids in the school system at all yet in the suburb we live in, we pay extremely high property tax for those that do. We have almost no commerce here. But that's spread across the board. I feel targeted, to be honest.

And my secondary point to my post was that SSA let this mistake ride for a whole year before notifying me despite the fact that I kept checking with them. That's not fair to me. I paid taxes on that money. It should also be in the law that they handle their business correctly. The didn't and now I have to be penalized for their negligence. For three years.

As my late mother used to say, (G-d rest her soul) "Who said that life was supposed to be fair?".

You can either continue to whine and belly-ache about how "unfair" things are, or you can be pro-active, and actually do something about it, such as talk face-to-face with someone knowledgeable about SS and bennies.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

If both people in a married couple collect SS because they both worked and paid in , then one dies , the remaining spouse has to chose between getting their own SS OR their deceased spouses. They do not get to collect both, only one. So why should a person who is divorced be allowed to collect her own pension plus her divorced spouses SS payment as well ? That isn't right. I know many widows who really struggle because they had their income cut in half when their spouse died.

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

@Mmsfoxxie I'll tell you my story. So after my husband died (about 15 years ago) my daughter kept bugging me to get social security. I worked for the government for 7 years when first married and the government did not take out social security (joke isn't it). So I didn't get mine. He was self-employed. Over the years as he earned more money he paid quite a lot into it.

When I went there (like you) the social security lady said, "If you get it now for every $2 you get you will have to pay $1 back". She said I'd advise you to wait until you are around 70. I hadn't worked for 43 years but we have a lot of investments and that is the reason I got too much money!

I turn 70 this year so I went back a few months ago. I had to wait to be called for 3 full hours! When I came out the entire office was closed up and no one was there. The guard had to open the door for me to get out!

I don't understand it but the lady backed up the start date by 1 year. So, within 1 month the government had deposited into my account $11,000. Every month after that I receive $2,300 per month.

My poor brother lives totally on social security. He wanted to have a little extra money so took a job at Wal-Mart. He earned minimum wage and social security told him he had to quit (he was making too much money). They penalize you for trying to make money!

None of this makes sense to me! Many of the people paying into it now will never receive any of it. They are subsidizing people like me. The amount of money paid into it is less than the amount of money people receive, that's why it is going broke

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

@Annabellethecat66 Actually, SS is broke because our congress keeps using the SS trust fund as a lending bank and never pays back what they "borrow" so the word borrow is actually their word for STEAL from the people. Trillons of dollars.

Imadickens · ‎06-15-2016

I can't urge you strongly enough to get a lawyer who specializes in SS law! I can't say for certain, but I don't think his fee is paid by you. Usually the judge awards him his fee. I had a SS lawyer to help me with disability. I never paid him a cent and was approved for disability on the first application! I did not use a lawyer for Workman's Comp because I don't like doing that, but I got taken! I lost a great deal of my money because I didn't want to look like I was one of those people! Never again! Oh, I always take down the name, number, time, etc of every call!

Never underestimate the power of kindness.

Imadickens · ‎06-15-2016

Dear Mmsfoxxie, I am certainly no authority on this subject, but I think you have been misinformed about many things. First, I taught for 20 years and I paid SS every year! Plus, I thought one could earn up to $17,000 per year and then half of anything over must be repaid. I know nothing about any windfall but a lawyer might be able to find a legal way around it, like by placing it in a trust or annuity. Like I said, I may very well be mistaken but you need to get good information from a learned source!

Never underestimate the power of kindness.

CelticCrafter · ‎03-09-2010

@Imadickens wrote:
I can't urge you strongly enough to get a lawyer who specializes in SS law! I can't say for certain, but I don't think his fee is paid by you. Usually the judge awards him his fee. I had a SS lawyer to help me with disability. I never paid him a cent and was approved for disability on the first application! I did not use a lawyer for Workman's Comp because I don't like doing that, but I got taken! I lost a great deal of my money because I didn't want to look like I was one of those people! Never again! Oh, I always take down the name, number, time, etc of every call!

Yes it is, it's taken out of the award a person receives.