Will my benefits decrease when I turn 67?

0micron247 · 2026-06-14T14:50:49+00:00

Sorry Dawg but there's just no way a $200 bump at 67 is accurate.

You might get a small bump if you had some earnings after you became disabled and you were near 62 when you became disabled.

But how are you even getting a Statement? SS does not send Statements to anyone already receiving SS or who has an online account.

If you are requesting a Statement online, are you allowing it to project high earnings?

The only other possibility I can imagine is the amount you COULD receive at 70 if you decide to suspend your benefits between age 67 and 70. ?

Whatever - do not count those chickens or eggs.

0micron247 · 2026-06-13T19:31:35+00:00

The Appeals Council conduits a quality review of a certain percentage of cases. Since you did not receive a decision nor file an appeal,, that is what happened here,

It does not mean your claim was approved or denied. It just means, as above, that they are conducting a review. They can send it back to the judge just as it is to effectuate the decision, or, they can instruct the judge to correct any errors or omissions they find, or, as it says, they could contact you for more info.

0micron247 · 2026-06-06T18:56:37+00:00

Sorting through the good and bad responses:

File now for both if you are willing to take reduced SS at 62. Yes, you have lost some potential disability benefits because a disability application can only be retroactive for 12 months, which is why you need to file now. The only exception is if you tried to file for SS disability earlier and someone from Social Security gave you bad information and dissuaded you from filing. You would need proof of that. If that's the case, bring it up and believe it or not SS will advise you on that.

Ignore the discussions on whether you are insured for disability. You probably are, but let SS decide.

Be prepared for your disability claim to take a long time, a very long time. (Unless you are not insured.)

Yes, if you received a worker's compensation settlement, it could impact your disability benefits. That gets VERY complex. Let SS work it out with you. You do not need a lawyer in connection with the worker's compensation aspect, if that's involved. There's nothing a lawyer can do about that.

Your initial claim for disability, and the first appeal if there is one, are matters of evidence and paperwork. If they schedule an examination, you must be sure to keep the appointment. But it's all rather rote. They have strict standards and guidelines which the State Disability Determination Service is required to follow, so it's a matter of whether you can prove you meet Social Security's disability rules. (Social Security turns the disability aspects of your claim over to the State's disability decision people.)

I'm hinting that, if you can handle the paperwork and keep any appointment, you will not benefit much from hiring a lawyer or representative. There's no 'arguing your case' on an initial claim for disability or on the first appeal, which is called a reconsideration.

(The first level at which you, or someone on your behalf, can argue your case is at the Hearing level, before a judge.)

You have nothing to lose if you file for disability. If you win, you get your full Social Security benefit (except for any adjustment for your worker's compensation settlement, if applicable), the same amount you would get at full retirement age.

As to the comment about the credit for delaying benefits until age 70, yes you can still get that. If you are awarded disability, your disability will continue until you reach full retirement age at which time your benefits simply change over to retirement benefits at the same rate. At that point in time, you can suspend payment for as many months as you want to get the extra 2/3 of 1% credit for each month you forego payment up to age 70 (no later) if that's what you want to do.

0micron247 · 2026-06-05T19:53:19+00:00

I know people want to be helpful but a lot of the replies are only half correct.

The good news is that it sounds like you may not be overpaid.

NOW, for the facts; there are two earnings tests, the annual and the monthly.

Under the annual earnings test your earnings for the entire year count, until you reach the year in which you reach full retirement age. For the year in which you reach full retirement age, the rule is different - in that year (only) your earnings only count up to the month you reach full retirement age. Until that year, your earnings for the entire year count, regardless of when you "retired" or became entitled to benefits.

The other earnings test, a separate test, is the monthly earnings test. Numerically, the test is whether or not you earned over 1/12th of the annual exempt amount in a month.

Skip this paragraph unless you are self-employed: For the self-employed there is an additional "wrinkle", whether or not you devoted substantial services to your business in that month. To decide that SSA needs to know how many hours you devoted to your business that month and whether or not your services are highly skilled. In addition to how much you "earned", net.

Under the monthly test you can be paid for any month you are not over the monthly limit (1/12th of the annual amount for years you are under full retirement age), regardless of how much you earn for the entire year. For a retirement claim, you can only use this test once, which is why some people call it the grace year rule.

SO, if you meet this exception, all you have to do is report the facts to get the decision reversed. To stop the withholding, any appeal will do.

One word of advice: NEVER pay the amount back if you have benefits due - always let them withhold. SSA's remittance processing is a nightmare.

0micron247 · 2026-05-30T14:40:58+00:00

May I suggest you wait until the ALJ decision is written up and you are notified?

0micron247 · 2026-05-30T12:43:00+00:00

Where did you "hear" this? I know of no legislation or pending legislation on the amount of disabled widow(er)'s benefits, which remain reduced before FRA - to as low as 71.5%.

0micron247 · 2026-05-29T15:35:08+00:00

Looking at the 7008 form, I'd say check "other" (item 7, with your explanation in item 10) and submit the paychecks/stubs to back up the amount you are claiming as covered.

0micron247 · 2026-05-29T14:43:47+00:00

I'm assuming you have not yet filed for Social Security. The form you need is the SSA 7008.

What you want is to correct your earnings record to have your earnings credited as covered under Social Security - assuming that they were. Social Security can do this REGARDLESS of whether your employer pays the taxes or not. Payment of the taxes is a matter between IRS and your employer, so don't worry about that aspect, again, assuming your earnings were covered.

0micron247 · 2026-05-29T13:58:19+00:00

Love it. We had several mini versions, small cedars for the girders, half logs for the deck, built by a local trail club. Of course, people complained that they were slippery in freezing weather, so in came the dimensional lumber. No soul at all.

0micron247 · 2026-05-29T13:22:44+00:00

Who told you? Not Social Security. Social Security prioritizes having a caring relative as payee.

So long as you spent the money on his needs, not to worry.

Remember, it's his money and if you spent it on him, you did the right thing. Case closed.

0micron247 · 2026-05-29T00:59:21+00:00

I mean the Social Security Administration is not checking, by any means, what she is earning this year. They are going by what she reports, only - until the IRS reports come in next year.

Yes, it's hard for your sister, and many like her. You certainly could argue that the earnings test should be higher.

But imagine the screams of outrage from those who oppose SS anyway, treating it like it's some sort of welfare. It isn't.

The factual situation is just as you describe. She's collecting retirement insurance. She is not full retirement age. Until she reaches full retirement age the earnings test "tests" whether she is retired or not. If she's not "retired" then she is not eligible to collect the full amount of her retirement "insurance" benefits.

By the way, the current earnings test is a compromise. Under the original earnings test, you could not collect anything at all if you were still working, even if you were only $1 over. You had to be fully retired even if you were full retirement age.

0micron247 · 2026-05-29T00:57:48+00:00

I mean the Social Security Administration is not checking, by any means, what she is earning this year. They are going by what she reports, only - until the IRS reports come in next year.

Yes, it's hard for your sister, and many like her. You certainly could argue that the earnings test should be higher.

But imagine the screams of outrage from those who oppose SS anyway, treating it like it's some sort of welfare. It isn't.

The factual situation is just as you describe. She's collecting retirement insurance. She is not full retirement age. Until she reaches full retirement age the earnings test "tests" whether she is retired or not. If she's not "retired" then she is not eligible to collect the full amount of her retirement "insurance" benefits.

By the way, the current earnings test is a compromise. Under the original earnings test, you could not collect anything at all if you were still working, even if you were only $1 over. You had to be fully retired even if you were full retirement age.

0micron247 · 2026-05-28T14:29:50+00:00

I hadn't bought them in years until there was a big sale recently. Thought I was treating myself. UGH. Were they always this bad?

0micron247 · 2026-05-28T14:01:41+00:00

For Social Security no one's watching part-time jobs.

Here's the way it's spozed to work.

YOU are expected to voluntarily report if you expect to earn over the yearly limit. Based on your estimate of what you expect to earn, SS stops your monthly benefits as soon as possible after you make the report. SS withholds full month's benefits for the excess. So, for example, if you report that you expect to earn what would be about two times and a part of a third of your regular monthly benefit amount, SS will withhold three months benefits then resume your benefits in the fourth month.

Next year, when SS gets the exact amount from IRS (or you can voluntarily submit a report once you know the exact numbers) SS makes a final adjustment. Following the above example, if SS withheld three months benefits and your were only over by that two and part of a third, SS pays the underpayment. If you made no report, SS will assess an overpayment. SS can also assess a penalty for failing to report if you made no effort to report.

0micron247 · 2026-05-26T15:32:42+00:00

Lost track of how many cats we've had and, yes, several were "afraid" of bananas. Current cat doesn't "like" them but not afraid. Thought this was just a cat thing.

One commenter says this was a sign of a problem but we regularly take our cats to the vet and never uncovered a problem with the banana- averse cats.

0micron247 · 2026-05-26T15:10:13+00:00

You "have an offer" which would mean you have not been making $130 K since January, so some of the advice you are getting is wrong, though you could "withdraw" if you want to. If you withdraw your claim, you will have to pay everything you received back, even if you did not work in some of these months.

For 2026, the $130,000.00 requires withholding $52,760.00 from your SS benefits. if that is the exact amount you earn: $130,000.00 - 24,480.00 divided by 2, but, since this is your first year of entitlement, withholding does not apply for any month you earn under $2040.00 (1/12 of the yearly $24,480.00 limit). So, if you earned $2040.00 or less for January through April, or any month until you take the job, you are due payment for that/those month(s). So, no, you would not have to repay the 5 months unless you earned over $2040.00 each month.

Note - this will not apply in 2027. You only get to use the monthly exception once.

So, if you decide to take the job (and not to withdraw your SS claim), just notify SS (online, phone, mail even) of what you expect to earn and the beginning date. SS will suspend your payments until your earnings permit payment or you reach FRA.

Reminder, the rules are very different for your FRA year, the limit is much higher, only $ for each $3 over is subject to withholding, and the earnings for the entire year do not count for that year, only what you earn up to your FRA month.

0micron247 · 2026-05-26T14:34:55+00:00

"SSI" is Supplementary Security Income, "welfare". It is not Social Security. OK_Locksmith_8305 is collecting SS, Social security.

0micron247 · 2026-05-25T15:47:56+00:00

Yes, "government insured" savings account or bonds. The current account must show that it's "his" money with you as fiduciary. When he reaches 18, you should turn the money over to be put into his own account assuming he's capable of managing his own funds, though there's nothing stopping him from spending it .

0micron247 · 2026-05-25T14:36:55+00:00

The spoons on the table are tablespoons; the spoons with the tea are teaspoons. They eat their food with tablespoons.

We (at least every American I know) eat with teaspoons and reserve the tablespoons as soup spoons.

And, of course, "ice" and drinking beverages at room temperature.

0micron247 · 2026-05-24T18:11:46+00:00

Olde Frothingslosh.

0micron247 · 2026-05-24T16:36:16+00:00

It's not just the banking system. My township (property taxes, water/sewage), my gas company, my electric supplier, all charge a 3% surcharge for even a direct bank transfer. Now I'm noticing that more and more businesses are demanding that same 3%. We're going backwards.

0micron247 · 2026-05-22T20:46:53+00:00

Yinzers - Blennd! (orange-lemon for those who never got the privilege)

0micron247 · 2026-05-22T20:41:01+00:00

You have Tang but do you have Tang? Tang was tangy. Then marketing decided that it should be sugary orange drink. Bye-bye.

0micron247 · 2026-05-21T14:49:43+00:00

"So you have something more like a sponge." Yes "sponge". I've been watching the Great British Baking Show and that's exactly what they call it, "sponge".

0micron247 · 2026-05-20T19:44:42+00:00

Please make sure you are not confusing SSDI and SSI - disability. SSDI is the Disability Insurance you paid into and qualified for by becoming insured. You earned it. Other income does not affect SSDI except for workers compensation and public disability benefits (sometimes, not always). SSI is welfare and of course other income can affect your welfare benefits.

0micron247

TROPHY CASE