Whenever I’m asked about how Social Security survivor benefits work, I have a simple answer:

At death of the first spouse, surviving spouses receives the higher of:

• Their own monthly benefit, or
• The monthly benefit of the deceased.

That’s the clean and straightforward answer, but it’s not quite that simple.  Although Social Security survivor benefits really are pretty simple, every family is different.  Unique situations and variables can introduce some complexity.

Have you ever tried to use a power of attorney (POA) for Social Security (SS) purposes? If you haven’t, save yourself the trouble. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will not accept it.

After multiple clients experienced frustration at the Social Security office, I reached out to John Ross, an elder law attorney and co-host of our podcast (Big Picture Retirement) for an explanation and guidance.

He said, “There is no Social Security Power of Attorney. Powers of Attorney are creations of state law and vary wildly from state to state.  Since the federal agencies like the SSA do not want to have to separately review POAs based on both the facts and circumstances of their creation and the various state laws that may be applicable, these agencies have taken the position that they will not accept a POA under any circumstances.  Instead, they have developed federal regulations related to incapacitated beneficiaries of federal programs and established criteria under who the agency will deal with.  Since federal law trumps state law, there is nothing an agent under a power of attorney can do to alter this structure.”

How do you help someone with their SS issues if the SSA won’t accept a POA? Essentially a person wanting to assist a SS beneficiary will have two options.

Social Security benefits for children are a big deal. In January 2017, there were more than 4.2 million children receiving Social Security benefits because one or both of their parents are disabled, retired or deceased. These benefits payments to children total more than $2.6 billion every month.

Sadly, many children don’t get the benefits for which they are eligible.  Most people don’t know about the qualifications and rules for this special benefit, so they don’t know to apply for the children in their lives.

The Social Security Administration LOVES to use acronyms. I’m sure you’ll agree if you’ve ever received a letter from them or spent much time on their website.

SS Acronyms like PIA, DIB, RIB & MOET probably makes sense to the people who use these terms every day, but for most of us…it’s gibberish. However, if you want to take control of your social security filing plan, you may need to familiarize yourself with some of these. Here they are alphabetically.

What’s one of the most generous benefits available to retirees? That’s easy. It’s Social Security spousal benefits! These benefits are some of the most important, too.

A recent Social Security report found that 2.3 million individuals received at least part of their benefit as a spouse of an entitled worker. Some of these spouses had benefits of their own, but were eligible to receive higher benefit because the spousal benefit amount was greater than their own benefit. Some of these individuals have never worked outside the home or paid Social Security tax. They have no benefit of their own and rely exclusively on the Social Security spousal benefit available under their spouse’s work record.

And it’s not just retirement income benefits. Eligible spouses also receive premium free Medicare benefits.

Let’s take a look at what it takes to qualify as well as what benefits you may receive as an eligible spouse.

Before you dive into this article, you may want to watch my short video Social Security Basics. 

What Does it Take to Qualify?

The other day I saw a startling headline. It read, “Obama Administration Finalizes Social Security Gun Ban.” The sub-headline read, “On Monday the Obama administration finalized a Social Security gun ban that could prevent ‘tens of thousands’ of law-abiding elderly citizens from purchasing guns for self-defense.”

It didn’t take much browsing to find more headlines that were equally disturbing:

Obama’s Secret Plan To Block Seniors On Social Security From Owning Guns on Breitbart

SPREAD THIS: Obama Makes Huge Move to BAN Social Security Recipients From Owning Guns  on Conservative Tribune

Obama to Ban Thousands of Senior Citizens from Owning Firearms on GunOwners.org

With provocative headlines such as those, it’s no wonder that I’ve been fielding calls and emails from worried retirees. Will seniors really be forced to surrender their firearms before they can receive Social Security payments?

As with many sensational headlines, this headline contains enough truth to keep it from being a flat out lie. However, that’s not the same as being accurate. Not even close.

Social Security is more important for women than it is for men. Especially for women who have been divorced, widowed or remarried. In this video I’ll help you make sure you are getting the all the benefits that you are eligible to receive.

Finding out that your social security benefits are taxable catches a lot of people by surprise.  After all, this is a benefit paid by tax that was collected from you.  Now it’s taxed again?  Yes.

According to the Social Security Administration 52% of families receiving social security benefits paid income tax on those benefits in 2015. So there’s a good chance that some of your benefits will be taxable.  Here’s how you can figure it out two steps.