How to Max out Social Security Benefits for Your Family – social security family benefits, It is a human tendency to feel secure. Often this security comes from monetary advantages. The more money you possess, the more secure you feel. This is exactly why each one of us adopts measures to gather and save money so that we can use it as and when required. In times of need be it a crucial medical condition or some other tough time that life throws at you, money is always required to be able to sail through the rough waters of time.
Social Security is one such initiative of the US government that helps you in tough times and provides you with a sense of contentment and relief that you won’t be alone during your tough times.
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How to Max out Social Security Benefits for Your Family
What is the meaning of Social Security?
Social Security is a federal insurance scheme that helps people who are poor, disabled, physically unfit, divorced, orphans,s and all those individuals that need monetary assistance and insurance to be able to lead a normal respectful life.
This program came into existence in 1935 in the US with the signing of the SSA (Social security Act) by President Franklin Roosevelt as an emergency relief measure during the Great Depression period. Ever since then it has helped the working class and their families to be able to save money and then use it at the time of retirement or accordingly as the need may arise.
Who pays for Social Security?
You must be wondering where the resources for this Social Security Scheme arise from. Well, it is the normal people that pay for this insurance scheme. Workers and employees pay 6.2 % of their earnings as funds for the scheme. It is funded through the payroll taxes that are collected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and then passed on to the two Social security trust funds.
There are many programs under the SSA like the Medicare program, the Medicaid program, the State children’s health insurance program, Old age survivors and disability insurance program, Temporary assistance for needy families, and the SSI (Supplementary Security Income).
Who can get the benefits of Social Security?
The beneficiaries of the Social Security scheme can be any of the following people:
- Retired workers
- Spouse of retired workers
- Children of retired workers
- Survivors of deceased workers could be spouses, parents, or children.
- People retiring from their jobs
- People who seek medical assistance
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Benefits of the Social Security System
The manner in which the SSA has helped change the lives of people making it more secure depends a lot on the benefits that the Social Security scheme has to offer to the people. Through the scheme, people know that they won’t be left high and dry when some calamity hits them in life.
- Social Security is not just a retirement program merely. It is an extended insurance and disability redressal scheme to help you cope well with the trauma. It has been observed that one-fifth of social security beneficiaries claim disability or young survivor benefits.
- Social Security provides a certain and guaranteed mechanism to provide progressive benefits over a period of time and also helps to keep up with an increasing cost of living and survival.
- Social Security provides a strong foundation for people to avail of retirement benefits irrespective of how high or how low their incomes are. Almost all workers participate in the Social security scheme.
- Social Security scheme has a great deal of role to play in helping young children, women, people of color, and the aged to be able to lead a respectable life where they do not have to feel deprived of the basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing at any point of time.
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Changes in the Social Security Scheme
With the changing times, certain modifications have been introduced in the Social Security scheme these are as follows:
- Larger social security payments– The cost of living adjustment (COLA ) would now be 2.8% which is the highest since 2012. This will increase the benefits of the retired workers to climb to $1461 per month. Married couples will also see a surge in their benefits.
- Higher social security tax cap-The tax cap will see an increase of $ 4500 to reach $ 132900 in 2019. This means that the people will face a burden in their tax payments henceforth which would be approximately $ 279.
- Increase in the retirement age– earlier the retirement age used to be 62 and in case you withdrew your savings before that age you used to suffer some loss. Now there has been an increase in the retirement age.
- For people born in 1957, the full retirement age increases to sixty-six years and six months, sixty-six years and four months for people born in 1956, sixty-six years and two months for those of you born in 19655 and sixty-one years of age for everyone born between 1954 and 1943. It will further increase till it reaches 67 years for everyone born in and after 1960.
- Bigger limits on earnings-The people availing benefits from Social security would get $ 600 more in 2019 before their benefits are temporarily withheld. Recipients who are 65 years of age or younger can earn up to $ 17640 in 2019 before every $ is reduced for every $2 earned above the limit. Once you reach your full retirement age there would be no penalty for working and availing the social security benefits at the same time.
- Electronic COLA notices– The cost of living adjustment or COLA a sit is popularly called as would be available online in 2019 and people would be able to see it for themselves son electronic media. It will be available on the message center of “My social security account“. It will show the amount the beneficiaries would receive for the next calendar year.
- COLA statements, however, would continue to be mailed also but eventually, that system would be done away with and replaced by online media only.
Summary
Social Security is changing with the changing world and revolutionizing the lives of the needy and the poor.