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Category: Social Security

The Latest Facts About Social Security

November 30, 2021

 

On October 13, 2021, the Social Security Administration (SSA) officially announced that Social Security recipients will receive a 5.9 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2022, the largest increase in four decades. This adjustment will begin with benefits payable to more than 64 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2022. Additionally, increased payments to more than 8 million Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2021.

 

Biggest COLA Increase in Decades?

While many predicted a bump of as much as 6.1% given recent movement in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the announced 5.9% increase is still substantial. Some fear that rising consumer prices may dilute the impact of the increase with inflation currently running at more than 5 percent. While this remains to be seen, Social Security beneficiaries will no doubt welcome the largest adjustment since 1982.

 

How You Will Be Notified.

According to the Social Security Administration, Social Security and SSI beneficiaries are usually notified about their new benefit amount by mail starting in early December. However, if you’ve set up your SSA online account, you will also be able to view your COLA notice online through your “My Social Security” account.

 

Is it Enough?

For years organizations like the AARP have pointed out that the index used to calculate inflation—the CPI-W, a consumer price index that reflects the increasing cost of goods for urban wage earners—does not reflect the inflation on goods and services needed by the elderly, such as health care. In July, a bill titled “Fair COLA for Seniors Act of 2021” was introduced which would require the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) be used when Social Security calculates their annual COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment).

 

Is Social Security Going Broke?

Per the Washington Post, each year, the Social Security Board of Trustees releases a report that analyzes the current and projected financial health of Social Security and Medicare. This year, the trustees found that: “The finances of both programs have been significantly affected by the pandemic and the recession of 2020.”

The trustees now project the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be insolvent in 2033. What this means there will be enough income to pay out only 76 percent of scheduled payments.

One solution often debated is getting rid of the income threshold for the Social Security payroll tax. In 2021, the maximum taxable earnings subject to the Social Security tax is $142,800. Earnings above the maximum are not subject to the tax, which is 6.2 percent for employees and a matching 6.2 percent for employers. (NOTE: Even though many do not pay in, very few high-earners decline to file for Social Security payments.)

There’s no income cap for the Medicare tax, which is 2.9 percent. (Employers pay 1.45 percent, and employees cover the other half.)

A Gallup poll this year found that 38 percent of U.S. adults not yet retired thought Social Security would be a major source of their income, but the reality is that 57 percent of retirees rely on Social Security as their main source of income.

 

Your Next Steps?

If this information about Social Security surprises or concerns you, it’s always a good idea to seek guidance from your financial professional about changes to any of your sources of retirement income. We welcome the chance to talk with you about this. Reach out to your private wealth advisor at Silverhawk Private Wealth at 480.296.0200. We have offices across the United States to serve you.

 

 

Sources:

https://www.ssa.gov/cola/#:~

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/social-security-benefits-cola-cost-of-living-2022-increase/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrae/2021/07/21/will-congress-change-social-security-cost-of-living-adjustment-is-calculated/?sh=21dd13ca373c

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/09/03/social-security-insolvency/

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-12-03/social-security-wealthy-benefits

Social Security

Are your Social Security benefits taxable?

April 18, 2019

The answer is: Yes, sometimes.

If you don’t have significant income in retirement besides Social Security benefits, then you probably won’t owe taxes on your benefits. But if you have large amounts saved up in tax-deferred vehicles like 401(k)s, you could be in for a surprise later.

AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) versus Combined Income.

You are probably familiar with what AGI, or adjusted gross income, means. To find it, you take your gross income from wages, self-employed earnings, interest, dividends, required minimum distributions from qualified retirement accounts and other taxable income, like unearned income, that must be reported on tax returns.

(Unearned, taxable income can include canceled debts, alimony payments, child support, government benefits such as unemployment benefits and disability payments, strike benefits, lottery payments, and earnings generated from appreciated assets that have been sold or capitalized during the year.)

From your gross income amount, you make adjustments, subtracting amounts such as qualified student loan interest paid, charitable contributions, or any other allowable deduction. That leaves you with your adjusted gross income, which is used to determine limitations on a number of tax issues, including Social Security.

Combined Income is a formula used after you file for your Social Security benefits.

Whether or not your Social Security benefits are taxable depends on your combined income each year, which is defined as your adjusted gross income (AGI) plus your tax-exempt interest income (like municipal bonds) plus one-half of your Social Security benefits.

The IRS provides a worksheet for this. (See the worksheet here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p915.pdf#page=16)

If your combined income exceeds the limit, then up to 85% of your benefit may be taxable. But in accordance with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules, you won’t pay federal income tax on any more than 85% of your Social Security benefits.

What are the combined income limits?

Social Security benefits are only taxable when your overall combined income exceeds $25,000 for single filers or $32,000 for couples filing joint tax returns.

If you file a federal tax return as an “individual” and your combined income is:

  • Between $25,000 and $34,000 – you may have to pay income tax on up to 50% of your benefits.
  • More than $34,000 – up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable.

If you file a “joint” return, and you and your spouse have a combined income that is:

  • Between $32,000 and $44,000 – you may have to pay income tax on up to 50% of your benefits.
  • More than $44,000 – up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable.

RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions) can be an unwelcome surprise.

Starting at age 70-1/2, you are required to start taking money out of your tax-deferred accounts, whether you need the income or not. These accounts include:

  • Traditional IRAs
  • SEP IRAs
  • SIMPLE IRAs
  • Rollover IRAs
  • Most 401(k) and 403(b) plans
  • Most small business retirement accounts

There are precise formulas for calculating how much you have to withdraw each year based on the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. If you miscalculate, or if you or your plan administrator fail to move the money by December 31, you could face a 50% tax penalty; there is no grace period to April 15.

NOTE: The table goes up to age 115 and beyond. You can find the IRS life expectancy table as well as an IRS worksheet for calculating RMDs here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/uniform_rmd_wksht.pdf

Simplified RMD example for illustrative purposes only:*

Let’s say you are single, age 72, and you have one qualified account—$400,000 was the value of your 401(k) plan as of December 31 last year. You divide $400,000 by your life expectancy factor of 25.6 which give you $15,625.

This is the amount that you have to take out of your 401(k), which will count as part of your AGI.

Simplified Combined Income example for illustrative purposes only:*

To continue with our simplified example, let’s say you, our 72-year-old single person above, receives $2,800 per month in Social Security ($33,600 per year) and you don’t have any other source of income besides the RMD taken from your 401(k) account as illustrated above.

Based on the combined income formula:

AGI = $15,625

+ Non-taxable interest = $0

+ Half of Social Security = $16,800

—————

Your total combined income is = $32,425   

Because you are over the combined income limit of $25,000 for an individual, but less than the $34,000 which would require 85%, you would pay taxes on 50% of your Social Security benefit.

###

At Silverhawk, we provide retirement planning and Social Security benefit optimization, and we work in conjunction with your CPA or tax professional to help you consider taxes and how to minimize them as part of your overall retirement plan. To speak with a private wealth advisor at Silverhawk Private Wealth, call 480.296.0200.

* This material is not intended to be used, nor can it be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding U.S. federal, state or local taxes or penalties. The information in this article is provided for general education purposes only. Do not rely on this information for tax advice. Check with your CPA, attorney or qualified tax advisor for precise information about your specific situation.

Sources:

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/013015/how-can-i-avoid-paying-taxes-my-social-security-income.asp

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxableincome.asp

https://smartasset.com/retirement/how-to-calculate-rmd 

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/uniform_rmd_wksht.pdf

The Social Security Waiting Game

September 29, 2017

At 62 years of age, Americans can begin claiming early Social Security benefits for themselves, provided they have been working and paying taxes. Claiming at age 62 may sound appealing, but there can be a substantial downside to the amount of money you can collect. In fact, you will receive 75% of the benefit amount that you would have received by waiting until your full retirement age, which is currently around age 66 depending on the month you were born.

But keep in mind that you are not required to file at your full retirement age. In fact, from your full retirement age up until age 70, you will receive an 8% increase in your monthly benefit amount by waiting to file. At age 70, that increase stops.

Investing Benefits

What if you don’t need the money, but decide to file at 62 in order to invest the benefit? Before you decide to take Social Security early and invest the payments, you need to be aware of the risks involved. Investing in the markets means you are assuming returns based on historical performance and subjecting your retirement outcome to market risk, including sequence of returns risk, where you may not have enough of a retirement time horizon to wait out any market downturns.

And if you’re still working while collecting, your earnings may end up in the government’s pockets if you make too much. In other words, taxes need to be considered as well, because if your primary income source is too high, your Social Security benefits may become taxable, lowering the amount you have available to invest.

According to the Social Security Administration website:  

“In 2017, the annual earnings limit is $16,920 if you’re under full retirement age.”

That being said, some investments may not be counted as income by Social Security, and it’s important to work with a financial advisor when making these major decisions.

Continued from the SSA website:

“When we figure out how much to deduct from your benefits, we count only the wages you make from your job or your net profit if you’re self-employed. We include bonuses, commissions and vacation pay. We don’t count pensions, annuities, investment income, interest, veterans or other government or military retirement benefits.”

Break-Even Analysis

When it comes to age and benefit amounts, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) maintains that “the Social Security benefit formula adjusts monthly payments so that someone living to average life expectancy should receive about the same amount of benefits over their lifetime regardless of which age they claim.”

There are those that argue, however, that this model is outdated. Even though many experts say waiting as long as possible is the best strategy, it all depends on your individual situation. For example, if family history says your life expectancy is age 74, then filing early for Social Security benefits can make sense.

Another thing to consider is the complexity in determining how to factor in spousal benefits. If you’re married and die first, waiting to file may give your spouse larger survivor benefits.

How and when you claim Social Security can have a dramatic effect on your whole retirement outcome. The most important thing to do is get professional help in this process. That is what we do.

Contact your personal wealth advisor at Silverhawk Private Wealth if you need help with Social Security, planning for retirement, or are concerned about your portfolio. Silverhawk has offices in Scottsdale, AZ, Irvine, CA and Seattle, WA to serve you.