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Posted by Harlan Lunsford on October 30, 2007, 11:47 pm
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nomail1983@hotmail.com wrote:
> My mother says, "I originally received Soc Sec benefits as a
> survivor, not based on my own earnings".
>
> Could that be right?!
>
> I asked her to send me the last "Your Social Security
> Statement" that she might have gotten. The above statement
> was her reply. Klunk!
>
> I am 350 miles away, so I do not have access to her records.
> I rely on her to fish out the documents I request. But as
> you know, GIGO.
>
> (Is it possible that she does not have a YSSS? I don't know
> when the SSA started sending YSSSes.)
>
> Facts....
>
> My mother is now 82 years old. Midlife, she worked
> full-time as a teacher for many years. Earlier in life, she
> held full-time positions on a local newspaper. So she
> "must" have an earnings record of her own. I don't know how
> many years that covers. That is why I asked for the YSSS
> document.
>
> My father died a few years ago at age 79. Their ages
> differed by about 3 years. During his lifetime, he worked
> in his own law and CPA firm for at least 35 years. Before
> that, he worked full-time in other firms for many years. He
> probably had earnings history even before that; but I don't
> believe any of that is relevant.
>
> Some time after my father's death, my mother incorrectly
> reported self-employment income for a one-time royalty
> agreement. Her CPA agreed that that was a mistake under the
> circumstances, so he filed an amended return, shifting the
> self-employment income to royalty income and eliminating the
> self-employment income altogether. As a result, the IRS
> sent a notification that the self-employment would be
> reduced to zero for that year.
>
> I am trying to determine if that reduction will affect her
> Soc Sec benefits adversely, based on the 35-year formula
> that the SSA uses.
>
> I suspect not, even if her Soc Sec benefits are based, at
> least in part, on her own earnings. Certainly not if her
> Soc Sec benefits are based entirely on her as a survivor.
>
> Anyway, I think my question is independent of those facts.
> I simply want to know: if a person has earnings of their
> own, and they are a survivor of a person who had earnings of
> their own, are the (surviving) person's benefits based on
> the deceased person's earnings alone, or on some combination
> of their earnings, or something else altogether?
>
> If I omitted some relevant facts, what additional facts are
> needed in order to answer my question?
>
> I will continue to search my own SSA documents, ssa.gov and
> fairmark.com for the answer. I am "sure" I read about this
> somewhere, but it went in one eye and out the other :-). In
> the meantime, I thought someone here might offer a simple
> answer. And a specific pointer would be helpful.
You should rest assured that she is most probably receiving
the maximum SS benefits. And this is why I say so.
My own mother started drawing based on father's ss after he
died, i.e. widow's amount. Meanwhile she continued to work
as secretary at local church (subject to ss withholding of
course) for many years until she retired at about age 78 or
so. Since my father's earnings had been so much more than
her1's before he died, her SS benefits were based on that
fact alone, just like in your mother's case.
However there came a time, about when she was 82 , maybe 84,
that Social Security sent her a letter advising that perhaps
she could qualify for more on her own account. Accordingly
she made an appointment and I took her over to the office in
a neighboring town. Sure enough, she had qualified
retroactive to first of year, so she got a catch up check
and a small increase in monthly amount.
Remember too, that in order to talk with Social Security
about her "case", you will need her with you at office or a
power of attorney.
As a note on the POA for tax pros reading this, SSA has
their own POA requirements and will not accept our own
beloved form 2848.
ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA
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