General
Question:
Do Members of Congress have to pay into Social Security?
Answer:
Yes. Members of Congress, the President and Vice President, federal judges, and most political appointees, have paid taxes into the Social Security program since January 1984. They pay into the system just like everyone else, no matter how long they have been in office. Learn more about Social Security benefits at www.ssa.gov.
Question:
I own a small business. How can I verify employees’ Social Security numbers (SSNs)?
Answer:
Employers can use our Social Security Number Verification Service to verify the names and SSNs of current and former employees for wage reporting purposes. For more information, go to www.ssa.gov/employer/ssnv.htm.
Retirement
Question:
How are my retirement benefits calculated?
Answer:
Your Social Security benefits are based on earnings averaged over your lifetime. Your actual earnings are first adjusted or “indexed” to account for changes in average wages since the year the earnings were received. Then we calculate your average monthly indexed earnings during the 35 years in which you earned the most. We apply a formula to these earnings and arrive at your basic benefit. This is the amount you would receive at your full retirement age. If you have a personal my Social Security account, you can get an estimate of your personal retirement benefits and see the effects of different ages to begin receiving retirement benefits. If you don’t have a personal my Social Security account, you can create one at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
For more information, read our publication, Your Retirement Benefit: How It’s Figured, at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10070.pdf.
Question:
I am nearing my full retirement age, but I plan to keep working after I apply for Social Security benefits. Will my benefits be reduced because of my income?
Answer:
No. If you start receiving benefits after you’ve reached your full retirement age, you can work while you receive Social Security, and your current benefit will not be reduced because of the earned income. If you keep working, it could mean a higher benefit for you in the future. Higher benefits can be important to you later in life and increase the future benefit amounts your survivors could receive. If you begin receiving benefits before your full retirement age, your earnings could reduce your monthly benefit amount. After you reach full retirement age, we recalculate your benefit amount to leave out the months when we reduced or withheld benefits due to your excess earnings. Learn more about Social Security reading our publication, How Work Affects Your Benefits, at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10069.pdf.
Disability
Question:
I’m getting ready to start filling out my disability benefits application online, but I’m concerned I will need to stop before I can finish it. Can I stop before completing the application and come back to finish it later? If so, how do I return to my online application to finish it when I have all the information I need?
Answer:
Applying for disability is a multi-step process that may take 1 to 2 hours to complete, depending on your situation. You can save your application as you go. This allows you to come back and finish later.
When you start your application, you will need to sign in to or create your personal my Social Security account. If you need to stop your application before you are finished, you just need to sign in to your personal my Social Security account and pick up where you left off. Once you’re finished and have submitted your application, we’ll contact you with any updates or questions we may have about your information. Sign in or create your personal my Social Security account to check your application status at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
