• About WordPress
    • WordPress.org
    • Documentation
    • Learn WordPress
    • Support
    • Feedback
  • Log In
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Contact us
  • Related Sites
    • InflationData.com
    • Financial Trend Forecaster
    • Your Family Finances
    • Elliott Wave University
    • Optio Money
  • About
    • Terms of Use
    • Disclaimer & Disclosure
    • Privacy Statement
  • Sitemap
    • 2009-2010 Posts
    • 2011 Posts

UnemploymentData.com

Your Source for Employment and Unemployment Data

Unemployment
  • Charts
    • Current Unemployment Rate Chart
    • Current Employment Rate (Chart and Data)
    • Current Employment vs Unemployment Chart
    • Historical Employment Data
    • Employment Population Ratio
    • Misery Index
  • Unemployment
    • Historical Unemployment Rate Tables
    • What Is U-6 Unemployment?
    • Unadjusted vs. Seasonally Adjusted U-3 Unemployment Rate
    • BLS vs. Gallup Unemployment Numbers
    • Current U-6 Unemployment Rate
    • What is the Labor Force Participation Rate?
    • What is the Real Unemployment Rate?
  • Employment
    • Current Employment Rate (Chart and Data)
    • Historical Employment Data
    • Contacting a Live Person at the State Employment Commission
      • How to Talk to a Live Person at the Virginia Unemployment Commission
      • Florida’s FLUID Unemployment Program
    • Benefits
      • Insurance
      • Retirement
    • Careers
    • Employment Costs
    • Experience
    • Government
    • Job Hunting
      • Interview
      • Resume
  • Find Articles
  • Education
    • Skills
  • General
    • Small Business
      • Outsourcing
    • Success
You are here: Home / Employment / Benefits / Retirement / Social Security Benefits: Planning for Your Future

Social Security Benefits: Planning for Your Future

January 26, 2017 by Guest Contributor

Social SecuritySocial Security is the common name for the United States federal government’s Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI). The program guarantees the nation’s most vulnerable citizens can depend on a minimum sustenance and care support. Taxpayers fund Social Security through payroll taxes, self-employment contributions, and IRS investment of these funds into special government trusts. The Social Security Cost of Living Act (COLA) guarantees increases in benefits amounts to account for inflation but in recent years the official inflation rate has been low enough that they have not given Cost of Living increases. Americans become eligible to draw Social Security benefits when they reach age 62 but depending on the year you were born you may not get full benefits until you are 67 (or older). To ensure you will receive your full Social Security benefits when the time comes, you need to begin planning for your future now. The following measures can help you plan for and protect your benefits. 

Get Enough Credits

In order to qualify for Social Security you need to have enough “Credits”. According to the Social Security Administration “Credits are the “building blocks” we use to find out whether you have the minimum amount of covered work to qualify for each type of Social Security benefits.”   When you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn up to a maximum of four “credits” for each year. In 2016, you had to earn $1,260 in covered earnings to get one Social Security or Medicare work credit and $5,040 to get all four credits for the year. If you were born in 1929 or later, you need 40 credits (10 years of work) in order to be eligible to collect Social Security. You can check your current standings by reading the paper statement sent to you by the Social Security Administration annually or by creating an account and logging in to their website.

Guard Your Social Security Number

Your Social Security number is your lifelong link to earnings put toward retirement. It also shows your eligibility for employment and tracks your credit history. It is a key component in identity theft and other scams so it is important that you only give your Social Security number to your spouse and next of kin for formal and legal purposes. Never allow anyone to use or borrow your Social Security number to obtain credit or services.

Keep Your Information Current with the Social Security Administration (SSA)
Contact your local SSA if:

  • Your card is lost, stolen or damaged. You can apply for a replacement card online in some states.
  • You move. You do not want your benefits check going to another household.
  • You suspect you are a victim of identity theft or you stop receiving your Social Security checks. A Social Security attorney can advocate to protect your benefits.

Estimate Your Future Benefits

The Social Security Administration provides several ways to estimate your future benefits. You can use their Retirement Estimator for a retirement estimate based on real time access to your earnings record. They also have other calculators that require you to manually enter your earnings for each year from your statement but they might provide more options for testing retirement scenarios.

Pay Your Taxes

Social Security benefits have enormous protection from the federal government. Creditors may not subtract debts from your Social Security benefits allowance. However, the U.S. government is one exception. If you owe IRS taxes or federal debt, such as student loans and child support, the government can eat into a portion of your benefits on the following scale:

  • 15% for IRS taxes
  • 15% after the first $750 for student loans
  • 50-65% for unpaid child support payments

Pay Consumer Debt

Unpaid debt from credit cards, medical bills and more can lead to lawsuits, wage garnishments, and asset liens. According to the Law Office of Nancy L. Cavey, these misfortunes affect your abilities to pay into Social Security and set aside supplemental savings for the future. If you are drowning in debt, consider refinancing or consolidation to lower monthly payments and start saving more.

Social Security is not merit-based or competitive. Social Security is a powerful program that provides a basic supplement for Americans but was not designed to be your entire retirement support. You should still save and invest as you go along, so social security can be an excellent additional benefit in your older years. Understanding social security benefits and planning your future are two ways to retire comfortably and enjoy your golden years.

About the Author:

Eileen O’Shanassy is a freelance writer and blogger based out of Flagstaff, AZ. She writes on a variety of topics and loves to research and write. She enjoys baking, biking, and kayaking. Check out her Twitter @eileenoshanassy

 

Filed Under: Retirement Tagged With: Cost of Living, Social Security

Primary Sidebar

Search Site

Sponsored:

URGENT: These Stocks Stand Poised to Benefit from President Trump's Trade Wars!

As the Trump administration moves ahead with aggressive tariff policies on key imports, the mainstream media is scrambling.

This Free Report - which you can download now - reveals the names and ticker symbols of 5 Stock Poised to Benefit Most from President Trump's Tariff Wars.

Click Here to Download Your FREE Stock Report Now.

Recent Posts

  • April 2025 Employment / Unemployment Report
  • Would More Jobs Help Social Security?
  • March 2025- Employment / Unemployment Report
  • February 2025 Jobs Report
  • January 2025 BLS Employment Report

Resources

  • Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey Monthly survey of households conducted by the Bureau of Census for BLS. It provides data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, etc.
  • Capital Professional Services Providing web design and development and Internet marketing services
  • Elliott Wave University Using the Elliott Wave Principle to improve investment performance
  • Financial Trend Forecaster Featuring Moore Inflation Predictor, NYSE Rate of Change and NASDAQ Rate of change
  • InflationData.com Inflation calculators, databases, etc.
  • Intergalactic Web Designers Web design and development services
  • Your Family Finances

Articles by Category

Articles by Date

Disclaimer

At UnemploymentData.com we are not registered investment advisors and do not provide any individualized advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance and future accuracy and profitable results cannot be guaranteed.

Privacy & Terms of Use

Privacy Statement & Terms of Use

Do Not Sell My Information

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro on Capital Professional Services, LLC. All rights reserved · Log in