1. Social.Security Contribution to SS is in the form of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) Taxes are withheld from most paychecks. Medicare is part of Social Security Medicare contributions are withheld from your paycheck in much the same way as your Social Security (FICA). ; FICA taxes support Social Security and Medicare

3. Does Social Security cover retirees only? Disability and survivor benefits Your Contributions provide insurance If you become disabled; Cover your adult child if becomes disabled before age 22. Your spouse and children can receive Social Security survivor benefits after you die. if worked enough

4. How does my work now equal benefits later? You accumulate credits based on your earnings. In 2010, you get one credit for every $1,120 Maximuim four credits per year. Credits are permanent even if you change jobs or stop working for a while. If you were born after 1929, you need 40 credits for Social Security benefits.

5. Eligibility for Social Security benefits If you' worked for at least 10 years. Ten years is the minimum amount of time required to earn the mandatory 40 credits.mandatory 40 credits Even if you have accumulated your 40 credits, you can't start getting payment until you're 62 or older.

6. Credit for the years you worked. A summary of the benefits each year, about three months before your birthday will mailed to you by SSA Your statement provides a record of your earnings history, the number of credits, Your benefits depend on your life time earnings,

7. Medicare benefits You are eligible for Medicare benefits once you reach 65,Medicare benefits Provided you have accumulated the necessary 40 credits. necessary 40 credits

8. Payment The earliest you can start collecting SS benefits is age 62; the latest is age 70. Your actual retirement date doesn't matter. You can retire before 62, and you can retire after 70.

9. Why should I wait past age 62 to start collecting? The longer you wait to start getting payments, the bigger the payments will be. For those who born between 1938 and 1960, the retirement age depending on your birth year. refer to the Social Security online retirement planner.online retirement planner

10. How much will my payments be if I collect at 62. Example, if you were born between 1943 and 1954, your payouts will be reduced 25% If you start receiving benefits at age 62. That reduction is permanent - that is, the 25% reduction applies not only to the money you collect between age 62 and 67, but all the money you'll collect for the rest of your life. To figure out the reductions based on your age, check out the online table by Social Security Administration.online table

11. How much will my payments be if I wait until age 70? Benefits payment goes up 8% for every year until full retirement agefull retirement age There's no benefit to delaying past age 70; you'd just be throwing money away.

12. I wait until age 70? Can I start collecting benefits if I'm still working? YES But collecting Social Security when you're still working full-time is not advisable Reason. if you start collecting benefits when you're not retired, the government will cut your payments according to a formula based on how much you earn. For details, see What's the best age to startWhat's the best age to start

13. What's the best age to start getting payouts? You' have to assess the best age based on how long you think you'll be around. If you think you'll die relatively early - you'll want to start getting payouts as soon as possible (right at age 62). If your grandparents lived to 100 best strategy is to put off taking payments until you turn 70. Check out the Social Security Administration's break- even calculator.break- even calculator

14. How big will my payouts be The annual benefits statement that the S S A sends you gives an estimate of how much you'll get if you wait until full retirement age.annual benefits statement The younger you are, the less accurate your estimate will be, Reason =As-yet-unknown future earnings will play an important role in all of this.

15. What if I want to work part-time in retirement. If you start receiving your S S payments early, but you're still working and earning more than $14,160 your benefit is reduced by Calculation Social Security will make an adjustment when you reach full retirement age to reflect the additional income you earned.

16. Will my spouse and kids receive benefits when I die? Survivor benefits are available for certain family members as long as you accumulated the 40 credits before dying. Your children may qualify for 75% of your S S benefits based on your record of contributions, up until they turn 18 years old As for your spouse, can receive a reduced benefit (71.5% of your benefits) as early as age 60, or your full benefit after reaching full retirement age.full retirement age Those benefits will continue unless your spouse remarries. Benefits for your spouse and kids are also limited by a family maximum,family maximum

17. How do Social Security disability payments work?. Eligibility for disability benefits depends on how old you are when you become disabled,. Disability benefit payments start only after you have been disabled for five months, Wii continue until your condition has improved. check out the online benefits calculator.online benefits calculator If your adult child is disabled before the age of 22, he or she can qualify for benefits based on your earnings record. Anyone who becomes disabled after turning 22 needs to pass the recent work test, a measure of how many years of work you have performed depending on your age. Details of the test are available here.available here

18. Will I get taxed on my Social Security payments Depending on how much other income (such as pension or IRA distributions or salary) you receive in retirement. Your benefits are not taxable if half of your benefits, plus all your other income, is less than $25,000 If half of your benefits, plus all of your other income, is more than $34,000 (for singles) or $44,000 (married filing jointly), then 85% of your benefits are subject to income tax. Refer to IRS worksheet.IRS worksheet

19. How does Social Security fit into my retirement plan? Social Security almost certainly won't pay you enough to live on in retirement. So if you're under 55 and want to be conservative, don't factor in Social Security when making your calculations. Set aside as much of your own money as you can in retirement savings accounts and invest it wisely. Your financial security in retirement is your own responsibility.

20. Will Social Security still exist when I retire? It's true that Social Security will soon start paying out more benefits than it receives, as the bulk of the baby-boom generation phases into retirement. The government's position is that there is enough money saved to pay benefits at the currently scheduled amounts until 2041. The Social Security Administration admits on its Web site that benefits will likely be reduced after that,. Some critics say that benefits could be at risk as early as 2016 or 2017, when Social Security cash flow turns negative. since the money paid in over the last few decades is part of the government's overall budget, it is available only on paper;