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Martha Shedden is RSSA’s President and Co-Founder. Read Martha’s responses to questions regarding Social Security. View all questions or browse by category. Submit your own question to Martha here.

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Will my daughter’s benefit increase if my wife suspends her payments?

Full question: My wife receives a spouse with child-in-care payment based on my work record. Currently both her and my child’s payments are reduced due to the family maximum. My wife is going back to work and will suspend her payments because her income will far exceed the max allowed. Will Social Security restore my…

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Do I need to share my self-employment earnings with Social Security Administration?

Full question: I’ve worked for corporations since 1975 and have SSA earned income from those jobs. I also own a small business (since 1994, LLC with average total income $5k per year) that rarely shows a profit. Do I need to include that as ‘self employment’ if I have no earned income from the business?…

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Can I still receive ex-spousal benefits if I remarry?

Full question: I was married for 34 years and am now divorced. When I start collecting Social Security benefits of my own and my ex husband collectively and get married to a NON US citizen, will I still be able to receive the full benefit of both mine and my ex’s social security? I was…

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How do I get the money back that was withheld from the earnings test?

Full question: When Social Security benefits are paid back due to the earnings limits, how are these dollars recouped later? Hi there, It sounds like you are affected by the earnings test, which applies to those who are: Younger than their full retirement age, FRA, Still working, and Also collecting retirement benefits. If the earnings…

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I have a teaching pension. Why can’t I collect Social Security?

Full question: I am 71 years old. My school district at the time I taught did not allow me to pay Social Security. I did pay it through side jobs I worked at in summers and after school, but I’m not allowed to collect the full amount I actually earned which would be about $500…

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I have a pension. Can I still receive survivor benefits?

Full question: I’m a retired widow from City Government, and I received a pension for all the years I worked for them. They informed me I don’t qualify for my husband’s benefits because of my pension. I would like to know if this is correct. My husband contributed to Social Security for almost 50 years….

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