Читать книгу Social Security For Dummies - Peterson Jonathan, Jonathan Peterson - Страница 32

Most work is covered by Social Security today, but that wasn’t always the case. When Social Security was launched in the 1930s, roughly half the economy wasn’t part of it. Largely excluded were fields associated with African Americans, women, and low pay (including agriculture, domestic service, and many jobs in education and social work). Critics said the exclusions reflected bias in favor of white, male breadwinners. The self-employed, professionals (such as doctors and lawyers), and most jobs in government and the nonprofit sector were also initially left out.

Today, 94 percent of American jobs are covered by Social Security. Categories of workers who may still not be covered include the following:

 Most federal employees hired before 1984

 Railroad workers with more than ten years of experience or who have worked at least five years with the railroads since 1995

 Some state and local government employees

If you fall into one of these categories, it’s possible you will get no Social Security benefits or reduced amounts. (Many people who spend part of their working lives in uncovered employment end up with reduced benefits because of the Windfall Elimination provision and Government Pension Offset provision, which I explain later in this chapter.)

Other things affect your benefit amount as well, including the following:

 How old you are when you start collecting benefits: You can start receiving Social Security as early as age 62, but your payment will be larger the longer you wait to claim, potentially to age 70. (See Chapter 3 for a discussion of when to begin receiving retirement benefits.)

 If you worked in any jobs that weren’t covered by Social Security: Your full benefit may be reduced by any periods of your working career in which your job wasn’t covered by Social Security, a reality for many government workers. (See the earlier sidebar “Which jobs aren’t covered.”)

 If you’re working while drawing benefits: Social Security may withhold a portion of your retirement benefits if you earn above a certain amount while receiving benefits and you haven’t yet reached the full retirement age, which is currently 66 and 2 months. (See Chapter 13 for a detailed explanation of how benefits may be affected by earnings.)

Social Security also takes money off the top of your retirement benefit to pay for Medicare coverage if you’ve reached 65 and you’re enrolled in Medicare. The monthly premium for Medicare Part B, supplementary medical insurance (doctors’ and some other services), is deducted automatically if you’ve reached 65 and entered Medicare. The standard Part B premium paid by most Medicare enrollees was set at $144.60 for 2020. Premiums — and the Medicare deduction — generally rise with inflation.

In the following sections, I cover how to estimate your benefit, and how much your spouse and children can expect to receive based on your work history.