There are several situations in which you might not be able to get any or all of your Social Security payments. Understanding these possible risks is very important because for millions of retirees, Social Security is their main source of income.
There will be about 68 million people getting Social Security income every month in 2024. A little over 75% of these people are retired workers who, as of June, were getting an average of $1,918 a month.
But the exact amount a person gets depends on a number of things, such as how long they worked, how much they made, and how old they were when they started getting benefits. Other things, like working while getting benefits or getting into trouble with the law, can also change the amount received.
These are four main situations in which you might lose or get less Social Security:
1. Exceeding Income Limits While Receiving Benefits
If you keep working after you start getting Social Security benefits, you might have to pay extra if your earnings go over a certain limit. In particular, some of your benefits will be taken away if you haven’t hit full retirement age yet and your income is higher than the annual exempt amount.
This amount is set to be $22,320 for people under full retirement age in 2024. If you make more than this amount, $1 of your benefits will be taken away for every $2 you make above this amount. The amount that is tax-free goes up to $59,520 for people who will be full retirement age in 2024.
It’s important to know that the perks that were taken away aren’t gone for good. „Once you hit (full retirement age), your monthly benefit will be raised permanently to account for the months when benefits were withheld,” says the Social Security Administration (SSA).
2. SSI Resource Limits
The SSA also runs a program called Supplemental Security Income (SSI), but to be eligible, you must have a certain amount of money. As per the SSA, resources are things that you own that are worth money, like cash, bank accounts, and personal property. But not all means are taken into account when deciding if someone is eligible for SSI.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) says that a person can only have $2,000 in resources and a couple can have $3,000. Some assets, like your home, one car, household items, and burial plots, are not counted in this figure.
You won’t get SSI funds for that month if your countable resources go over the limit at the start of the month. You might even lose your eligibility for the program altogether if this happens.
3. Impact of Divorce on Social Security Benefits
Events in your life, like getting married or divorced, can have a big effect on your Social Security payments. If you get divorced, the length of your marriage affects your ability to get benefits based on your ex-spouse’s work history.
In order to get benefits based on your ex-spouse’s record, you must have been married for at least ten years. You may also not be able to get benefits based on your ex-spouse’s work experience after getting married again. It is possible to get your own benefits if they are better than the benefits your ex-spouse would give you. You would get those benefits instead.
4. Incarceration
Legal problems, especially being locked up, can also cause Social Security payments to be cut off. CNET says that if you are in jail for more than 30 days, your SSI and Social Security payments will probably be taken away. Although your benefits may be stopped while you are in jail, people who count on you, like your spouse and children, may still continue to get money.
If your Social Security payments were stopped while you were in jail, you can ask to have them started up again the month after you get out. SSI recipients automatically start getting paid again after release, though the amount may be split up based on when they were released. Keep in mind that a person’s SSI payments stop completely if they are in jail for 12 months or more in a row.