Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen)
Suze School: How Much Do You Know About Social Security?
Sun, 23 Mar 2025
Since this podcast is designed to help you tackle your fears and put you in control of your financial future, this Suze School is a pop quizzy all about Social Security. Make sure you have your Suze Notebooks out, because she’ll tell us, again, all we need to know about Social Security benefits so we don’t make mistakes, when the time comes to collect. Jumpstart financial wellness for your employees: https://bit.ly/SecureSave Try your hand at Can I Afford It on Suze’s YouTube Channel Protect your financial future with the Must Have Docs: https://bit.ly/3Vq1V3GGet your savings going with Alliant Credit Union: https://bit.ly/3rg0YioGet Suze’s special offers for podcast listeners at suzeorman.com/offerJoin Suze’s Women & Money Community for FREE and ASK SUZE your questions which may just end up on the podcast. Download the app by following one of these links: CLICK HERE FOR APPLE: https://apple.co/2KcAHbH CLICK HERE FOR GOOGLE PLAY: https://bit.ly/3curfMISee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapter 1: What financial advice does Suze Orman offer at the start?
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March 23rd, 2025. Welcome everybody to the Women in Money podcast, as well as everybody smart enough to listen. Suzy Oh here. And for those of you who are new and you're wondering, what is this podcast all about? It's very simple. It's a podcast that tackles your fears and puts you in control of your financial future. Just that simple.
And on Sundays, which today happens to be, we have Susie's school. So if I were you, I would definitely get out my pen and paper. Or you can do a pencil if you want. Because you're going to have a quiz today. 35 questions on a topic I've picked for you.
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Chapter 2: Why should you not worry about Social Security cuts?
But before I do that, I do want to talk to you about one of your greatest questions lately, or should I say your greatest fear, which is, Susie, are they going to cut Social Security? What's going to happen to Social Security? Susie, I can't afford it. They can't cut my Social Security. It's all the money that I have. Slow down and relax.
Everything that's happening currently with Social Security is about them cutting people working for Social Security, cutting staff, closing offices. There has been no talk at all about cutting benefits. Now, does that mean in the future there won't be some talk about rearranging benefits just like they did, I think it was in 1983, when they raised the full retirement age from 65 to 67?
Do you remember that? But all of you already receiving benefits, your benefits weren't cut. It was for future years, future people. So I would imagine that that is a probability. I have no doubt that they're going to raise the full retirement age.
Chapter 3: How can you prepare for potential changes in Social Security?
possibly to 70 from 67, and that you have until 73 with delayed benefits to collect Social Security, I'm sure that they'll probably raise, and they should, the income that everybody pays. Because right now there's an income limit, and after that limit, you don't pay Social Security tax anymore. They should just make that unlimited, that you all pay Social Security tax
no matter how much money you make. That way, that would help fund the system. But stop worrying about it right now anyway, okay? However, a few suggestions, which is they are obviously going to make it more difficult for you to call into the Social Security office. You're going to have to either go online or go in in person. So if you're older, And you need to contact them.
And you're not online savvy. Do you have a little niece or nephew or grandson or daughter or somebody who has a little portable computer that when you want to contact Social Security, maybe they can come over to your house? And then you can just ask what you want or make a claim or whatever that may be.
So I would be making plans for that right now if I were you, especially if you haven't claimed Social Security yet. Next, I would all ask for or get my Social Security statements. I would want to know exactly where I stand, what is projected. I would want to have a record of it, not just online. I want a printed record of it.
Because you just never know, not that I'm being paranoid, but you never know when records will disappear. And all of a sudden, all that information is gone. And then what happens? It's just that you need to protect yourself in those ways. The other way, everybody. you really need to protect yourself is to truly know and understand how social security works.
Because more important, really, than what they're doing, because they don't know what they're doing right now and everything, it's your own knowledge. I've told you this forever. It's your own knowledge and your own actions that will keep you safe and secure as best you can. But the problem is most of you do not have an idea how Social Security works or the little intricacies of it.
So I have 35 questions that I have prepared for you, all true or false, on Social Security. The first 15 are questions that kind of apply to everybody that you should just know. And the next 20 is really all about spousal and survivor benefits because that's where most of you get confused. And for those of you who are younger and listening to this right now, listen to me.
Your parents may not know what they're doing. Your grandparents may not know what they're doing. So you need to know all this so you can help them just in case. All right, everybody, ready? Number one, your monthly Social Security benefit increases by 8% each year. You delay claiming it beyond your full retirement age up to age 70. So currently, full retirement age for most people happen to be 67.
So you get an 8% increase every year of that benefit up to the age of 70. True or false? So the answer to that is true. And you better keep track of how many you get right and wrong. Again, these are called delayed retirement credits. Number two. Social security benefits are never taxable regardless of your income. The answer to that is false.
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Chapter 4: What are common misconceptions about Social Security benefits?
If you continue working after claiming Social Security and you are under full retirement age, remember, full retirement age is currently about 67, your benefits might be reduced. True or false? And the answer to that is true. Remember, everybody, there's an earnings test before your full retirement age that if you keep working can reduce your payments.
They don't know what it is yet for 2025, but in 2024, if you made more than $22,320 a year and you were under your full retirement age, 67, then they will withhold $1 for every $2 of earnings above that amount. And then they do this crazy thing. If you're still working one month before your full retirement age, then you can make, this was 2024 again, $59,200, something like that.
And they will withhold $1 for every $3 that you've earned. Once you turn full retirement age, you can make as much money as you want, and there are no deductions whatsoever. The next question has to be, do you get that money back? And you do, but not in a lump sum.
They prorate it over your lifetime Social Security benefits, and I don't think you get back quite as much as they withheld, just so you know. All right. Once you start receiving Social Security, your benefits are fixed for life and will never increase. True or false? That's false.
Remember, they can increase through COLA, or it's possible you might be able to switch to a higher benefit like a survivor benefit. Just know that. If you never worked or paid Social Security taxes, you are completely ineligible for any benefits. True or false? That's false because you might just qualify for a spouse's or ex-spouse's record. It doesn't matter if you didn't make any money at all.
If you were married at least 10 years, then you can. Remember that. All right. The earliest age that you can begin collecting retirement benefits is 62. True or false? And that's true, but you got to remember the benefits are going to be permanently reduced if you take them before your full retirement age. I would not do that if I were you, all right?
Now, if you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67. That is true. So, again, I mentioned that over the years, the full retirement age went from 65 to 67, and now everybody born after 1960, full retirement age is currently 67. You can suspend your Social Security benefits after full retirement age to allow them to grow. Remember, full retirement age is 67.
The answer to that is true. You can suspend your benefits all the way until you are age 70. That is those delayed retirement credits, and you will make 8% from 67 to 70 on those benefits. Social Security benefits are protected from garnishment under all circumstances. So can student loans come after you? Can federal debts or taxes? Can they be garnished, everybody? Or are they protected? False.
They can be garnished for things like federal debts, taxes, student loans, all those kinds of things. So don't think you're going to get out of it. Once you reach age 70, your Social Security benefits will automatically increase each year you delay filing. So here you are 70 and you decide not to file, but the delayed retirement credits will go on until you're 71, 72, 73. Is that true?
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Chapter 5: How do Social Security spousal and survivor benefits work?
You can only collect Social Security if you are a U.S. citizen. True or false? False, everybody. Certain non-citizens with legal status and work history may absolutely qualify. Once you, now this one's important, all right? Once you claim benefits, you have up to 12 months to withdraw your application and reapply later if you repay what you received. So you started claiming benefits at 62.
You've only claimed them for, let's say, 11 months. You call in to the Women in Money podcast and you tell me that you did that. and I scream at you. And I say, are you crazy? And you go, well, what should I do? What can I do now? You have up till 12 months after you started to withdraw your application, pay back every cent that they gave you,
And then you just start all over as if you had never claimed. So if you made a mistake and you claimed before full retirement age and you haven't passed the 12-month mark yet, you might want to think about it. Just remember, this is only a one-time option that you can undo the claim. And the last one in this category is you can receive Social Security benefits. even while living abroad.
So many of you ask me this. And you think, okay, I'm moving abroad. Are they going to give me my money when I'm over there? And the answer to that is true. U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens can receive benefits in many, many countries. So that's kind of the basics that you need to know about Social Security.
Where most of you have total confusion, however, is with the spousal and survivor benefits. So are you ready? If your own Social Security benefit is higher than 50% of your spouse's, you can still collect a spousal benefit in addition to your own benefit.
So if the Social Security benefit is higher, yours, than 50% of your spouse's, you can still collect a spousal benefit in addition to your own, true or false. That's false, everybody. You can only receive the higher of your own or the spousal benefit, not both. Do not make that mistake in planning for income. A lot of you make that mistake.
A spouse cannot claim spousal benefits unless the other spouse has already filed for their own Social Security benefit. All right. So your spouse has claimed. Can you claim a spousal benefit? That's true. Spousal benefits are not available until the primary worker has claimed. So, you just need to remember that.
Just because you turn a certain age, you cannot claim on your spousal's record if he or she hasn't already claimed, all right? A widow or widower can begin receiving survivor benefits as early as age 50 if they are disabled. And the answer to that is true. Otherwise, survivor benefits, everybody, begin at the age of 60.
Next, remarrying before age 60 makes a widow or widower ineligible for survivor benefits based on a deceased spouse's record. True or false? That is true. So be very, very careful if you want your deceased spouse's Social Security. Do not get remarried before the age of 60. However, unless that later marriage ends, because if it does, then you can collect. All right.
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Chapter 6: What should you know about delaying Social Security benefits?
Please know that that is not true for spousal benefits. It's only true for survivor benefits. A divorced person can receive survivor benefits from an ex-spouse if they were married for at least 10 years. And that is true. 10 years is the minimum required for divorced survivor benefits.
So if you're with somebody and you've been with them nine years or nine and a half years and you want to file for divorce, can you just wait another six months? Just wait, okay? A person cannot receive both their own Social Security benefit and a survivor benefit at the same time. That is true. Remember, you can only get one Social Security check, and you will get the higher of the two benefits.
That's what you will get. So if your benefit is higher than the survivor benefit, you will have to take your benefit. If the survivor benefit is higher than yours, you will get the higher, the survivor benefit. Know that. If somebody is receiving spousal benefits and their spouse dies, they automatically begin receiving survivor benefits. True or false? That's false.
You have to apply for survivor benefits separately. Do not think that it will automatically happen because it won't. A surviving spouse can collect survivor benefits and delay their own retirement benefits to grow until age 70. Think about this one now. A surviving spouse can collect survivor benefits.
The spouse died, and now he or she is collecting survivor benefits, but they can delay their own retirement benefits to grow until age 70. True or false? That is true, and it's a very strategic way, everybody, to maximize lifetime benefits. A widow or widower who was married to more than one deceased spouse can collect benefits from multiple spouses. That's false. They can choose only one.
Typically, the highest survivor benefit is the one that they choose. Okay. if your survivor benefit is higher than your own retirement benefit, you can switch to it even after claiming your own benefit. So this was a reverse of one that was just done earlier. What do you think?
If your survivor benefit is higher than your own retirement benefit, you can switch to it even after claiming your own benefits. So you're claiming your own Social Security, then your spouse dies, and the survivor benefit is higher than yours. Can you switch to it? You absolutely can. That's true. You can switch to whichever one is higher. Do not forget that.
Next, delaying Social Security benefits past full retirement age increases both your retirement benefit and your spousal benefit. That's false. You have to remember that only your own retirement benefit increases. Spousal benefits do not.
So if you are married and your spouse is waiting till the age of 70 to collect his or her Social Security, and you are going to claim a spousal benefit, you do not get 50% Of what your spouse would get at the age of 70, you only get 50% of what they would have gotten at their full retirement age, probably 67. Okay? You need to know that.
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