Hosts: Denise Kovach, CFP®, AIF® and Nancy Hecht, CFP®, AIF®
It is an Ask the Expert Saturday morning on WDBO. Good to have you along with us. This is On the Money, brought to you by Orlando’s oldest and largest independent firm. Financial planning firm. Financial planning professionals.
Denise, right?
Good morning to you. We’re live in the studio. This is WDBO on John <Inaudible> Parkway. We’re happy that you’re with us on this beautiful Saturday morning, as well. With us, you just heard her voice. Denise Kovach. She’s one of the certified financial planning professionals, along with, today, Nancy Hecht is back in the studio, author of the Hecht Effect and A Man is Not a Plan.
Good morning.
How are you?
I’m doing good.
It’s so nice to see you both. Denise, in case anybody may be new to this program, what will you take calls about?
We’re going to take calls about your financial concerns, perhaps retirement planning, long-term care planning, Social Security planning. What that involves is maybe insurance, maybe annuities, mutual funds, stocks, bonds. Nancy, help me out here.
I think those and some estate planning concerns that people might have. They’re out there and if you have questions, give us a call.
At the number 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. If you want to talk about your 401(k) or IRAs or rollovers or long-term healthcare, anything financial, as Denise said, we’ll be happy to help you out this morning. Also, you could text us from your mobile device. That texting number is 212-32.
Isn’t that amazing how that happens?
I memorized that. That’s easy to memorize. 212-32.
Yep.
And you could also — hey, if you’re so inclined and you want your voice to be on the program asking a question as well, you could use the open mic, and the open mic is found on the News 96.5 app. It’s good to have you with us. Today, we’re going to talk about, among other things, mid-year tax check-ups. A few things to consider. And we’re going to talk about Social Security scams, and how we are all at risk. Speaking of Social Security, aren’t you the two that put on the Social Security workshops, the boot camps?
It is. We are. And it’s coming up. October 20th. And it’s in our offices from 6:00 until 7:30.
We get so many questions about Social Security. By the way, if you have a question about Social Security, we’ve got the experts this morning, because you guys run — every month, you put on this boot camp for people who are getting nearer and nearer.
Every quarter, yep.
We did it monthly there for a while because the regulations were changing and we had an expiration date of May 1st. I really, as did Nancy, try to educate people prior to that expiration of strategy. Now back to quarterly.
I’m getting close —
Yeah?
To retirement age.
You getting excited? Yeah, I’m 49 and — I’m kidding, no.
And buying a lottery ticket.
Is it by coincidence that I seem to be getting a lot more correspondence via e-mail and in snail mail about how I should start getting my ducks in a row for retirement?
It’s going to happen. It’s going to happen.
Part of it is the time of year. September is when people get back to school, done with summer vacation, starting to pay attention to life again. We also, at our home, are getting a number of invitations to different Social Security luncheons and dinners at some really nice restaurants.
I’ve never heard of these people, though. I don’t know these people.
And some of these people, I’ve never heard of either. Kirk asked me earlier, who are these people who are sending out these invitations and so forth? Are any of the names familiar to you?
Yes, the ones that I got are people that you hear on another station.
They’re <Inaudible>.
Yeah, dinner.
<Inaudible> Social Security — your workshops basically at the Certified Financial Group are quite different than anybody else’s, I’ve got to say. You put on something where you tell people to leave their checkbooks at home; you’re not trying to sell them anything.
We’re trying to educate people because there are still some strategies remaining that may be truly beneficial for you, and you need to look into them prior to making a decision or whether or not to start taking your Social Security.
And it’s a great way to introduce yourself to folks like me, who are nearing the age.
Well, yeah, that is the ultimate end game, too, is to be able to provide some really good, solid information and get a look at who we are and where we’re located and that we’re real people with real offices, and hopefully, when it comes time for help with Social Security planning and retirement planning, they’ll remember us.
Check this out. I’m reading from your website here. Social Security provides critical benefits to more than 50M people a year, almost 117M workers contribute a chunk of their paycheck to the tune of $900B annually to keep those benefits flowing. You’d think with all the people and money involved that we all understand exactly how the program works, but no.
No, people get on our website and you can read about the seven myths that this article is all about. And it includes, as Nancy and I talk about in our workshop, that people think Social Security is going to be broke one day. It is not going to be broke.
<Inaudible>. There’s a report that I read saying that 2017 is when it’s going to be broke, and that’s the first time I heard that number. So it’s all — it’s scare tactics to try and get you into people’s seminars. One thing I noticed, new, I went on SSA.gov, which is a great website, just to look at where my benefits are, and I never noticed before, but they now have what you have cumulatively paid into Social Security.
That figure, was that an eye-opener for you?
Yes it was. It was a lot of money. And I know that I plan on working at least 15 more years, so it’s going to be a lot more.
Well, while we’re on that subject, about an account at SSA.gov, there’s some Social Security scams going on out there, and all this <Inaudible> and I want to talk about this one, if I can, right now, since we’re on the subject. Hackers are actually setting up accounts on SSA.gov in the names of benefit recipients and those eligible to receive them who have not yet filed, right? And they were actually routing the benefits to the scammer’s bank. They can do this, obviously, only if they have your Social Security number and your date of birth, but they have access to these figures from what? Because of other databases being hacked and so forth. And the biggest one is people filing their tax returns electronically.
Okay, so let me go back to this. And people, you heard Nancy right there. What you need to do is go to SSA.gov and establish your own account before somebody else does, and that will basically keep your —
Lock everybody out.
It will.
Keep your data.
And I had this conversation with somebody last week and recommended that he and his wife do the same thing. And I get an e-mail from him saying I tried to do that and somebody’s already out there with my account, what do I do?
Wow. Kudos for you.
And so obviously I asked him to contact the Social Security Administration and I haven’t heard back from him yet, but I’m going to be curious to know what’s going on with that.
Yeah, it would be really nice to know what the procedure is that they use to correct that situation.
Absolutely.
So that would be something we can share in the future.
Yeah.
Let me give you the number again. It’s 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. If you’d like to talk with Denise Kovach and Nancy Hecht from the Certified Financial Group real quickly. It’s 9:15, quarter past the hour. Want to remind you that Dave Wahl is in the News Center with the big three stories coming up here in under five minutes from now. You know what this weekend is don’t you? The 15th anniversary of 9/11.
Yeah.
Yes it is.
It’s a whole other generation. I heard Joe Kelly on Orlando’s Morning News yesterday talking about there’s a whole generation that was born that don’t know really much about it. They know what they read.
History as opposed to reality, yeah.
It was heavy reality back then for me.
Yeah, yeah. I know exactly what I was doing.
Okay. 9:15, coming up on 9:16 on WDBO. Speaking of Social Security, here’s one of those <Inaudible> I wanted to run by you. You don’t have to pay taxes on Social Security benefits do you?
Well, that depends. If you make too much money, which is a good problem to have, then up to 85% of your benefits could be taxable. So, yeah, you may have to pay taxes on your Social Security benefits.
You don’t have to pay state taxes or anything like that in Florida do you?
Not in Florida.
I know there’s a few other states.
Absolutely there are. I think Connecticut is one of them, Maine.
Colorado is one.
Yeah, they’re out there.
And how about due to Social Security shortfalls, you won’t get back the dollars you contributed to the system. You’re going to get, let’s say, a percentage of what you put in.
Well, that depends also, on your life expectancy, right?
Yes. That’s in this as well.
Well, Nancy, you were here last week and you were talking about how much money you’ve actually put into the system.
Yeah, it was over $240,000 so far.
So, what are the chances that you’ll see that entire amount of money?
Depends on how long I live.
There you go.
And when I start taking it. And I don’t plan on taking it before age 70.
Which you’re only 35 right now, right? So you’ve got a ways to go.
Yes, I do.
Wow.
Alright, here’s the number again. Hey, we’re light on calls today, so if you’d like to talk with Nancy or Denise, call us right now. 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. Is that the topic that most people who come in to the complementary consultations that you offer?
That’s not the topic. It’s one of them, it’s one of them. But people want to know if they can retire. Are they doing all the right things in order to have a successful retirement at the end of the day?
Can they retire at the age that they want to, and are they going to run out of money? That’s the big one.
I have a couple of clients right now. It’s like I’ve got this phone call — I’m getting several phone calls from one of them. He’s like I can’t do this anymore as far as his work. I need to know, can I retire. So we ran the numbers, six months goes by and he’s still working. I can’t do this anymore. So he calls me back and nothing’s really changed. People, they get to the edge of that cliff and they’re like, it’s hard to jump off sometimes.
You get used to — if you’re a regular employee as opposed to someone who <Inaudible> like us, you get used to the regular pay and benefits.
Absolutely.
And a lot of people are contributing to their 401(k)s or 403(b), and then there’s matching that you’re used to. So yeah, it’s really hard to hang it up. And another thing that is a problem for a lot of people when facing retirement is what are you going to do with the time. If somebody says to me, I don’t know what I’m going to do, I say to them, then you have no business retiring.
Absolutely.
And plus, when you do retire, healthcare benefits and insurance premiums, they’re huge.
Yes, yes they are.
Outside of a group insurance environment, that’s going to be a huge expense. And a lot of people think that they’ll just go on Medicare and then you have nothing to worry about as far as health insurance expenses. But that is absolutely not it.
Absolutely. You’ve got Part B, which starts at 105. You’ve got Part C, which is up to $300 a month or more. You’ve got Part D, which is $50 a month. That’s almost $6,000 a year right there. What about the added expenses for, okay, your out-of-pocket expenses that insurance doesn’t cover.
Health insurance does not go away. Health expenses generally increase. And when I do plans, people say, well, why are you keeping that expense in there. Because it will inflate. And I keep it in there because, one way or another, it is going to be something that people are going to have to spend money on in retirement.
And that’s smart. You run a conservative plan, which is healthy. So at the end of the day, hopefully that money’s still going to be there.
Yeah.
The one thing that does tend to go away in age is your health. It doesn’t have to, but it tends to.
I’m seeing it with my parents right now.
Oh, yeah.
Huge way.
When we come back from the break, we have Jay on the line. Jay wants to talk about Social Security. Jay, you hang on. You’ll be the first caller when we come back. We’ll take some more calls at that 844-220-0965 or text us at 212-32. Again, Denise Kovach and Nancy Hecht are in the studio for your phone call this morning, so let’s put them to work, shall we?
I don’t know, don’t ask.
Don’t ask.
It’s an Ask the Expert Saturday morning on WDBO.
<Inaudible> moments like that. It might have been maybe five seconds or 10 seconds but it felt like an hour.
Yeah.
Because it’s just dead air.
My mistake. Sorry there. I had an issue I had to deal with immediately. It’s an Ask the Expert Saturday morning, as I said, and this is On the Money from the Certified Financial Group in Altamont Springs. We have an open line for you if you want to talk about anything, pocketbook issue you have on your mind. Your 401(k), IRAs, rollovers, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, long-term healthcare, real estate, you name it, anything financial. 844-220-0965. You could talk to Denise Kovach or Nancy Hecht, or both, like Jay. Good morning, Jay.
Morning.
Hi, Jay.
Hi, Jay.
Hi. It’s an honor to talk to you guys.
Thank you so much. What can we do for you?
You’re welcome. I had a confusing question. I believe I could say that. Suppose someone is born in <Inaudible> 1952. When would he be eligible for Medicare?
Medicare?
Is it three months before December of 2016 or three months before December 2017?
You will want to file for Medicare three months or so before your 65th birthday.
How many months before?
You can file three months prior to your 65th birthday.
Would it be December of 2016 or 2017? When would be the 65th birthday? How would you count that?
What is 2016 minus 1952?
1952, 2016 would be — you’ll complete 64 and go over to 65. So is it when you reach 65 or when you complete 65?
Complete. When you complete 65. So three months prior to your 65th birthday, you can file for benefits to be —
Right.
To have them at your age 65. Not in the year in which you turn 65, but when you actually turn 65. Okay?
Okay, that was a confusing one <Inaudible>. Thanks.
Happy <Inaudible> birthday.
I had to pull out a calculator.
I know. I used to be able to do so much math in my head, and I cannot anymore.
You know why, there’s just too much space in between your ears.
Well, you’re <Inaudible>. When I was younger, I worked at a movie theatre in the concession stand and there was no cash registers, so all the math had to be done by head. I was phenomenal at doing math in my head. Since I’ve come to rely on a calculator, forget it.
I know, you need your toes and your fingers and your neighbor’s toes and fingers to be able to count things, right?
Yep.
Just get lazy like me. Alright, we’re coming up on news time. I’ve got Gary on the line here. Gary, I’m going to ask you to hold on. Gary has a very, very interesting question about what happens to real estate if the person has to go into an institution, maybe assisted living to something like that. So hold on, Gary, and I’ll be right with you and we’ll take your call. But you can join us as well. The number’s 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. I have a couple of texts to get to, as well. You can text us at 212-32.
It’s an Ask the Expert Saturday morning on WDBO and this is On the Money brought to you by the Certified Financial Group. In the studio with us, Nancy Hecht and Denise Kovach. Both are certified financial planning professionals. Hey, Nancy, want to see something really cool?
What if I said no?
Well, you’ve got to see it. You know this song here by Carlos Santana?
Yeah.
If you go to the WDBO website and do a search for the name Lorenzo, you will see a horse dancing to that song.
Oh, I think I’ve seen that.
Did you see that?
I think I have seen that.
It’s so cool.
It’s like I just <Inaudible> horse.
Yeah.
It’s the most amazing training of a horse you’ll ever see, and it’s on our website. If you like that song, too —
It’s a win/win right?
Yeah.
It’s a double win. Go to the website, wdbo.com or news965.com and do a search on there for Lorenzo, and it will pop up. The horse is named Lorenzo. He was at the Olympics. That’s really cool.
Wow.
Alright, in the studio with us, Denise Kovach and Nancy Hecht from the Certified Financial Group. Nancy, what are you taking calls about this morning?
A lot of pocketbook questions, retirement planning, estate planning, taxes, long-term care, education <?> Educational planning, how to invest your money, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds.
Social Security.
Social Security, when can I retire. Any of the financial questions that are just keeping you awake at night. We’re here to help you with.
Give us a call.
Here’s the number: 844-220-0965. Kind of light on the calls this morning. Everybody’s outside enjoying this spectacular Saturday morning.
It’s beautiful out there.
Look, look, look, look.
Let’s shut down and go outside. Come on.
Can we?
<Inaudible> about 20 minutes, yeah.
844-220-0965, or text us at 212-32. We’ll get to the texts in a second, but Nancy, you took a call during the break from a gentleman who has an elderly mother, I believe, and he wanted to know something about what happens to the house if she has to go into —
Right, right. Gary called in. His son is 40. Lives with his mother, Gary’s ex-wife, who’s 63, and sadly has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. And she’s starting to have some physical problems from it and has recently been hospitalized. Gary’s pretty sure that the house is in the ex-wife’s name alone and contended that it should be put in joint with the son or deeded over to the son or something along those lines. But here’s the wrinkle. They live in Pennsylvania. So whatever I know, or whatever rules we know for the state of Florida, do not necessarily apply for the state of Pennsylvania. The best advice I could give Gary was that his son needs to find a qualified elder attorney in Pennsylvania. This is something — you’ve all listened to the saga of my father-in-law over the years and his passing and everything that my husband’s had to do with the state of New Jersey. A lot of us have family members that do not live in Florida, and we end up being responsible for them. So you have to figure out who is a trustworthy, qualified person that can give you some good advice for a decent price where your parents live, because it does not matter what the state of Florida says. It’s where they reside. That was my advice to Gary is his son needs to find a good attorney in Pennsylvania.
If you’d like to ask Nancy a question, along with Denise, here’s the number, 844-220-0965. This is Margaret in Leesburg. Good morning, Margaret.
Good morning.
Hey there. What’s your question?
Because of my 90th birthday, I have to draw out an annuity. That money is supposed to be my nursing home money when necessary. Number one, is it taxable when I move it?
Margaret, yes, when you start withdrawing monies from an annuity — first of all, is it an IRA or —
No, it’s just an annuity.
Okay. Any — it’s last in, first out. So meaning any of the earnings that you take out, you take a withdrawal, they’re going to be taking these earnings out first. All of the earnings on that account will be taxed at ordinary income tax rates, so yes.
Okay. If I choose to take the cash value on life insurance, is that taxable?
If you take it out as a loan? Is that what you’re asking?
No, just cash it out.
Just withdraw it.
It depends. That’s going to be a question for the insurance company, as it’s specifically related to your policy, because it depends on the premiums paid versus the cash value so that would be something you would want to ask them so you could ensure that you won’t pay taxes on that.
Okay.
Okay, and congrats on the 90th birthday.
Happy belated birthday.
Happy birthday, Margaret.
Thanks, but no thanks.
You sound spry; you sound like you’re about 60.
Thank you.
God love you. Have a great day, Margaret, a beautiful day. Isn’t that nice?
Yeah.
90, she’s got it together there, huh?
Yes, she does.
This is Robert in Orlando. Good morning, Robert.
Good morning everyone. How are you all doing?
Great.
Good, good.
Wonderful, wonderful. I was just dropping off my second child off this morning to take her ACT test for college.
Uh oh.
And I heard you on the radio. And I thought maybe you can help me with a question I have. I’m 50 and got married in ’92. Was working up to that point, got married in ’92 and we had children right away, some with medical problems and so we had to make a decision and it ended up being me staying home with the kids because my wife had health insurance through her job. And so the last time I paid into Social Security was in ’92. I got that Social Security that they sent out in the mail. I got one back in 2008, 2009. And it said I do not have enough — I’ve got 36 credits. Don’t have enough credits to receive Social Security. So, I’m 50 now and thought, I wonder if I should open up a small business of some kind, put some money in there, draw a salary and pay into Social Security, the self-employment and all that kind of stuff. Pay into it to get enough credits so I can start drawing that at whatever age I’m allowed to draw it or how does it work? Does it not work that way? Even if I start paying it now — I don’t know how the whole system works. Hoping you can help me.
Absolutely, Robert. Yes. If you start working and you start paying into the system again, you need four more credits. You need a total of 40 credits to receive benefits. So that would be a way to do it. Keep in mind that your benefit will be calculated on your highest 35 years of earnings. And if you don’t have 35 years of earnings, for those years in which you don’t, they’re going to use zeros in order to calculate your benefit.
Got you, okay. So they’re going to take 35 — I’ve heard rumors that they take the last five years, that they take the five highest years. It’s hard to get definitive information out there, so it is based on 35 years of earnings. And that’s a calculation that’s averaged out for you over that 35-year period.
And chances are good the spousal off of your wife’s is going to give you more than your own personal benefit, but yeah, you want to get in those four credits so you’re <Inaudible> pulling from Social Security.
Right. Got you. And I know my wife says that she’s been working for the same company for 28 years, so she’s paid in a lot. But from what I understand, she’ll — if I get enough credits, she’ll draw Social Security and I will as well. But at the same time, as long as we’re both alive, but if she passes away, then if her’s is higher, I can get that, but it’s only half of what it was, correct?
No.
The survivor benefit — you will step into a survivor benefit, whatever that benefit was.
Spousal benefits are a different story. That is 50%.
Oh, okay. Got you. So when they mean survivor benefit versus spousal benefit, what’s that mean because we’re husband and wife, so she’d be my spouse.
Say her own personal benefit is $3,000 a month. Your spousal benefit would be 1,500. Your wife predeceases you, you step up into the survivor benefit, which is the 3,000.
Oh, you do. Okay. So then if she’s got 3,000 a month and I get enough credits, and let’s say I’m getting 1,000 a month, and she passes away, then I would step up to that 3,000 and I would lose the 1,000 a month correct?
Correct.
I can’t get both. Okay.
But you don’t need credit to get the survivor or the spousal, because you’re collecting on their benefits. You need credits to get your own.
To get your own. So that’s the only thing I’m looking at is if I want to try to get my own, based on not having any work since we had kids in ’92 and my almost is 19 down to 12. Whew, with home schooling, it doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to get out and do anything. But that’s why we just wondered, do I take $50,000 or $60,000, put it in an account, open a business, and pay in a bunch for the next 10 years to get my credits. But it may not be worth it, then, possibly.
If you’re going to take your spousal benefit and/or have an option to step into a survivor benefit, and that’s greater, then it might not make sense for you.
Right.
<Inaudible> back out there and get going again.
Oh, well, I would love that, but priority is family.
I got you. And you are doing the toughest job that there is.
<Inaudible>.
No, I’ve heard people say that, but no, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Trajectories changed only in life, but that’s okay. We are really blessed and happy where we’re at.
Good for you.
But people like me, when my daughter was younger, I appreciated people like you, like my girlfriend, who wanted to be a stay-at-home and then took in my daughter. And so her daughter and my daughter grew up together, but it gave me the opportunity to continue working and her the opportunity to stay at home and do what you’re doing.
Right, right.
So people like me really appreciate people like you.
Sounds like you love it, Robert.
I do. I really do. It’s a good thing. And because of it — like I said, we’ve got health and that’s why my wife — she wanted to be the stay-at-home mom, but I was always self-employed, my entire life. Didn’t have health insurance except through what I had to pay for myself when we got married. She’s been working at the corporate — she had the health insurance. First kid came along pretty quick and from that moment on, we were pretty much locked into her having to work because of the health insurance. We couldn’t go — with five kids and three of them have some major medical stuff, you just can’t lose health insurance.
Well, you know what, everybody is Orlando is sending you good vibes today. Actually, good vibes to your daughter. Hopefully she’ll do so well on that ACT that she’ll get a scholarship or something.
Yeah, well, that’s what that Florida Bright Futures — that’s the one. My son got it. He got the ACT, got a score high enough, and got the Florida Bright Futures, which is a great scholarship.
There it is.
It’s based on academics. And it’s good. As kids perform, if they just go on, get their GPA, and do their tests, and take it multiple times — don’t take it just once. If anybody’s listening, school counselors might tell your kids don’t take it more than twice because you won’t improve but that’s — when I was in band, the band director said, after the second practice, he said do it again because the more you practice, the better you get. And my son took the ACT, I think, eight times. Finally got his score high enough to get that Bright Futures scholarship. It makes a difference.
Well, thank you for your call Robert.
Excellent call.
Great. Thank you all. Appreciate your information.
Thank you, Robert. Have a great day to you. Number’s 844-220-0965. I’ve got Don in Alberdale, who wants to talk about Social Security. Don, I’m going to ask you to hang on because I don’t want to cut you off in the middle to go to the News Center with Dave Wahl, whom we have to see here in about a minute or so. But real quickly, here’s a text for you. We received a $70,000 inheritance recently and would like your advice on how to invest this. We are a married couple, 60 years old, would like to know what the safest investment would be. We are self-employed and have some cash in the bank for emergency, but no retirement from an employer to look forward to. Is buying a rental home a good investment? We are debt-free.
Well, that depends. It depends on the whole situation of where you’re buying it, are you going to rent it out — obviously, if it’s a rental home, you’re going to rent it out. Do you want to manage that property? There’s a lot to that and it could make sense in your situation, but I would say establish an employer retirement account, such as a SEP or a SIMPLE or perhaps a 401(k), and begin making pre-tax contributions to a retirement account.
Right, right. I mean, that’s my first thought. Rental property is nice, but you have to plan for your retirement. And there’s a lot of options available for self-employed people.
Absolutely. It depends if you have employees or is it strictly a husband and wife <Inaudible>. I would say feel free to give us a call, 407-869-9800, or go to our website, financialgroup.com, and click on the request for a complementary consultation.
That’s probably a good idea.
Actually, click on Denise’s picture and request a consultation with Denise.
Yep. And then come in, we’ll meet.
Denise is —
Let me wrap my arms around the situation and —
Denise is the young looking one there, Nancy. She’s the baby of the group.
Thank you, you’re very kind. I’m not as baby as you think I am.
Denise Kovach.
You are younger than me.
Yeah, I’ve got to talk to you during the break about your trip out west on the motorcycles.
I know. We had a good time.
You gave up the soft tail and you got yourself a touring bike.
I’ve got a CVO Streetglide now.
Oh, death.
<Inaudible>.
2,500 miles — over 2,500 miles, six days — eight days.
How do you bike <Inaudible>. What about your old <Inaudible>? What’s he riding now?
He’s got a Roadglide, so he’s got a touring bike, too. You asked me if my backside hurts because of the 2,500 miles. The bike was good to me.
Hang on. We’ll come back and talk to Don and Yvette and we’ll take your call as well. It’s 844-220-0965.
This is News 96.5, WDBO.
Alright, let’s get to it. If you’re on hold and we’ve reached the end of the program, don’t worry about it. You’ll get a private consult off the air. Let’s stand by. Got a text here. I was born in 1959. Due to new changes to retirement age, it will affect my plans to retire at the age of 65.
Full retirement for those of us born in 1959 is —
67.
66 and 10 months.
So, you must be born in 1959.
Yes.
Well, I’m a couple years younger than you and it’s actually 67.
Well, for me it’s 66 and 10 months.
66 and 10 months.
So any time prior to age 66 and 10 months, you’re taking a cut in your Social Security.
And here’s an important text to share with you: Westbound 417 at 408 ramps, the right lane is blocked by an accident. Thank you very much for sharing that with us. Don, in Alberdale, go ahead, sir.
Thank you for holding on for so long, Don.
Okay, my question is: My wife and I are both on Social Security. When we married, they took $145 a month away from her. She was only drawing $303 a month. I want to know why.
It sounds, Don — what age was your wife when she began her benefit?
She was 62.
That’s why. Because when you don’t wait until full retirement age, at age 62, you’re taking a 25% reduction in your benefit. That’s why.
So when we married, she loses $145.
Not because you married, because she started taking her Social Security benefits prior to full retirement age.
No, no. No, no, no. She was drawing $303 a month. That was what she was drawing for years. We married and they took $145 away from that $303.
The only thing I can imagine is the income testing and then pay back for Social Security, yeah, for taxes, because she was under full retirement age.
The only thing we can think of, Don, is perhaps maybe taxes increased, maybe as the $303 that she was getting, based on if you were getting pensions or income from other areas, it’s all being under full retirement age. And the income alone system, the taxes are different than if you’re at full retirement age and drawing.
Okay. I’m going to ask Yvette in Claremont to hang on; Yvette, you’re going to get a private consultation after the program is over. But in the minute we have left, I wanted to give you a chance to give out the telephone number if somebody wanted to contact you, Denise or Nancy, during the week and maybe arrange one of those private consultations. How do they do that?
You can call 407-869-9800, or 1-800-EXECUTE. And another option is to get online, financialgroup.com, and you can schedule an appointment consult or at least request one, and one of the planners will call you back and get it scheduled. Or sign up for the Social Security boot camp, which is October 20th, from 6:00 to 7:30, or When Can You Retire, Know Your Number, October 25th, hosted by Gary Abley from 6:00 to 8:00.
And one last text quickly, how much Social Security paid to illegals annually? I don’t have a number on that.
Don’t know.
Do a Google.
No clue.
I think the answer will pop up too much. Alright, stick around, Dave Wahl is next