- Hey I'm Rebecca Gordon.
- I'm Sylvia Gordon
and we're going to talk about Social Security.
Why are we talking about Social Security?
- Because it's really important.
- So most agents
don't give a crap about Social Security.
They're like I don't
yeah like you.
- Me too.
- They're like I know enough, my brain is full.
- I know enough, my brain is full.
- So my goal for 2021,
is to try to increase our agent's knowledge
of Social Security
because it is a great service
that we can give our clients
because they don't know
and it's hard for them to get help, so...
- Stay tuned.
(intense rock music)
- So let's start with the..
- Oh, we're going in,
we're in alright, okay.
- Let's just talk about Social Security
cause y'all don't know about it, okay?
So....
- When can widows draw Social Security?
- Just ask me, just ask me
let me ask you a question.
How about this?
When can you get Social Security?
- I can get Social Security when I am
when I apply for Medicare Part B.
- See, that's what people used to think
and I wonder how many of you still feel that way.
- I'm assuming my answer is wrong.
- It's wrong.
(buzzer buzzing)
- So it used to be that you got
Social Security and Medicare
full Social Security and Medicare at age 65, okay?
Then they changed the Social Security age
because it's run out of money
so anybody born from 1960
on our full Social Security age is
67.
- Okay.
- Okay so we have to wait two more years
than our parents had to wait
and it goes up in two months increments
so the full Social Security this year is 66.
- Okay.
- So nobody is getting full Social Security
at 65 this year.
- 66.
- And that is the Full Retirement Age, FRA,
if you follow me on other social media platforms
from financial security.
So can you get early Social Security?
- Yes.
- You're disabled.
- Completely different program
and that is a good point.
There is SSDI
which is Social Security for disability.
There's a lot of
when we say Social Security
there's a lot of Social Security.
There's SSDI
which is Social Security for disabled people.
There's SSI, which is basically
just money for low income people.
- Okay income.
- There's retirement income,
which is what when we talk about Social Security.
- Right.
- There's also Social Security survivor benefits.
- Okay.
- For widows,
- Okay.
- Widowers and for minor children, okay?
So when we talk about Social Securities
you can get benefits a lot of different ways.
Then with Medicare,
you get it because of your
you've worked at least 10 years
and you've paid into Medicare taxes
but you have to be at least 65 or...
- Older,
66.
- Or disabled.
- Which you had that first already.
You can't elect Medicare early.
You can't just say, you know what?
I'll take it early.
- Okay.
- I'll take a lesser Medicare.
You can do that with Social Security.
You can say my full retirement age is 67.
That's when I get my full benefit
but I'm gonna take it at 62.
You can do that
and the general...
- Take a little bit.
- Its a lesser bowl.
- Okay.
- So it's gonna be way less, right?
It's gonna be way less.
- Why would somebody do that?
- Because they need the money.
- Right.
- Right?
So I wanted to talk to you about
one of our close friends
that I'm thinking she needs to do that.
She needs to jump on that train.
In order to get Social Security and Medicare
you have to pay into the system.
So you, most people are aware
you have to work at least 40 quarters
which is about 10 years
that you paid in
you paid Medicare taxes.
Well, a lot of people don't pay Social Security
they don't pay into that system
so they don't qualify for Social Security.
- Why would they not pay into the system?
- Different government jobs don't have it
or they paid under the table
there's a whole bunch of ways.
So they didn't get 10 years.
So they...
- Exactly.
- Yeah, so they're like hurting
and we're always dealing with our clients
that are older, vulnerable
and they're really struggling financially
and they're coming to us for answers.
- So how would you help this friend?
Now I know who you're talking about.
How would you help them?
- First of all, go to www.ssa.gov
login, set up a free account for her
or your parents or whoever you're trying to help
and see where they stand with Social Security.
Social security is gonna
your payment amount is gonna be based on your
35 highest years of earnings.
So a lot of women.
- Right.
- I'm a stay at home mom
didn't pay in for years.
She was staying home and didn't pay in for years
but if you're married to somebody
for at least 10 years
and they paid in.
- That count.
- That count for her
cause they're still married.
They've been married longer than...
but did he pay in?
Did he pay in for at least 10 years?
I don't know.
- Oh.
- Right?
Cause she's gonna get her benefits off the spouse.
- Yeah this is gonna be tricky.
- So I don't know
and they're gonna look at 35 years.
So she might need to go to work
and get a job for a couple of years
so that she's gonna qualify
for Social Security on
yeah, okay?
So like all of this,
we all get these questions constantly.
Can I take Medicare early?
That's a easy one.
No, you can only get it early
if you qualify for disability
but you can take Social Security early
then they're like, well, should I?
And my general answer is always, no
don't take it unless you're sick
or you really need it.
- You're financially desperate.
- If you desperately need it take it.
Now there's other people that say, yes
there's financial advisors say
take it the first moment you get it
and invest it
and over the long run, blah, blah, blah
and other people say
it's all gonna run out of money anyway.
- Right.
- So get what you can
before the whole thing
- Right.
- Explodes.
but just I have like an average person
and a scenario I do at my classes
and at 62, they get $700 a month
at 63, they get 758.
So again, another $58 a month,
every month for the rest of their life
by waiting one year
but if you don't feel like you're gonna have a long life
go for the money.
- Lotta scenarios.
- So if she's already having health problems right now
go for the money.
If her health levels out
and she looks like she's gonna have a good life expectancy.
If she can wait just a couple of years
your benefit grows about 8% a year.
- So if you wait from...
- Oh wow.
- Instead of taking it at 62,
if you take it at your full retirement age,
- 8% a year?
- If you wait from 62
to your full retirement age of 66
you're gonna get like 24% more.
Now the golden goose
is if you wait til 70,
70, again you get another like another.
So I had somebody yesterday and they're like
I'm still making 160,000 a year
I'm still working, not on Medicare,
just good (indistinct)
and I haven't taken Social Security
cause I didn't need it.
What should I do now that I'm 70?
Everybody should know the answer to this
and that is take it.
There's zero benefit waiting past 70.
There's zero benefit.
- Buy that RV and travel.
- And there's also no tax burden.
So if you're working
while you're on Social Security
and I think in 2021
you can only make about $18,000.
So if you wanna take it early,
she wants to take it at 62.
She can't make over that
cause if she makes over 18,000
they start reducing her Social Security
for every $2, $1 reduced.
So like I said, this is.
- It's a puzzle.
- We gotta know.
- It is tough.
- Which is why I filed the CE Course
so we're gonna try to do a
and I wanna just try to put it out there.
If you guys can just grab onto one thing a week
that it's gonna make you a better agent
it's gonna make you
- Absolutely.
- A better resource for your clients.
So next week we'll go back to talking about Medicare
and I will quiz you
- Oh no, no.
- Next week
and if you guys have specific questions
please ask us in the comments.
Thanks for watching.
- Good selling.
(upbeat music)