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family maximum

What Makes Up the Family Maximum Benefit?

Knowing the items that are counted toward the FMB is important, especially if you have several auxiliary benefits being paid on your SS record.

Social Security Bend Points for 2015

Along with the increases to the maximum wage base and the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) announced by the Social Security Administration, the 2015 bend points used to calculate both the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) for Social Security benefits were announced as well. In addition, the Family Maximum Benefit (FMax) bend points for 2015 were also announced.

8 Questions: Social Security Survivor Benefits

In this previous article we addressed some of the most common questions about Social Security Spousal Benefits. Keeping with the theme of developing FAQ sheets, today I’ll go through some of the most common questions about Social Security Survivor Benefits. Survivor Benefits are available when a Social Security recipient passes away and leaves surviving dependents – spouse, children, and other dependent family members.

Family Maximum and File & Suspend

Note: with the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 into law, File & Suspend and Restricted Application have been effectively eliminated for anyone born in 1954 or later. If born before 1954 there are some options still available, but these are limited as well. Please see the article The Death of File & Suspend and Restricted Application for more details. I recently received the following email from a reader: I am 66 and my wife is 45, and our son is 12.  I intend to delay my filing for Social Security benefits until age 70 in order to provide the highest survivor benefit for my wife since I’m so much older than her.  But I also realize that my wife and son may be eligible for benefits now if I file and suspend.  According to my SSA statement my benefit now at age 66 is $2,576.  Since my […]