Your Top 5 Social Security Questions of the Year

Social Security benefits are crucial to the finances of most retirees, with some seniors relying on benefits for at least 90% of their income.

At the same time, determining when to claim Social Security benefits is one of the most complicated retirement decisions.

That’s why we started our “Social Security Q&A” series, which brings you expert answers to Social Security questions.

The answers come from Russ Settle and Jeff Miller, economists and founding partners of Social Security Choices. The questions come from Money Talks News readers like you.

Today, we’re looking back at the most popular Social Security questions of 2020. Following are the most-read stories from our “Social Security Q&A” series last year:

1. “Can a Divorced Widow Claim Her First Husband’s Social Security Benefits?“
2. “If My Spouse Dies, Can I Get Her Social Security?“
3. “Will I Get My Ex-Husband’s Social Security When He Dies?“
4. “Am I Eligible for My Mother’s Social Security Benefit?“
5. “Why Is My Pension Killing My Social Security Benefit?“

To read the answer to any of these questions, just click on the link.

Got a Social Security question of your own?

As you might have noticed from the above list, we receive a lot of questions pertaining to spouses and ex-spouses — claiming Social Security tends to be more complex for married and divorced folks. But we welcome all types of questions regarding Social Security retirement benefits.

You can submit a question for our “Social Security Q&A” series for free. Just hit “reply” to the Money Talks News newsletter and email us with your question. If you don’t already receive our newsletter, you can sign up for free, too: Click here, and the sign-up box will pop up.

We publish answers a couple of times each month, and you can find all past answers on our “Social Security Q&A” webpage.

Need more Social Security help?

Social Security Choices is devoted to helping folks determine the best time to claim Social Security benefits.

The company can provide you with a personalized analysis of various claiming strategies. As its website explains:

“We created specialized software that allows us to offer you detailed quantitative information about the financial advantages or disadvantages of claiming your Social Security benefits at various ages. What is more, the information we provide you takes into account your specific circumstances.”

You can learn more — including how to get a discount on your personalized analysis — by checking out “A Simple Way to Maximize Your Social Security.”