Mike McCafferty's Estate Planning Blog

Will My Social Security Benefits Be Taxed?

Money Talks News’ recent article entitled “These 13 States Tax Social Security Income” says the federal government can tax plenty of types of retirement income — including Social Security benefits.

The taxation doesn’t necessarily stop with the federal government because there are a number of state governments that also expect a cut from your Social Security income. In fact, there are 13 states that tax Social Security benefits:

• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Kansas
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Rhode Island
• Utah
• Vermont
• West Virginia

Whether your Social Security retirement benefits are subject to federal income taxes is determined by your tax filing status and what the U.S. Social Security Administration calls your “combined income.” This is your wages and self-employment income, interest and dividends and other taxable income. If your benefits are subject to federal taxes, the federal government will tax up to 85% of your benefits.

States that tax Social Security benefits do so according to their own rules, which can vary from state to state and differ from the federal tax code. Therefore, even if your benefits aren’t subject to federal taxes, they could still be subject to state income taxes — or vice versa. It depends on how a state taxes income and whether it offers any tax breaks that apply to Social Security income.

For example, Connecticut offers some residents a full exemption from state income tax for benefits. These residents pay no taxes on Social Security income, if one of the following situations applies: (i) their federal filing status is single or married filing separately, and their federal adjusted gross income is less than $50,000; or (ii) their federal filing status is married filing jointly, head of household or qualifying widow/widower and their federal adjusted gross income is less than $60,000.

For more information visit my Wichita Estate planning Attorney website. 

Reference: Money Talks News (Sep. 22, 2021) “These 13 States Tax Social Security Income”

No End to the Social Security Scams

Someone calls from the Social Security Administration and asks you for your Social Security number, bank account numbers and birthday date. What should you do? Hang up, according to KKTV’s report “Social Security officials hope to combat scam.”  The administration reports that scammers have become more aggressive. A frightening tone has gotten more than one otherwise sensible person embroiled in the mess.

In addition to the aggressive angry voice, is the fact that the caller ID has been “spoofed” or made to appear that the person is actually calling from the Social Security Administration or another government agency.

Nancy Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, advises people to be very cautious and not to provide anyone with information like their Social Security number or bank account information to unknown people, either on the phone or over the Internet.

The SSA has launched a public service campaign warning about these calls, in the hope that consumers will realize that the SSA never makes threatening phone calls and never asks for gift cards in payment. The campaign is being run in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General.

The scamming calls are nationwide. The message is clear: if you get this kind of a phone call, hang up.

While the SSA does occasionally call people, it’s usually someone who is working with the agency on an on-going matter, so that the call and the agent making the call is not a stranger.

Berryhill advises people that if they are contacted by someone claiming to be from the Social Security Administration or the Office of the Inspector General, they should get the person’s name, their phone number and then hang up. If the same person calls again, hang up. It is more than likely to be a thief.

Contact the local Social Security office and find out if a call has been made to you. Never provide a caller with your Social Security number.

Some of the crooks are able to get information about people, including part of their Social Security numbers. They call stating that they are asking only to verify the entire Social Security number.

For more information visit my Wichita KS Estate Planning Attorney website

Reference: KKTV (March 22, 2019) “Social Security officials hope to combat scam”

Social Security Scams Evolve Despite Growing Awareness

Security experts are predicting that Social Security phone scams are going to multiply and get worse, according to the article “Don’t Fall For These New Social Security Phone Scams” from Forbes. The Social Security phone scam is the most common phone scam in 2019, with a 23-fold rise in frequencies. A study by BeenVerified says that Social Security numbers accounted for 10% of all fraudulent calls. The FTC says that Social Security scams cost Americans $19 million in 2018.

How are they getting away with it? Scammers know that their potential victims are screening calls, so they’ve shifted their tactics. They’re leaving official sounding voicemails, with a phone number that looks like it just might be legitimate. The area code will appear to be from Washington, D.C. However, the numbers are not even from the United States.

Here are the worst offenders:

“Your Social Security number has been suspended.” A dire sounding threat, especially to seniors who count on their Social Security benefits. The caller says there has been fraudulent or criminal activity and the only way to resolve the problem is to call back. It’s not real. The Social Security Administration does not suspend, block or freeze numbers.

“Your Social Security number has been compromised.” This is a smart scam, as everyone is worried about data breaches. The automated call requests that you enter your Social Security number to verify that it has not been breached, and may also ask you to provide details, like a bank account number. Follow these instructions, and you’ve given your Social Security number to thieves. The SSA does not make these types of calls and would never ask for confirmation of your number by phone.

“A federal case has been brought against your Social Security number.” Seniors are especially vulnerable to the idea that a lawsuit is pending against them. However, the SSA or the government does not alert people to lawsuits by phone.

“You must send money to dismiss the case against you.” The government does not request payment by gift cards. If you really owe the government money, you’ll receive an official tax notice from the IRS.

Scammers are getting more sophisticated and more brazen. Don’t become a victim.

For more information visit my Wichita KS Estate Planning Attorney website 

Reference: Forbes (Nov. 24, 2019) “Don’t Fall For These New Social Security Phone Scams”

 

Enjoy Being on Hold? Call Social Security

For many years, if you wanted to get an answer from the Social Security Administration you had to have a lot of patience but that problem is likely to have some relief, according to The New York Times in “Have a Social Security Question? Please Hold.”

Part of the problem in recent years, has been an eight-year reduction in the agency’s operating budget. Congress has reduced the agency’s budget 9% in inflation-adjusted terms since 2010. This is happening at the same time that the number of Americans receiving benefits from Social Security is on the rise—by 17%, according to Social Security Administration data.

The good news is that the agency’s budget is now increasing, and it hopes to start decreasing the backlogs. It is hard at work modernizing the agency’s use of technology, addressing customer service needs and enhancing online options for the public.

Congress finally started to reverse the downward funding trend in March. Lawmakers ignored the administration’s request for a small increase in fiscal 2018 and instead, raised the administrative budget by 4.6%—$480 million. In September, Congress ignored the administration’s request for a $400 million cut and instead, gave Social Security a $40 million increase.

That means that in fiscal 2019, the agency’s operating budget will be $11.1 billion.

This government agency touches the lives of millions of Americans and its ability to function efficiently is extremely important to people of all ages. In fiscal 2019, the Social Security Administration projects payments of $1.1 trillion to about 69 million recipients of disability benefits, Supplemental Security, Income and Social Security retirement benefits.

As for calls from Americans with questions, Social Security reports that it will serve about 43 million visitors at the remaining field offices and handle as many as 75 million calls to the toll-free telephone line.

As the nation ages, those numbers are only going to increase. Over the coming decades, the agency expects the number of beneficiaries to soar by 45%.

The backlog in appeals cases for Social Security Disability Insurance has grown in the years that the agency’s budget was being cut. The average time to wait for a hearing decision on an appeal in fiscal 2018 was 591 days. That was 39% longer than in 2010, although a slight decrease from 2017.

For more information visit my Wichita KS Estate Planning Attorney website 

Reference: The New York Times (Nov. 21, 2018) “Have a Social Security Question? Please Hold”

Thousands of Social Security Recipients Owe for Medicare Premiums

Errors at the Social Security Administration means that thousands still owe for Medicare, according to NPR in “Social Security Error Jeopardizes Medicare Coverage for 250,000 Seniors” The problem applies to private drug policies and Medicare Advantage plans that provide medical and drug coverage and are substitutes for traditional government-run Medicare.

Some people will need to find the money to pay the plans, while others may have their plans cancelled and need to fight to have them reinstated.

Both Medicare and Social Security expect proper deductions and payments to resume either this month or next. Insurers are required to send bills directly to members for unpaid premiums, says Medicare.

Neither Medicare nor Social Security would explain how or why the error occurred or provide the specific names of the plans that were shortchanged. They also didn’t give the amount that the plans were owed. There is a notice to Medicare’s beneficiaries on the website, but it is lacking in detail. The House Ways and Means Chair, Rep. Neal, hasn’t received any response from either agency.

Organizations that represent seniors are getting some questions from their members. Two women in Louisiana lost drug coverage, after their policies were canceled as a direct result of the error. A woman in Ohio was reinstated in fewer than 48 hours after the state’s insurance information program for seniors got involved.

Some people may not have noticed that their Social Security checks did not include a deduction for their Medicaid Advantage or drug plan premiums. They may have thought the extra amount was an expected cost-of-living increase.

Medicare beneficiaries have had the option of paying premiums through a deduction from their Social Security benefit checks for more than a decade, or they can pay directly through a credit card or a checking account instead of from their Social Security benefits.

Insurance companies must allow members at least two months from the billing date to pay. They must also offer a payment plan for those who can’t pay several months of premiums at once.

The acting director for the Medicare Plan Payment Group warned companies that they must take these steps to avoid invoking their policy of dis-enrollment, if the member fails to pay premium while the member is adhering to the payment plan.

For more information visit my Wichita KS Estate Planning Attorney website 

Reference: NPR (June 6, 2019) “Social Security Error Jeopardizes Medicare Coverage for 250,000 Seniors”