10 Tricky Rules You Need to Know About Social Security

When it comes to America’s top social program, Social Security, there are two givens.

First of all, it’s important. Of the roughly 63 million Americans receiving a benefit today, more than a third count on their monthly payout to lift them out of poverty. Further, 62% of retired workers lean on their guaranteed monthly stipend to account for at least half of their income. According to an analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the elderly poverty rate would be more than four times higher today (i.e., greater than 40%) if Social Security didn’t exist.

The second certainty about Social Security is that it’s a difficult, if not tricky, program to understand. In May 2018, MassMutual released an online, five-question, true/false quiz for adults aged 50 and over. Presumably, since those people were at or near their eligible Social Security claiming age, they should have done well and “passed” with a score of four or five questions correct. Instead, 47% failed to receive a passing grade, proving that we still don’t understand Social Security all that well. And what we don’t understand can cost us dearly. 

If you'd like to avoid that pain and get the most out of the program, you'll want to get a handle on these 10 tricky rules.