Understanding SSA Benefits (Part 7)
Some Facts About Social Security
2019 Social Security Taxes
- You paid 6.2%, and your employer paid 6.2%.
- If you were self-employed, you paid 12.4%.
- You didn't pay Social Security taxes on earnings greater than $132,900.
2019 Medicare Taxes
- You and your employer each paid 1.45%.
- If you were self-employed, you paid 2.9%.
- Medicare taxes are paid on all of your earnings; there is no limit.
- There are additional Medicare taxes for higher-income workers.
Work Credits in 2019
- For each $1,360 you earned, you received one Social Security "credit," up to four per year.
- Most people needed 40 credits to be eligible for retirement benefits.
- Younger people needed fewer credits to qualify for disability benefits or for their family members to be eligible for survivors' benefits.
Average Estimated 2019 Monthly Social Security Benefits
- Retired worker: $1,461
- Retired worker with an aged spouse: $2,448
- Disabled worker: $1,234
- Disabled worker with a young spouse and one or more children: $2,130
- Aged widow or widower: $1,386
- Young widow or widower with two children: $2,876
2019 Monthly SSI Payment Rates (This doesn't include state supplement, if any.)
- $771 for an individual
- $1,157 for a couple
Contacting Social Security
There are several ways to contact Social Security, including online, by phone, and in person. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is available to answer your questions and to serve you. For more than 80 years, Social Security has helped secure today and tomorrow by providing benefits and financial protection for millions of people throughout their life's journey.
Visit the SSA Website
The most convenient way to conduct SSA business from anywhere, at any time, is to visit Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.ssa.gov/. There, you can do the following, and much more:
- Create a My Social Security account to review your Social Security Statement, verify your earnings, print a benefit verification letter, change your direct deposit information, request a replacement Medicare card, get a replacement SSA-1099/1042S, and more.
- Apply for Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug plan costs.
- Apply for retirement, disability, and Medicare benefits.
- Find copies of SSA publications.
- Get answers to frequently asked questions.
Call SSA
If you don't have access to the internet, SSA offers many automated services by telephone, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 1-800-772-1213 toll-free, or use the TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, if you're deaf or hard of hearing. If you need to speak to a person, calls are answered from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. SSA asks for your patience during busy periods, since you may experience a higher than usual rate of busy signals and longer hold times to speak to someone. They look forward to serving you.
U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA). (2018, January). Some facts about Social Security & Contacting Social Security (pp. 22–24). In Understanding the benefits (SSA Pub. No. 05-10024, ICN 454930). Retrieved August 20, 2019, from https://www.ssa.gov/