While we want you to keep coming to Savvy Social Security Planning with your gnarly client questions, SSA’s FAQ page is a good resource for quick answers to general Social Security questions. Many of the questions deal with administrative issues, such as how to electronically submit documents to SSA and how to have taxes withheld from Social Security benefits.
While the answers are usually brief, some of them include links to other resources. For example, the question on the first-year monthly earnings test refers readers to Receiving Benefits While Working and Special Earnings Limit Rule. (As much as we discourage clients from applying for benefits if they are under FRA and work, the earnings test is still one of the most common topics popping up in our Savvy Q & A.)
Some answers are too brief. This question on spousal benefits does not begin to address the many rules and nuances that married couples need to know, as outlined in this newsletter and addressed in the many hundreds of questions that have come into the Savvy Q & A forum on the topic. Likewise, the How Do I Sign Up for Medicare question is addressed but in a bare-bones fashion, failing to mention the many criteria that go into the Medicare decision.
But overall, the SSA FAQs are worth perusing and may help your clients get answers to questions they don’t want to bother you with. In some cases the simplistic answers may raise more questions, which will give you a chance to display your Social Security expertise and add value to your service. I would encourage you to make your clients aware of this resource while urging them to come to you with their more complex questions.