The Link

3/7/2013
MISSOURI AARP

GOT SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTIONS? WE'VE GOT ANSWERS – LOTS OF THEM

I’m not sure how many ways the English language has to ask, “How big will my wife’s Social Security check be if I die?”, but one thing is certain: We at AARP are determined to find out.

It’s all part of our two-year effort to create an interactive tool that can answer your Social Security questions quickly and easily, with virtually no wait (unless you count waiting for the webpage to load). Visit the site at www.aarp.org/socialsecurity.

We built the tool to address your Social Security-related questions that have been submitted to AARP’s financial security experts through phone calls, letters, emails and live “ask-the-experts” webinars. We’ve received and answered more than 11,000 so far, and despite the sheer volume of questions, when we analyzed and catalogued them, we found that a few basic questions were being asked over and over again:

* What is the best age to claim Social
Security? (Delaying to 70 will get you
the most money possible.)

* What happens if I claim Social Security and then keep
working? (If you claim before your full retirement
age, some of your benefits will be withheld if you
make more than $14,640.)

* What happens to my wife’s survivor benefits if I
claim Social Security early? (Her survivor benefits
will be reduced.)

* I was married for 25 years and stayed home to raise
the kids. Now that my husband is remarried, will I
have to split his Social Security benefits with his
new wife? (No.)

* What’s the maximum monthly Social Security benefit
(Right now, it’s $2,513.)

Currently, the tool will ask a user to choose a keyword that best matches their question. The tool will then provide a selection of probable answers from our experts. If none of those answers address your question, the tool will allow you to email the question to our experts. You should get an answer within a couple of weeks, depending on the volume of questions we receive.

The first iteration of the tool launched in early September. But, like most of us, this oracle will get smarter with age. We’ll add new user questions to the database, improve the search functionality, and even share which frequently asked questions are most popular among AARP.org users.

The more people who use the tool, the more useful the tool will become – so share it with your friends, and post it on Facebook and Twitter. Don’t forget to visit and “Like” AARP Missouri on Facebook.com/aarpmissouri, and follow us on Twitter @aarpmissouri.

-30-

(CONTACT: Anita K. Parran AAARP Missouri Associate State Director for Public Affairs)

How To Download Highlight the caption (if available). Go to EDIT and select COPY. Open your favorite Word Processor and go to EDIT and select PASTE. Click on the Photo or Graphic to begin downloading the full Photo or Graphic to your computer.