Jim McGuire | fake pictures
If you are like many Americans, you will not answer this question about Social Security correctly: “I must be a US citizen to collect Social Security retirement benefits.”
The insurance company MassMutual recently asked 12 true / false questions like this about the federal program to 1,500 Americans through an online survey. The citizenship and eligibility question drew the most incorrect answers. The correct answer is “false”.
More than half of the respondents, 52%, failed or barely passed the test. Of those surveyed, 33% failed and 19% earned a D.
The only question that most people were able to answer correctly was whether their benefits would be reduced if they started collecting early, before reaching full retirement age.
“We are sending the message that there are options, and people need to really understand what the future holds for them in relation to Social Security planning,” said David Freitag, financial planning consultant for MassMutual. “The bad news is that we still have a lot more to do.”
These are the true / false questions that MassMutual asked respondents. How many answers can you get right?
True or false?
- If I take benefits before I reach my full retirement age, they will be reduced for early filing.
- If I receive benefits before I reach full retirement age and continue working, my benefits may be reduced based on what I earn.
- Once I start collecting Social Security, my benefits will never change.
- If I have a spouse and he or she dies, I will receive both my full benefit and the full benefit of my deceased spouse.
- If I have a spouse, he or she can receive benefits from my record, even if he or she does not have an individual earnings history.
- The money that comes out of my Social Security paycheck goes into a specific account for me and stays there, earning interest, until I start receiving Social Security benefits.
- Under current Social Security law, the full retirement age is 65 regardless of when you were born.
- As a divorced person, I may collect Social Security benefits based on my former spouse’s income history.
- Under current law, Social Security benefits could be reduced for everyone by 2035.
- If I apply for retirement benefits and have dependent children 18 years of age or younger, they may also qualify for Social Security benefits.
- If I delay taking Social Security benefits after age 70, I will continue to receive retirement credit increases each year I wait.
- I must be a US citizen to collect Social Security retirement benefits.
Answers:
- True
- True
- False
- False
- True
- False
- False
- True
- True
- True
- False
- False
.
