7 Things You Need to Know About Social Security in 2018

1. Beneficiaries are going to make more - With the largest increase in six years, beneficiaries will now receive a 2% cost-of-living adjustment. This works out to about an extra $25 a month.

1. The maximum monthly payout has been increased - Clients can expect an impressive increase in the maximum monthly payout in 2018. Maximum payouts will jump by $101 per month, making the maximum payout for 2018 a total of $2,788/month.

1. The wealthy will pay a bit more in tax - If clients earn up to $128,700, they should plan to owe an extra $93 in tax next year.

1. The full retirement age is bumped up - Retirees born in 1956 will not reach full retirement age until they are 66 years and 4 months old. That’s an extra two months they’ll have to wait in order to get 100% of their monthly retirement benefit compared to 2017.

1. Withholding threshold for early filers is increasing too - If clients enrolled for Social Security before their full retirement age and they are still working, the SSA will withhold an extra $10 a month comparative to their monthly salary.

1. Disability income thresholds are getting higher - Disability filers who are not blind will see their monthly threshold increase by $10 a month. Filers who are legally blind will receive a $20 a month increase over 2017.

1. It’s going to get a little harder to qualify in 2018 - As we head into 2018, it'll now require $1,320 in earned income per lifetime work credit, or $5,280 for the full year. In order to qualify, you have to earn 40 lifetime work credits, of which a maximum of four can be earned annually.

Explore this social security training video series to better understand Social Security and your clients’ retirement needs here or give us a call at 480.296.0169!