From the moment you started working your paystubs showed a percentage taken away for senior social security. Most people don’t pay it much thought. No one really thinks about where the money is going, what their paychecks would be without it, why it’s being taken out of their checks in the first place. Well… maybe we should! Knowing how you will get your seniors social security paychecks and how your senior social security will affect your spouse is valuable information - better to know sooner rather than later. Here are a 4 of those pesky facts about senior social security that you don’t know, but should.

Who can receive senior social security retirement benefits?

How are the benefits divided between spouses?

Will senior Social Security be around in the next few decades?

Where do the payroll deductions for senior social security go?

You get do-over’s in sports, sometimes at work, rarely on first impressions, and now you get it with your senior social security. Because most Americans aged 44-75 are more afraid of running out of money than they are of death, many senior’s social security beneficiaries have claimed early reduced benefits. This means they started collecting benefits early because they were worried they wouldn’t have money to live off on later in life. However, this also means the senior social security is more likely to run out sooner, and the beneficiary might outlive their retirement investments. A little-known part of senior social security law actually allows retirees who claimed early benefits to start over. You reapply for a greater benefit. The catch? You need to repay the benefits you already used. Hitting this reset button is a proactive way to prevent outliving your senior retirement income. Most retirees start using their senior social security as early as they can, which is legally the age of 62. However, the Social Security Administration has stated the full retirement age, or age when you’re eligible to receive full benefits, is 65-67. If you deduct before 65, the SSA will deduct $1 from the benefits you were going to get for every $2 you earn above the annual wage limit, which is $14,160. Even though there are fees, 42.5% of men started taking their senior social security out at age 62 because they simply needed the money. Re-doing, or refilling, your senior social security can be like finding lost money - if refilling is in fact for you.

When should you reset your senior social security?

• You started taking your benefits before age 65
• You have the cash to pay back the benefits you already used
• You’re worried you will outlive your retirement investments
• If one spouse is likely to be in good health and live a long time

When shouldn’t you reset your senior social security?

• If you are in poor health
• If you cannot afford to pay back the benefits you’ve already received
• If you are intentionally taking benefits early so as to re-file later

The holy grail of retirement organizations has fallen on its own sword this week, when AARP announced to the Wall Street Journal they will be cutting senior social security benefits in their programs and benefit programs. Bowles' commission proposed trimming senior Social Security benefits for wealthy seniors and slowly increasing the retirement age to 69 by the year 2075. The news came as a shock to everyone involved, from Capitol Hill to investors who have looked at AARP for decades as a retirement insurance organization to help guide them through retirement in the best ways possible for personal circumstances. In fact, AAP members were outraged only hours after the declaration was made.   However, AARP was making claims that cuts were always in their position. "We can make changes that are modest and we can make changes with a great deal of lead time so we don't need to affect anyone who is currently retired today or near retirement," said said David Certner, AARP's legislative policy director. Although Certner made the position clear in his statement, the truth of the matter is that AARP has long opposed such cuts to senior social security. In fact, one of the organization’s slogans for the past decade has been “AARP has been working to preserve social security for more than 50 years". Many Senators are supporting this move by AARP, saying they are finally seeing the light that senior social security is going down in numbers on a national scale. The question many members is asking is why now? "Essentially it's because of the debt cutting talks that are going on right now on Capitol Hill led by Vice President Biden," Cordes explained. "Some proposals had been floated to bring Social Security into those talks to cut it as a way to bring down the debt and the AARP insists that Social Security should not be raided, that it didn't cause the debt and that it shouldn't be used to lower it."

There is a lot of conversation going on about senior social security, and how secure it actually is for future generations. Speculations on social security benefits are being contemplated by economists as well as your neighbor. Who is right? Unfortunately, through all the guesstimates a lot of myths pop up. The following is a list of senior social security myths that you can ignore! Myth 1: senior Social Security didn’t create the deficit and shouldn’t be cut to fix it Myth 2: senior Social Security benefits are earned: reducing them amounts to confiscation Myth 3: senior Social Security is funded until 2037 Myth 4: Treasury bonds are the safest kind of retirement investments, so because I invested in those I’m fine Myth 5: senior social security is an easy fix To read more on these myths, read CBS MoneyWatch reporter Eric Schurenberg’s article on moneywatch.com here.

You've probably heard the news: senior Social Security recipients aren't getting a bump up in their benefits next year. The Social Security Administration recently announced that because inflation has been flat, there will be no cost of living adjustment for seniors. Whether or not you think that's a good thing depends a lot on your age. Seniors are upset, but younger workers have reason to celebrate the news: Fiscally conservative choices now could mean a stronger system later. There are plenty of reasons for 20 and 30-somethings to worry about the future of their Social Security payments. The Social Security trust fund will start taking in less than it pays out around 2016, and by 2037, as today's 30-somethings start thinking about retiring, it's scheduled to run out. At that point, if nothing changes, the benefits will shrink to about three-quarters of what they are now because only money that is then being paid into the system will be paid out. Workers have clearly gotten the message that they're largely on their own: Just-released numbers from Charles Schwab reveal that almost half of the general population say they do not plan on counting on Social Security as a source of income in retirement. The uncertainty over future benefits has led to a debate over whether the current budget and entitlement structure is fair to young people, who may never see all of the money that they pay into the system. (Social Security benefits are based on a person's average earnings over his lifetime and depend on the age of retirement; the current maximum benefit received is $2,346 per month for those who retire at age sixty-six.) "They should be upset, and concerned that Social Security is structured in a way to give them less than they might otherwise receive. They'll certainly get less than their parents and grandparents, and they're stuck in a position where they are either going to pay higher taxes or get lower benefits, or, what's worse, both," says David John, senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. As Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute puts it, "There's no way Social Security is as good a deal for a 20-year-old as it is for a retiree today." The AARP, which represents retired Americans, has a different perspective. It is quick to point out that there is such great political support for Social Security that it is not in danger of slipping away. The organization released a statement opposing the cost-of-living freeze after the Social Security Administration made its announcement late last week. While the AARP is right to point out that Social Security isn't going anywhere, it's possible that it will undergo major changes in the coming decades. Here are some of the possible shifts: Higher taxes, especially for high-earners. Social Security is funded through payroll taxes, which are currently capped at $106,800. That means workers don't pay Social Security taxes on income above that amount. Congress could raise that limit. A higher retirement age. Changing the retirement age to 68 from 65, instead of the 67 it's currently scheduled to reach, could mean a reduction in benefits for younger workers since they'd have to wait longer to collect their payments. If premiums or Medicare-related taxes are increased or benefits are reduced, that would also have a major negative impact on young workers' retirement finances. A new government-backed investment plan. Some academics, including Alicia Munnell, director of Boston College's Center for Retirement Research, have proposed an altogether different method of risk management — one where the government bears the brunt of the risk. She imagines a new kind of guaranteed account, where the government would guarantee that beneficiaries receive a certain rate of return on their investments. If the market plunged before they retired, then Uncle Sam would make up the difference. If a relatively modest guaranteed rate of return were chosen, such as 6 percent, then she says the government would rarely have to step in, so the cost would be minimal. Another option is to guarantee just a 2 or 3 percent return but to allow investors to keep any higher return provided by the market. If the government found itself needing to pony up during bad periods like the current one, then, Munnell says, "it can take on more debt and spread the losses over several generations," instead of forcing the soon-to-be retirees to absorb most of the pain. Regardless of what changes, one thing is certain: Young workers need to save more on their own, because government programs are unlikely to comfortably fund a relaxing couple decades by the beach.

Today, senior Social Security provides benefits to approximately 52.5 million Americans. Despite the yearly warnings from “experts” that senior Social Security is quickly going bust, according to the Social Security Administration, there’s presently enough to keep the trust funded until 2037. But nothing is certain. So, it’s best to place your retirement future in your own hands – and not rely solely on the government for your financial well being. This may mean adjusting your retirement savings strategies to account for a changing Social Security. Here are some tips to help you get started: Consider collecting your benefits later. Technically, you can begin receiving Social Security benefits at age 62, but your benefit will be greater if you wait until your full retirement age or until age 70. To support current Social Security recipients and those who are added on each year, the agency offers an incentive of a larger monthly payout to delay the start date of when you begin receiving benefits. The chart below lists how much your benefit would be reduced if you began collecting Social Security at age 62 based on an estimated monthly benefit of $1,000 at full retirement age. Full Retirement and Age 62 Benefit By Year of Birth

• Take advantage of “catch-up” retirement savings plan contributions. If you’re over 50 in 2010, you can make an additional catch up retirement savings contribution of $5,500 to your 401(k) plan and an extra $1,000 to your traditional IRA or Roth IRA.
• Consider working in retirement. While the long hours you logged at the office may be over, perhaps there’s another career that’s calling out for you to explore. Whether it’s working part-time, selling items on Ebay or starting an entirely new business, working in retirement can bring in extra income and help to supplement your Social Security benefits. To learn more about working in retirement, check out www.RetirementJobSite.com.