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Social Security  Advice and reference info from members. (Updated Jan 2, 2019.)    Questions or comments to: info@hpalumni.org
If you were formerly a regular, direct employee of Hewlett-Packard, HPInc, or Hewlett Packard Enterprise -- or are in the process of leaving – join the HP Alumni Association. No charge, thanks to HPAA members. This topic is covered in the HPAA Finance Forum, where members discuss U.S. personal finance issues -- such as Social Security, pensions, and stock -- from an ex-HP/HPInc/HPE perspective.

If you received a "Potential Private Retirement Benefit Information" notice from Social Security, it is based on years-old information, as indicated by the "Year Reported" box. The key word is "potential." Here's how to decode it -- and who to contact if you are not sure what happened with that account.

Social Security Webinar -- August, 2016 -- HPAA video. Watch video

Robert Pepper of the Social Security Administration explains:

- How Social Security works.

- How to get your Social Security Statement, estimate your benefits, and apply online.

- Issues related to when you start taking benefits -- especially if married.

- How work affects your benefits.

- Social Security issues involving spouse, children, divorce, survivor benefits, disability.

- Social Security and Medicare.

- Income tax issues.

Audience Q-and-A: (Sorry, not in order)

- When to apply. Heads-up when you reach 70. Living overseas.

- How the highest-earning-years algorithm works. Low-income years. Returning to work. Self-Employment.

- Important to use the online Retirement Estimator.

- Modified Adjusted Gross Income.

- Medicare and Social Security.

- Impact on income taxes.

- Coordinating with spouse's benefits. Restricted Application if 62 prior to January 2 of 2016. File-and-Suspend loophole gone.

- Divorced. Separated. Surviving spouse. Disabled.

- Security of your Social Security account.

- If you paid into Social Security for 10 years, you will get something.

Video, 80 minutes: https://youtu.be/xKmSWY7oSLA (YouTube optimizes video quality for your connection speed. Because of the specialized vocabulary, YouTube's automatic closed captioning doesn't work well on this video.)

Print the slides for note-taking. Black-and-white 2MB pdf file, simplified by HPAA for printing: SocialSecuritySlides2016-HPAA-ForPrinting.pdf  (If you click on a pdf file and it doesn't come up automatically in your browser, go to http://get.adobe.com/reader to get a free, genuine copy of Adobe Reader for Windows, Mac, or Android. Be sure to uncheck the pre-checked boxes that give Adobe permission to install unrelated software or change your default browser.)

Event organized and moderated by Barbara Madden, Ameriprise Financial.

WebEx facilities courtesy of First Tech Federal Credit Union.

Official Social Security website:

▪ Use the very-well-organized official Social Security website: www.socialsecurity.gov

▪ Set up your online "my Social Security" account now -- to be sure that your Earnings Record is correct: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount

▪ One key tool on that site is the Retirement Estimator: https://www.ssa.gov/retire/estimator.html

Join the HPAA online discussion forums that suit your situation:

(You can join the HPAA if you were formerly a regular, direct employee of Hewlett-Packard, HPInc, or Hewlett Packard Enterprise -- or are in the process of leaving. Thanks to the HPAA's Supporting Members, there is no charge to join the HPAA)

▪ Finance Forum. Discuss U.S. personal finance issues -- such as Social Security, pensions, and stock -- from an ex-HP/HPInc/HPE perspective.

▪ Benefits Forum. Discuss U.S. HP/HPInc/HPE COBRA and retiree health benefits, including Annual Enrollment and transition to Medicare.

 

Independent volunteer organization of former HP, HPInc, and HPE employees – and those in the process of leaving. Not officially endorsed or supported by any company.

For more mutual help on this topic and many others, join the independent HP Alumni Association. If you were formerly a regular, direct employee of HP, HPInc, or HPE -- or are in the process of leaving -- join the HP Alumni Association. No charge, thanks to HPAA members.

As financial, legal, and personal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case, and finances and laws are constantly changing, nothing provided here should be used as a substitute for the personal advice of competent financial, legal, and personal advisors.

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