Carrie The spousal benefit of 50% mentioned above is not the same as the survivor's benefit. Widows or widowers who have rearched full retirement age are normally entitled to 100% of the deceased spouse's benefit if it's greater than their own, but they cannot also collect their own. If your father were to die first, your mother would be entitled to his $800/month (assuming she's of full retirment age), but she could not also receive her own $500. Were she to die first, your father would continue to receive his $800/month because it's greater than the benefit of his deceased wife.

Your SS benefits are not based on the last year you worked. It looks at your highest paid 35 years over your entire working career. It goes something like this: The calculation will be made over 35 years which is 420 months. First, your record is searched for 35 highest paid years. If you do have that many, then there will be some years counted as zero years. Next, the older years are indexed to sort of bring them up to todays dollars. The factors used is something like a cost-of-living adjustment, but in my humble opinion, the adjustment falls short of the actual inflation rate. However, the same index is applied to everybody be they rich or poor. For example, if you earned $100 30 years ago, the adjustment factor might be 4.5, so your $100 income made 30 years ago would be adjusted to 4.5 x 100 or $450 in current dollars. This is done for each year using a different factor for each year. If there are zero years, these are included also. The 35 highest paid years are used or all the years if there is less than 35. All of the adjusted years are totaled and then divided by 420, the number of months in 35 years. This becomes the average monthly income figure that is used to determine your benefit. Clear as mud? I hope it is a little better than that. Go to the social security site to find this information. The indexing list should be there and it may change some for each passing year. The formula for using the average indexed monthly taxed earnings for computing the benefit should be there.

Some of these rules don't make sense to me. It sure seems like there are a lot of ways to get far more social security benefits than were ever paid in. I don't blame people for taking advantage of the rules in place but I sure don't understand them. I understand and agree with survivor benefits but I really don't understand how a non-working spouse can get half of the working spouses benefits despite never paying in. It seems that it should be distributed at a household level based on household income if the marriage is maintained into retirement. It also doesn't make sense to me that multiple ex's can all collect the same amount. I don't understand how the system can sustain itself by paying out so much more than was contributed. But I guess that's why it's supposedly going bankrupt. If I'm wrong about any of these, please correct me as I would love to know the truth. My research has only shown me tips and tricks to maximizing benefits. I've been paying social security for 10 years and have another 35 to go. I really wish it were optional because I am pretty sure I will never see this money again.

It is prorated.