In the US, retirees must meet certain requirements set by Social Security in order to keep their benefits.
Beneficiaries must keep their personal information up to date, stay within the limits on taxable income, and report any changes that affect them in order to avoid fines or having their Social Security checks stopped.
Also, by 2025, there will be new limits on how much money people can make, which may make some beneficiaries less eligible. SSA requires all beneficiaries to tell them about any big changes in their lives.
This includes moving, getting a new job that changes your reported income, getting married, or any other change that affects the make-up of your family. You need to know this because it has a direct effect on how much money you get every month from Social Security.
Social Security checks will change, and some retirees could be left without their $1,960 check
If you break the previously mentioned assignment, you could face serious consequences, such as a short break in your Social Security checks or the end of all payments for good.
In the same way, money that was wrongfully obtained may have to be returned if big changes are not communicated. For example, if you do not tell your creditors about a move, a new job, or a rise in income, your payments may be stopped.
Beneficiaries must also make sure that their registered address is correct and that they do not leave the country for more than 30 days without telling the authorities.
Immigration or legal status is another thing that can make a difference. If your citizenship status changes or you get a criminal record, you need to let Social Security know right away so that your checks do not bounce.
Social Security confirmed changes in taxable income limits for next year
Beginning in 2025, the Social Security Administration will raise the maximum amount of income that is taxed for people who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
This limit will go up from $168,600 to $176,100. This means that workers will have to pay Social Security taxes on a bigger chunk of their income.
This change will affect both people who pay into SSDI and people who get it. They must follow the new income limits in order to stay eligible.
People who make more than this amount could lose their Social Security checks. This shows how important it is to carefully plan and keep track of your annual income.
Making sure that rules are followed and that people talk to the Social Security Administration (SSA) often are important for keeping benefits going. The agency’s website lists the following as the main steps that should be taken:
- Report personal changes: Any changes to your address, marital status, place of residence, or job status should be notified by the tenth of the month afterward.
- Report household births and deaths: Keeping records current requires reporting household members’ income or departures.
- Update bank information: To prevent payment delays when transferring the account used for direct deposits, accurate information must be provided.
- Review registered information regularly: To ensure that contact details, including phone numbers and email addresses, are current so that notifications may be sent or possible issues can be resolved.
More than 100,000 beneficiaries will no longer receive Social Security checks
The SSA says that more than 100,000 people were taken off of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) lists across the country last year.
For example, in May 2023, about 7,380,740 Americans were getting SSI payments, and in May 2024, about 7,261,340 Americans were getting Social Security checks.
That is a drop of 119,395 from May 2023 to this past May. If you are getting SSI benefits or want to apply for this Social Security program, learn more about the reasons why the number of people receiving benefits has gone down.
Most of the 7.2 million people who get Social Security checks are in this group, with 6 million aged 65 and up and 1.1 million aged 65 and up.
The number of blind or disabled people who were no longer getting Social Security checks dropped by 140,034 from 6,281,068 in May 2023 to 6,141,034 in May 2024. On the other hand, the number of people aged 65 and up rose by 20,639 from the previous year.
It is hard to figure out why the number of blind and low-vision users has been going down during this time. Newsweek says that more than 10,000 people in several states have been denied SSI benefits.
This has caused a lot of concern about how this big decision will affect their health. About 17,000 disabled people in California, mostly blind or disabled, will not be able to get SSI between May 2023 and April 2024. This will mean 16,573 fewer applications.
