Social Security Benefits and Retirement Assets

[PensionPro]

A couple of questions came up in talking to a client that I thought someone on this forum would know:

1) Does having retirement assets reduce eligibility for social security benefits?

2) Does receiving an income stream (such as annuity payments) from retirement assets reduce eligibility for social security benefits?

Appreciate your insight into one or both questions.

[david rigby]

No.

No.

[K2retire]

Unless the annuity is a governmental pension plan such as Civil Service Retirement or some state pensions that don't pay in to Social Security. In that case one or the other may have some sort of offset calculation.

[masteff]

2) Does receiving an income stream (such as annuity payments) from retirement assets reduce eligibility for social security benefits?

reduce eligibility for - no.

result in taxation of - possibly.

Depending on the type and the amount of other income, social security benefits might be partially taxable. Some retirees mistakenly equate their SS being taxed with it being reduced.

http://www.ssa.gov/planners/taxes.htm

[PensionPro]

Thanks for all of the helpful responses. Based on K2retire's post I will follow up with the client to find out exact nature of retirement assets.