Mom and Pop Businesses and Social Security

Mom and Pop Businesses and Social Security
People line up outside of the Social Security Administration office in San Francisco, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2005. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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More than a few husbands and wives are involved in some kind of mom-and-pop business. And over the years, I’ve learned that many of those moms get the short end of the stick when it comes to Social Security. Or more specifically, to the assignment of earnings from the business to Social Security records.

I don’t have any statistics to back this up, but if my emails are any indication, in the vast majority of cases, Pop gets all the earnings added to his account and Mom comes up with a blank slate. As I will explain in this column, that can sometimes actually end up working in Mom’s favor when it comes to eventual Social Security benefits. But many other times, Mom’s empty Social Security record means she will face problems down the road when she’s reaching her retirement years. I’ve saved up some emails that illustrate both sides of that conundrum.

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]
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