Thanks Adam and all those who gave us a personal view of the wonderful person most Wall Street Journal readers knew only through his writing. One of my first jobs included the responsibility to review the Wall Street Journal and the Federal Register for items that might impact our company and report the info to a couple of superiors. That's where I "met" Jonathan. I'm going to keep this post short and just say Jonathan made my life much, much better, and I will always be grateful for that.
The question at the end of your first paragraph is answered by the first sentence in that paragraph. When the benefiting variables you mention in your second and third paragraphs are held constant at low or high earnings levels, the result does not change.
Only one prior comment has presented detail knowledge of the SS benefit calculation - thanks BenefitJack. The actual formula is not presented in a straight forward manner on the SSA website, so it can take a while to tease out the details. But, the details, specifically the bend points, determine the winners and losers.
Comments
Thanks Adam and all those who gave us a personal view of the wonderful person most Wall Street Journal readers knew only through his writing. One of my first jobs included the responsibility to review the Wall Street Journal and the Federal Register for items that might impact our company and report the info to a couple of superiors. That's where I "met" Jonathan. I'm going to keep this post short and just say Jonathan made my life much, much better, and I will always be grateful for that.
Post: Tributes to Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from September 27, 2025
The question at the end of your first paragraph is answered by the first sentence in that paragraph. When the benefiting variables you mention in your second and third paragraphs are held constant at low or high earnings levels, the result does not change.
Post: You versus Social Security – Quinn is betting against you.
Link to comment from May 3, 2025
Only one prior comment has presented detail knowledge of the SS benefit calculation - thanks BenefitJack. The actual formula is not presented in a straight forward manner on the SSA website, so it can take a while to tease out the details. But, the details, specifically the bend points, determine the winners and losers.
Post: You versus Social Security – Quinn is betting against you.
Link to comment from May 3, 2025