To receive any kind of Social Security benefit -- retirement, disability, dependents, or survivors -- the person on whose record the benefit is to be calculated must have accumulated enough work credits. A person can earn up to four work credits per year, and anyone who works full time, even at a very low-paying job, easily accumulates them. Ask the Social Security Administration for a copy of your Social Security Statement to see how many work credits you have accumulated.
A joint state and federal program that provides some wage replacement for up to 26 weeks to employees who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Most employees who are laid off or fired may collect unemployment, unless they were fired for willful misconduct.
An amount of money available to a deceased worker's surviving spouse and minor or disabled children, if the deceased worker qualified for Social Security retirement or disability benefits.
A portion of the FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) tax that is 12.4% of an individual's net earned income. The employee's share of the Medicare tax is 6.2% of wages up to a certain limit (called the Social Security Wage Base) that increases each year. The employer's share of the Medicare tax is 6.2% of an employee's wages up to that limit.
Social Security and Medicare taxes on net self-employment income that is a percentage of an individual's earned income up to a certain limit (called the Social Security Wage Base) that increases each year, and then a lower percentage of wages without limit. The tax is reported on Schedule SE of the individual's income tax return.
The name of a federally financed housing assistance program, in which the government helps low-income tenants with rent payments. Typically, the government pays about one-third of the rent, and the tenant pays the balance. Landlords who choose to participate in the Section 8 program must have their properties inspected, and must agree to use the lease addendum issued by HUD, which obligates the landlord to a rental term of no less than one year, and specifies allowable reasons for termination.
The presumed value of food or shelter provided to an SSI recipient by a third party. The PMV is the amount of the federal portion of the SSI grant plus $20. The recipient can prove that the value is in fact less.
Program Operations Manual System, a set of guidelines issued by the Social Security Administration to help lower-level employees interpret the federal statutes and regulations that govern the SSI and Medicaid programs.
A program run by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to help Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients return to work. Under PASS, SSI recipients design a plan that shows how certain assets -- such as a car or tools -- will help them achieve a work goal. If the SSA approves the plan, then those assets will not be counted as resources in determining eligibility for SSI or in calculating the amount of the SSI benefit.
The income taxes withheld from an employee's paycheck plus unemployment contributions and FICA contributions -- including both Social Security and Medicare -- that must be deposited into an IRS account.
