Ask Rusty: Will taking 401K distributions affect my Social Security benefit?
National Social Security Advisor
Association of Mature American Citizens Foundation
Dear Rusty: I’m 63 and retired from work, but not drawing Social Security. I have accumulated just over $300,000 in my rollover 401K IRA. My wife is still working full time, so we have medical, dental and vision coverage. I have a few questions:
1) When I take IRA distributions throughout the year, do those dollar amounts get reported to Social Security as income?
2) If not, will my SS benefit change (will I be penalized?) for not working and having zero income as I continue to withdraw investments and show no income?
Dear Rusty: It is common knowledge that over the decades politicians have taken billions if not trillions of dollars out of the Social Security fund to finance other government programs. This information is never published or addressed and having the government repay this money back to SS is never discussed, as it seems to be the most logical solution. When the SS program is financially viable again, future changes to the program can be discussed in a more meaningful way. Signed: Informed Senior
Dear Informed: Iâm afraid that what you refer to as âcommon knowledgeâ is actually a common myth, pervasive on social media but nevertheless not accurate. Here at the AMAC (Association of Mature American Citizens) Foundation we have thoroughly researched this charge and reality is that every dollar ever contributed to Social Security since the programâs beginning has been used only to pay benefits to beneficiaries, or to pay for the cost of running the Social Security Adm