Introduction 1Part 1: Getting Started with Social Security 5Chapter 1: What Social Security Is and Why You Need It 7Chapter 2: A Breakdown of Benefits 19Chapter 3: Deciding When to Start Collecting Retirement Benefits 39Chapter 4: Protecting Your Number and Securing Your Card 57Part 2: Taking the Plunge: Filing for Social Security 73Chapter 5: Signing Up for Benefits 75Chapter 6: Determining How Much You've Earned 89Chapter 7: Navigating the System 99Chapter 8: When You and Social Security Disagree: The Appeals Process 123Part 3: Who Benefits and When 141Chapter 9: Spousal Benefits: Watching Out for Each Other 143Chapter 10: Family Benefits: Who Gets What 157Chapter 11: When You Can't Work: Social Security Disability Benefits 173Part 4: Social Security and Your Future 197Chapter 12: Enrolling in Medicare 199Chapter 13: Working in "Retirement" 221Chapter 14: Shaping a Financial Future You Can Live With 241Part 5: The Part of Tens 253Chapter 15: Ten Myths about Social Security 255Chapter 16: Ten Reasons Young People Should Care about Social Security 265Chapter 17: Ten Choices Facing the Country about the Future of Social Security 273Part 6: Appendixes 281Appendix A: Glossary 283Appendix B: Resources 291Appendix C: Strengthening Social Security 297Index 301
Jonathan Peterson is a former executive communications director at AARP and an award-winning journalist. His interest in Social Security began when he covered the political debate that led to major reforms in 1983. He is a former economics and politics correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.