Readers frequently tell me that they talked to two different Social Security Administration agents and got two different answers. Or they tell me that a neighbor gave them one bit of Social Security advice, but another neighbor told them something else.

Sometimes I will do a little digging and learn that they didn't really get conflicting information. Rather, they got the same information or answer, but it was simply presented in different ways. Or they posed a question to a Social Security rep and got one answer, and then later asked what they thought was the same question of another rep and got a different answer. Today's column will give some examples of what I am talking about.

Q: I am 67 and started getting my Social Security benefits a year ago. I called the Social Security Administration about a month ago and asked if my wife, who has never worked, would get half of my Social Security. I was told she would, and an interview was set up to take her claim. When the interview finally took place yesterday, I was told that my wife would not receive half, but only a third. Which agent should I believe?

A: Both SSA agents gave you correct answers, based on the information they had at the time. I checked into this and learned that you failed to tell the first agent that your wife was only 62 years old. Your wife can get up to half of your Social Security benefit if she waits until her full retirement age to file. But if she starts her benefits at 62, she gets a reduced rate — roughly one-third of your FRA benefit amount.

Q: I will be turning 67 in April 2026. I want to get 100% of my full retirement age rate so, per the advice of a neighbor, I was planning to file for those benefits in April of next year. But then another neighbor told me I could file as early as January 2026 and get the same 100% rate. Are there some new and different rules?

A: There aren't any new rules. I'm guessing your second neighbor was trying to tell you that you can file for benefits up to 3 months ahead of time. In other words, you could file in January, but you would indicate on your application that you want those benefits to start in April.

Q: I recently filed for Social Security disability benefits. As part of the claims intake process, the Social Security rep explained to me that the law required a 5-month waiting period before my benefits could begin. In other words, if my claim is approved, I would have to wait 5 months before my first disability check would arrive. A week or so later, I went back to the Social Security office to take in some of my medical records. While there, I asked about this waiting period, and this time, a different clerk told me it is actually a 6-month waiting period! So, who is right?

A: Interestingly enough, they both are. What the law actually says is that no benefit payments can be made for the first five "full calendar months" after the date the records show your disability began. For example, let's assume your claim is approved, and they say you became disabled on Sept. 15, 2025. Your first Social Security disability check would be paid for the month of February 2026. That is five full calendar months after September 2025. But if you're counting on your fingers, it seems more like six months later.

The five full calendar month count would come out to an actual five months only in those fairly rare cases when someone is declared to be disabled on the first day of the month. In other words, if you became disabled on Sept. 1, 2025, then five full calendar months later would be January 2026 and that is when your benefits would begin.

Q: A couple of months ago, I was in the planning stages of filing for my Social Security retirement benefits. I called Social Security and made an appointment. During that appointment call, I told the agent that we have a disabled 39-year-old son. She told me that he would be eligible for "disabled adult child" benefits on my record. I finally had the appointment interview yesterday. And this SSA rep told me my son was not eligible for benefits. Why was I misled by the first agent? Or is this second agent wrong?

A: I actually exchanged several emails with this questioner and quickly figured out what was going on. He does indeed have a son with a disability. But that disability is the result of a car accident the son had when he was 30 years old. When he made his appointment, he didn't explain that to the SSA representative. And that is a critical piece of information because the law says that dependent benefits can be paid to an adult child who has been disabled since childhood. To be specific, the rules say the child must have been disabled before age 22.

Q: When I filed for my Social Security benefits at age 70 several years ago. I was still working at the time, and I clearly remember the Social Security rep telling me, "Because you are over your full retirement age, you could earn a million dollars per year and your benefits will not be reduced." So imagine my shock when I got a letter this year telling me that because I sold some property in 2024 (and just coincidentally happened to make a million dollars on the sale), my Social Security benefits are being dramatically cut beginning in 2026. Why was I lied to?

A: You were not lied to. The SSA agent correctly told that if you were working and making a million dollars in salary, that would not reduce your benefits.

But your property sale was not income from a job. It was a capital gain. Even so, that million-dollar capital gain did not reduce your benefit. At least not directly. What it did do is increase your Medicare Part B premium, which is deducted from your monthly Social Security check.

For about 30 years now, the law has said that rich people should pay more for Medicare. And you were "rich," at least on paper, for that one year (2024). And the rules say that income affects your Medicare premium two years later. So the bad news is that you must pay the higher Part B premium and thus get a lower Social Security check during 2026. But the good news is that, assuming you have not sold any property since, your Part B premium and your Social Security benefit will return to normal in 2027.

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called "Social Security — Simple and Smart: 10 Easy-to-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security." The other is "Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts." You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets. Or you can send him an email at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Ana Municio at Unsplash