Question: A friend has been a stay-at-home mom while I have worked most of my adult life and raised my children. My friend and I and our husbands have recently signed up for Social Security benefits and I’ve discovered that my friend will get as much as I will. How, since she hasn’t contributed to Social Security, can she get as much as I will?
Answer: As the spouse of an eligible worker, your friend is entitled to half of her husband’s benefit amount when she reaches full retirement age, which could be as early as 65. Her husband, at full retirement age, will receive his full benefit amount and she will get a check for half of that amount, even though she’s never worked.
So, your friend could feasibly be entitled to as much as you are. Your benefit amount is based on the number of years you’ve worked, how much you earned and the age at which you begin drawing benefits. The Social Security Administration uses a mathematical formula to figure benefits based on your average monthly earnings during the 35 years in which you earned the most.
Many Social Security benefit questions are answered at the government Web site: ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov.
Q: I’ve been unemployed since November and looking for work ever since. What expenses can I deduct?
A: You can deduct job hunting expenses so long as you’re looking for work in the same field. If you’re looking to switch careers, either while employed or out-of-work, you can’t deduct anything.
Expenses also aren’t deductible if you’re looking for your first job out of college.
There’s no cap on how much you can write off in job hunting expenses, but only expenses that exceed 2 percent of your income qualify. So if you earned $50,000 last year, you could write off costs that exceed $1,000.
That said, it’s easy to rack up a couple thousand dollars if you book flights, rental cars and hotels for interviews in other cities. If you drive to an interview, you can deduct 58.5 cents for every mile (50.5 cents before June 30).
Itemize and document whatever you deduct and keep receipts and e-mails confirming interview appointments. You don’t have to include receipts when filing, but keep them handy in case the IRS asks you to back up your claims.
Q: A relative recently passed away and left a trust fund for my 18-year-old daughter. Unfortunately, most of the funds were in stock of American International Group, whose shares have lost nearly all their value. What can my daughter do to restore the value of the fund?
A: The terms of a trust and state law control how a trust is administered, and outline the trustee’s duties. But generally, the trustee is charged with managing the trust on behalf of the beneficiary — in this case, your daughter.
Many states have rules generally requiring the trustee to diversify the trust portfolio.
“If the trust assets are primarily AIG stock, then the trustee may have a duty to sell some of the stock to diversify the holdings,” said Cheryl Trenholm, an expert in trust law with the Lawrence, Kan.-based firm Barber Emerson.
But diversification isn’t always required.
“A trust might require or urge a trustee to hold a long-held family stock,” said Bob Goldman, an attorney with Goldman, Felcoski &Stone, in Naples, Fla., and a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. If a stock has done well, a trustee may be required to time the sale of sales of stock to minimize capital gains taxes.
The trustee, and not your daughter, is the person who decides when to sell stock and what assets to buy.
If you have a personal finance question that you’d like to see answered, send it to yourmoney@ap.org with [“]Your Money[“”] in the subject line. And please include your full name and hometown so they can be published with your question.
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