Customer Rating: Summary: Review of The Social Security Benefits Handbook Comment: I found this book not to be a good investment. It is an extraction of certain SSA publications, all available in user-friendly format at the official SSA website. The major drawback is that the tables of values for benefits and earnings limits stop at the year 2002. The edition I received in January, 2003 is the third edition dated May, 2002. While the content is current to 2002 and the SSA regulations may not have changed substantially, it is not helpful for referencing 2003 numbers and beyond. Customer Rating: Summary: Good Reference on Basic Law and Procedures Comment: Tomkiel has written a good reference for non-lawyers on the basics of Social Security law and how it is administered. It goes into some detail, so if you are looking for something light and breezy, it may be a bit much. But if you want to know what benefits are available, who is eligible for them, and how they are calculated, this book will fill the bill nicely. Customer Rating: Summary: Try Common Cents Comment: Very helpful if you are looking for a simple guide to benefits, but if you want more commentary on issues, books recommended by socialsecurity.org might be more informative. Customer Rating: Summary: Inquiring Mind Need Some Answers Comment: Yes i'm writing to get some info on how can i get ssi for my daughter,her father is deceased and has been since my daughter was 3 months old she's 11 now and her grandfater is also deceased,(all my info can be proved) is there a way i can find out how my daughter can get her grandfathers check cause he had no one to leave it to far as a wife or anyother living party.He did work. On the other hand her (natural father) had no employment long enough to get anything cause he died of natural causes.Please help if you can or give me some kind of direction cause i know it has to be some kind of way. Thank You. Customer Rating: Summary: Boring Comment: Sakes alive, I was bored out of my skull. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought this book. I only got through the first chapter or two before my brain started going numb. I'm just 40, so what do I care anyhow. Man, what a waste of $20. Save yourself the pain if you are a youngster like me, and wait and see what transpires over the next decade as the debacle over social security unfolds.
For those looking for accessible assistance in using and understanding Social Security benefits, attorney and former Social Security claims representative Stanley Tomkiel cuts through some of the more complex issues and explains the benefits in a clear and concise manner.
Included in this new edition are changes in the disability benefits schedule, explanation of the criteria used for working after retirement and still being able to collect Social Security benefits and example situations for easy understanding of complex regulations.
