I've written many columns explaining how Social Security benefits are figured. So, I'm not really going to do that today. Instead, I'm going to answer some emails from readers that get into some ...

The benefit formula is ultimately based on an average monthly wage. The more years of earnings you add to the formula, the lower that average wage is going to be. TheaDesign / Getty Images/iStockphoto ...

They used the inflation-adjusted amount of $46,060. Because his current earnings of $35,000 are lower than the low year of $46,060 used in his Social Security retirement computation, the additional ...

Let’s say the lowest year used in your current Social Security retirement computation was 1985, when you made $30,000. But if they added 3 more years to your formula, they’d have to go back to 1982 ...