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At this time, the Social Security Q and A Tool can accept terms from a pre-populated list only. Enter the first letter of a keyword related to your inquiry into the search field and choose from the list that appears.
AARP's Social Security Q&A Tool
It should not affect the benefit. Get a statement from your former employer verifying that the severance pay is a "special payment" and not part of your regular income.
That way, it will not count toward the earnings cap, $15,120 for 2013. If you exceed that cap and have not yet reached full retirement age, you could lose some or all of your benefit.
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