About Tom Margenau

Tom Margenau

Tom Margenau

Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. For many years, he was the director of SSA's public information office at the agency’s headquarters in Baltimore, Md. In that post, he was the chief editor for more than 100 informational publications produced by SSA.

He also was SSA’s deputy press officer for several years, serving in that position as a chief spokesman for the Social Security Administration. Prior to that, he was a speechwriter for the Commissioner of Social Security. Before he moved to SSA's headquarters, he worked for 12 years in Social Security field offices around the country, where he processed Social Security claims while writing Social Security columns for local newspapers.

He has written the “Social Security and You ” column for national syndication since 1997. Margenau graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1971. He is married and has two grown children and five grandchildren.

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Young People and Social Security Nov 12, 2025

The people who syndicate this column have just assigned a new editor to me. She's a relatively young person. (Of course, when you are 76 years old, as I am, the majority of people I meet and deal with are younger than me!) I sort of apologized to my ... Read More

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An Antidote to Maximizing Mania Nov 05, 2025

I've written about my now deceased friend, Don Winters, before. But I can tell from my emails that it's time to share his story again. Every single day, I get emails from readers who seem to be absolutely obsessed with the idea of "maximizing" their ... Read More

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Social Security COLA for 2026 Oct 29, 2025

In early October of every year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its much-anticipated report on changes (usually increases) to the Consumer Price Index over the past 12 months. (It was a little late this year due to the government shutdown.) W... Read More

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Benefit Adjustment at Full Retirement Age Oct 22, 2025

I hear one or both of these rumors about Social Security benefits all the time from readers. Rumor 1: "I have been told that if I take a reduced Social Security benefit at 62, when I reach my full retirement age, my benefit will be bumped up to my f... Read More