Dear Liz: Many years ago I took out a credit card to pay for my two children’s college expenses. They were authorized users for miscellaneous expenses. They no longer use or even have access to the cards.

Now they are both in stable, well-paying jobs. I would like to keep the card but remove the authorized users. How would this affect their credit scores? Or mine, for that matter?

Answer: You helped your kids establish good credit by adding them as authorized users. Removing them won’t affect your credit scores. The effect on their scores depends on how well they’ve managed credit on their own.

The impact should be minimal if they’ve continued to build credit by opening their own credit cards and paying those on time. Ideally, for credit-building purposes, they’ll also have a solid history paying an installment loan, such as a mortgage, student loan or auto loan.

If they haven’t used credit much and have a thin file — generally, fewer than five accounts showing on their credit reports — the damage might be more significant.

If that’s the case, you may want to delay removing them as authorized users while they open other lines of credit. They should know that they don’t have to carry debt to have good credit: Just using credit cards lightly and paying the balances in full should do the job.

More windfall elimination questions

Dear Liz: I am retired and subject to both the windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset. In a recent column you indicated someone wouldn’t be subject to the windfall elimination provision if they had 30 years of “substantial earnings” in a job where Social Security tax was withheld. I contributed to Social Security for 32 years. How does one determine if these annual earnings are “substantial”?

Answer: Social Security has a two-page pamphlet about the windfall elimination provision that you can find online or request from the agency by calling (800) 772-1213. The pamphlet features a chart of the earnings required each year to be considered substantial. In 1992, for example, the amount was $10,350. In 2024, it’s $31,275. If you create a My Social Security online account — and you should — you can compare the amounts to what you earned during the years you contributed to the system.

Social Security has already done this and concluded you’re subject to the provision, which reduces but doesn’t eliminate your benefit because of the pension you earned from a job that didn’t pay into Social Security. If your Social Security record is inaccurate, though, you can contact the agency to correct it. You’ll probably need some kind of proof, such as pay stubs or W2s, so hopefully you’ve kept good records over the years.

Liz Weston, Certified Financial Planner, is a personal finance columnist for NerdWallet. Questions may be sent to her at 3940 Laurel Canyon, No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604, or by using the “Contact” form at asklizweston.com.