a certain social security recipient will receive an annual benefit of $ 12,000 provided he has annual earnings of $ 9,360 or less , but the benefit will be reduced by $ 1 for every $ 3 of annual earnings over $ 9,360 . what amount of total annual earnings would result in a 40 percent reduction in the recipient ' s annual social security benefit ? ( assume social security benefits are not counted as part of annual earnings . )