re: Social Security questions

I have zero plans for social security in my retirement planning. It’s literally a $0 figure in any models I run. However, I’ll likely take as soon as possible to at least get some kind of benefit ahead of death. I will have paid in plenty…

LINK

was very good information when i applied for Soc Sec years ago.

RE: "Planning on drawing and continuing to work before full retirement age."

... you will only be allowed to work a limited amount of time before it reduces your SS income. I'm thinking that might be about 20 hrs a week part time - but don't rem the criteria. (note: you'd still get it later averaged back in, but it can defeat ones purpose of taking early retirement). ... I now see OTHERS have the specifics ABOVE.

If you are taking early retirement, you cannot be the primary owner of an established self employment business. You can work for that (company) some ridiculously low amount of time ... I want to say 10 hrs per month. That rule has been around for years and should change but our DA reps spend their time talking about the same 4 or 5 issues over and over instead of changing laws that are bad or out of date. It is there for a reason, but also technically prevents you from starting a part time self employment business ... but hey, y9u could go to work for Walmart working the same amount of time with no issue.

The biggest question is really life expectancy. Seeing the numbers of younger people go before age 70 means life expectancies are starting to lessen. Sure there are ones that will make it to 70, 80, and 90. I thought I had seen a graphic that the break even point is something like 78. When you would have collected more benefits by waiting. Those living past that age would benefit from waiting until 70 to draw benefits. But if I am expecting only to live under 70, then I better turn it on early.

I am fine turning it on at 62 or 65 and working small jobs as long as I am healthy.

I am expecting to have finished paying off my home in the next 5-7 years and will take that extra income and start investing. I may even take a state job to even earn a small pension in the next few years.

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Seeing the numbers of younger people go before age 70 means life expectancies are starting to lessen.

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Don't forget that life expectancy includes people who died young from disease, car wrecks, other accidents, and drug overdoses. People who make it to 60 will live past their life expectancy in most cases. Even family history doesn't always guarantee a consistent result.

Bovine, would you mind saying why you plan to wait till 70? I don’t know what you full retirement age is but I feel sure it’s less than 70, let’s say it’s 67, you could draw full social security AND make as much as you can make working, without any penalties toward the social security amount you’re qualified for.
Do you not need money? If not, why would you work?
And if you do need money, why wouldn’t you draw the social security YOU already paid in, if would be free money and probably over $2500 a month you’d be leaving on the table

I’m pretty sure once your reach legal retirement age of 62, if you sign up for benefits the year you turn 62, you cannot make unlimited income and draw social security. It would be treated like any year after you’d turn 62, the government would hold 1 out of every 2 dollars you make above $ 21,240 for 2023 and every year until you reach your full retirement age.
Let’s say your full retirement age is 67 and you turn 67 in November 2023 but you want to go ahead and retire in June 2023, then you’re earning limit would be $56,520 for 2023 and they’d withhold 1 out of every 3 dollars you make above $56, 520.
You’d sign up to in April or May and tell them you are retiring the last day of June. If you had a job making $8000 a month, by end of June you would have made $48,000 so there wouldn’t be a penalty on you this year. But if you make $10,000 a month, by June you’d make $60,000, $3,480 above allowed amount, and they would hold $1,160 out of the amount of Social Security you were supposed to draw.
You will be paid the difference eventually when you stop earning more than allowed or just go on straight social security, it just goes into you SS account. In this scenario, if your last work day was June 30, you wouldn’t draw a SS check till probably mid-August.