Can I keep a job even after I start collecting Social Security benefits?
If you are approaching the age of retirement, or are collecting benefits from dependents and have some questions about still working while receiving these benefits then there is a very simple answer to your questions. We’ll look at if it is permissible to work while receiving your Social Security benefits. This information is useful when planning your employment future or for when discussing your financial future with your financial consultant.
There is a very simple question to this very common question. The short answer is – yes, you absolutely can. In fact, this is very common. If you are past the retirement age and chose to still work you are able to do so without forfeiting any Social Security benefits. There is no limit to the money you can earn when working past retirement either.
Now, on the contrary, if you seek to collect your Social Security benefits prior to the year that you are the age of full retirement as determined by the Social Security Administration, then you will lose $1 of your benefits for every $2 that you earn during a set yearly period. This limit applies solely to any income that you earn working. It does not count on any earnings from anything else like any investments, pension plans or savings accounts. Even if you have a source of rental income, this will not count toward the penalty. These sources of income will not at all affect the amount of Social Security benefits you receive. Be sure to keep this in mind before attempting to claim Social Security before you have reached the age of full retirement.
When can I start collecting Social Security retirement benefits?
If you feel you are considering retirement, or are just curious to know roughly when you are able to retire and claim Social Security retirement benefits you will greatly benefit from the knoweldge about to be presented here. We’ll look into what the retirement age is, as determined by the Social Security Administration and how recent policy change might effect this current determination. This information is defiantly useful when starting to plan retirement or when discussing retirement with your financial advisor.
In the past the Social Security Administration considered the age of retirement to be 65. At this age you would be able to begin accepting retirement benefits from Social Security. The amount of these benefits were determined on the basis that the majority of workers would chose to stop working a full time job, and want to start claiming their retirement benefits at the age of 65.
In recent times, however people are, for the most part living longer, healthier lives. This makes the Social Security Administration feel that the age for retirement is changing because people are choosing to persue active work at and through the age of 65. On this basis, they determined that the policy should change the age that you are able to claim full retirement benefits. They did just that by raising the age that you can claim full retirement benefits to age 67. Noe well that this change only applies to anyone born after the year 1960. If you were born before 1938 then you can still fully retire at age 65. The SSA is attempting to gradually increase this age from 65 to 67 by rolling it out over many years based on the year you were born in.
