Retirement planning is a must if you want to be in a position to enjoy your golden years to the fullest. It can take some sustained effort over an extended period of time to accumulate the resources that you will need, and the sooner you get started, the better.
You should understand everything that you need to know about Social Security when you are engaged in your retirement planning efforts. If you were to visit the Social Security website, you could get a statement that will give you an idea of your anticipated benefit. This is the page that you would want to access: Social Security Benefit Calculator.
Retirement Age
The age of eligibility for Social Security depends on the year of your birth. If you were born in 1954 or earlier, and you are not currently receiving Social Security, the age of full eligibility is 66. If you were born after 1954, your eligibility for your full benefit is somewhere between 66 and 67 depending on your birth year.
It is possible to accept a reduced benefit when you are as young 62 years of age.
Working While Collecting Social Security
Now that we have provided the necessary underpinning, we can look at the question that serves as the title of this blog post.
Once you have attained the eligibility age for your full benefit, you can work and earn unlimited income, and your benefit would not be reduced at all.
In fact, your benefit could go up if you work while you are receiving your full benefit. To explain by way of example, let’s say that you work for a year after you receive your full benefit. We will assume that your earnings for that year far exceeded the amount that you earned during the first of the 35 years that were used to calculate your initial benefit amount.
As a result, your benefit would be recalculated, and it would be increased to reflect the altered dynamic.
Things are different if you choose to take a reduced benefit before you reach the age of full benefit eligibility. In 2015, you can earn as much as $15,720 annually while you are receiving your early benefit without being penalized.
Your benefit would be reduced by one dollar for every two dollars that you earn above this $15,720 annual limit.
Holistic Long-Term Financial Planning
Retirement planning should ideally be part of a long-term, holistic financial plan. You certainly want to be able to get the most out of your active retirement years, but you should also prepare for the twilight years that will follow.
If you take all of the right steps, you can be secure during your senior years as you simultaneously craft a suitable legacy to leave behind to your loved ones.
We can help if you would like to put a plan in place. We offer free consultations, and you can click this link to set up an appointment: San Jose CA Retirement Planning Attorneys.
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