Social Security Administrations definition of "Retirement"?

[oldsoldier1976]

Originally Posted by Escort Rider

^^^^^ Just a reminder that you have revived a two-year-old thread (nothing wrong with that) and that the original poster may not be still active on City-Data.

You are correct on both accounts. Still I think it answers a question that has been nagging at the back of my head for a while now. I assume I hope that in my anticipated retirement in 4 years from my current employment to maybe 2 years of part time work will not make much of a change. Here are the ages:

60 - mandatory retirement to PT work
62 - stop work move to new home maybe work - collect pension equal to my pay check now starting at age 60
65 - get first cola on pensions.
67 - file and suspend wife files suspends(66.5) she collect spousal.
70 - I file and collect and wife files and collects 6 months later.

I am reading that my benefit will be at its highest then. Will it be significantly reduced by not working thos 8 years from 62 to 70? What about wife? Same thing?

Assume all expenses are covered by pensions and IRA and 401k withdrawals.

[HappyTexan]

Here's what SSA says about that:

(link is to a .pdf from the ssa web site)
Untitled Document
Many people wonder how their benefit is
figured. Social Security benefits are based on
your lifetime earnings. Your actual earnings are
adjusted or “indexed” to account for changes
in average wages since the year the earnings
were received. Then Social Security calculates
your average indexed monthly earnings during
the 35 years in which you earned the most. We
apply a formula to these earnings and arrive
at your basic benefit, or “primary insurance
amount” (PIA).