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Understanding that you retired prior to FRA and having already recorded 35 years or more of earnings (same as me) - do you by chance still have old SS benefit statements? Do you know or recall what your benefits payment was the year prior to retiring (when you had income) versus a full year after retiring (one year after you had zero income recorded for a year)? I am wondering if there was any/much difference (other than COLA) in your pre-retirement estimated payment versus your one year post-retirement estimated payment.
Gotta laugh, after reading your prior post I was wondering that myself . If there was it wasn't very much. Need to see if I had . It Could have been off set by cola.
I believe that is incorrect, but am currently too tired to search for the official answer. Do you have a cite?
Here's my thinking... Let's say you have 35 years of earnings, but all of those years were not at the maximum taxable level. Now you are earning the maximum amount. If the estimate is based on your current income and assumes that you will continue to earn at least this amount until your FRA, it would also be assumed that your later years of earnings will replace the earlier earning years. Thus, if you no longer have earned income, the assumed replacement of the lower earnings will not take place and the benefit should end up being less than predicted.
Granted, there will be some higher wage earners where the difference may not be significant because of the various "bend points", but for other earners it could be significant.
Hope I explained my thoughts well enough for you to address this. Thanks.
Not sure if you want to dig through these two complex, intertwined, convoluted computation tables with old, new and transitional methods of benefit determination...
Then again, maybe you are thinking about collecting benefits, but still working - in which if you opt to collect benefits prior to FRA, you are subject to an earnings test every year until you reach FRA. This is not what was being discussed...
Last edited by highcotton; 10-27-2013 at 06:29 PM..
Gotta laugh, after reading your prior post I was wondering that myself . If there was it wasn't very much. Need to see if I had . It Could have been off set by cola.
I am very close to being maxed out so continued work was only going to increase it so much it was pretty locked in. I do remember waiting to year 2 to be certain. Since I retired on Dec 31, my final pay and vacation days were kicked into the next year.
I am very close to being maxed out so continued work was only going to increase it so much it was pretty locked in. I do remember waiting to year 2 to be certain. Since I retired on Dec 31, my final pay and vacation days were kicked into the next year.
Very similar here - about 30 of the 35 years were maxed-out. I must have thrown away the older statements that I received just prior to retiring. Too bad, because I cannot compare the last year statement in which I worked to one-year after I retired with no income earnings to see if there was any/much change. If there was any change, it wasn't much...
Bad back and crazy people. We know folks from up north who just retired to Chapel Hill
Haha! I was kidding. Trust me, you don't want to be on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill on Halloween.
Sometime you should treat your friends new to Chapel Hill to dinner and drinks at the Top of the Hill restaurant. Or Spanky's for a burger...or even Sutton's Drug store. All on Franklin Street.
Very similar here - about 30 of the 35 years were maxed-out. I must have thrown away the older statements that I received just prior to retiring. Too bad, because I cannot compare the last year statement in which I worked to one-year after I retired with no income earnings to see if there was any/much change. If there was any change, it wasn't much...
I have set up an online account at socialsecurity.gov and can look at all my past earnings, and other info pertaining to my SS benefits. I might be wrong, but I don't believe they are mailing anymore paper statements out like they used to.
Not sure if you want to dig through these two complex, intertwined, convoluted computation tables with old, new and transitional methods of benefit determination...
Then again, maybe you are thinking about collecting benefits, but still working - in which if you opt to collect benefits prior to FRA, you are subject to an earnings test every year until you reach FRA. This is not what was being discussed...
Heheh. I know all of that stuff - I just wasn't sure how you came up with the idea that the estimated benefit ignores years of zero income years following no work activity, if the future recipient has already recorded a 35 year work history. (I know that this is stated incorrectly but at the moment my brain cannot spit out the proper form. <sigh> )
I'll be 62 early next year but plan on applying for disability benefits going back to age 60 1/2, rather than apply for early, reduced benefits. Of course, I've been planning on this for over a year and have not yet completed an application, so who knows? If I actually apply and am denied I'm not sure whether I will collect early retirement benefits or draw down my meager retirement funds as long as possible. I know I'm not going to sweat over it. (Er, at least I hope not).
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