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BTW, I'm a newbie. What does OP stand for? Originating Person?
OP: The original post or original poster.
I downloaded the clunky Windows program and plugged in my salary history numbers from the Social Security web site. At age 57, I have 35 years contributing but I wanted to do disaster contingency planning to see what my check would look like if I had to stop working now. Working 7 or 8 more years with a maximum contribution barely budges the number. I don't have to worry about that.
Yes, it's old but this is the only thread I could find on the topic of stopping work before 60 and how much social security I'd get at 62. I'm surprised this isn't brought up more being that so many people want to leave the work force early.
I'm glad you brought it up. I have been wondering the same thing!
Thank you also to those that explained how the calculator works and that you can put in "$0" years.
it may count a little if your last years were the peak. it makes the assumption that if your last years were the peak then you will earn that peak level for the next few years bouncing out some lower years .
those lower years may end up being part of the 35 years if you are not working right up to the expected date
I just put all my earnings on a spreadsheet, then compared them to the corresponding yearly caps. Calculated the ratios to see what might drop off if I keep working. I might gain a slight amount if I can knock one year off the bottom, but it is unlikely to happen. The lowest ratio I have is about .72 (income/cap). With todays high caps, it is getting harder, if not impossible to max out. My USAF years have long been dropped out!
I figured out one thing. If you are putting money into a 401K, 403B, or an HSA, it takes away from your SS earnings and makes it more difficult to eliminate some lower years, when you didn't have such savings plans. It's still better to keep putting money in those plans than to try and get a smidgen more in SS later on.
that is not correct , contributions to a 401k do not effect benefits , neither does having medical insurance taken out . .
What Effect Do IRA and 401(k) Contributions Have?
pre-tax contributions that you make to an employer-sponsored retirement plan such as a 401(k) reduce your income tax, but they do not reduce your Social Security tax. The same goes for traditional IRA contributions, as well as contributions to a SEP or SIMPLE IRA.
And because they have no effect on the amount of your income that’s subject to Social Security taxes, pre-tax contributions to an IRA, 401(k), 403(b), etc. do not reduce the Social Security benefits that you will eventually receive.
I just noticed someone resurrected this thread a few days ago. For a variety of reasons, retiring at 55 doesn't seem achievable. I'm still hoping for somewhere short of 62 but we'll see what happens.
I have very little in savings but my military retirement pay nets me more than $30k annually. Not enough to survive on where we live now, but if I can ever convince my wife to move to a lower cost area it might. In another thread I listed my 2014 and 2015 social security statements of estimated earnings.
May 2014:
FRA (67) - $2,501
age 70 - $3,177
age 62 - $1,673
March 2015:
FRA (67) - $2,544
age 70 - $3,233
age 62 - $1,700
As you can see, a small increase year over year. The March 2015 statement is the first one that has 35 years of earnings. Once my 2016 statements posts showing my 2015 earnings I'll post the comparison again. I'll have max ss earnings replacing a lower earning year. I expect to keep maxing ss earnings as long as I keep working. I have three very low earning years and another 5-10 lower earning years that will probably be replaced as I continue working. I expect to see larger year over year increases at least for the next three years and then smaller increases thereafter.
DJP
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