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I'm 68 + 7 months old and filed for monthly benefits. The SSA Online Calculator shows the same monthly benefit amount at age 68 + one month as it does for 68 and 7 months and as it does for age 69 + 0 months. It doesn't change until 69 + one month. All the calculations are based upon my actual earnings subject to social security income and I worked up until a month after my 68th birthday. I was born in December of 1946. The payments are supposed to begin next month in August based upon starting at 68 + 7 months and SSA is using the number from 68 + 1 as the determination of my benefit. Nobody that I've talked to at SSA seems to know how to calculate these things. Anyone else run into this "freeze" of monthly amount for a whole year without accounting for the months that pass in the middle?
I don't know why the calculator doesn't work or why the SSA people won't help you.
According to this chart, at age 68 years, 7 months, your benefit should equal 120.7% of your FRA.
It's possible that your working until age 68 makes it hard to know exactly what your FRA input should be though.
A couple of things. First, once you actually apply for benefits, I am not sure that the online calculator (if it was one that you put in your own SS#, dob, etc.) will work anymore.
But, the main thing is, is that DRC's for 2015 will be calculated once the year is over. So, you will receive your DRC's from your FRA to the end of 2014 now and will be included in your "SSA award Letter", that will be received when the claim is processed. Then when 2015 is over, they will send you a new letter and give you the DRC's you are due for 2015.
In 2016 they will also recalculate your benefit to include your 2015 earnings and if it will give you a raise, you will get that as well.
I downloaded the Windows application from the SSA site over the weekend and entered all my earnings information. The user interface is kind of clunky but the program works as it's supposed to. I suggest using that program instead of the web interface. You can then save the data so you can do other "what-if" forecasting without needing to key your earnings history back in.
I have 27 years so far with the maximum Social Security deduction and another 8 "good" years with 48% to 99% of the maximum deduction. I was trying to understand what the impact would be on my check if I were "done" now versus logging another 8 high income years to get the maximum possible Social Security check. I was doing some contingency planning in case some truly awful thing happened in my career where I lost the high income stream. My take-away in my case is that it barely changed the size of the check. I'm "done enough" now.
The program lets you pick your retirement month and looks like it calculates the benefit properly. The SSA basic web page gives you age 62, full retirement age, and age 70. I wanted the precise number for some other ages.
The calculator showed me one figure, which seem too low compared to the last letter I received from theSSA. When I went into my actual online account it showed me a benefit that was over $300 higher.
So yea, there is a problem.
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