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My understanding is that if you work a little now it reduces your SS check, as stated. But that money doesn’t disappear it actually comes back to you later as a tiny boost forever. The idea is that if you pick up a little work now you won’t need as much ss money now so the program just delays giving it to you until you don’t have that job. It still comes back to you eventually if you don’t get run over by a bus.
Ok, Kentucky, i don't know if this will help or confuse you.
I collect SSDI, have for almost a full 15 years.
1st) you must have a full month during which you qualify for SS (or SSDI), and that check will come tge month FOLLOWING your qualifying full month and arrives the week during which you birthDATE is on the WEDNESDAY of the week during which your birthDATE falls.If your birthday is on or between 1-7, you will get your check the first Wednesday of the month FOLLOWING the full month you qualify. If your birthdate is 8-14. It will arrive the Wednesday of the second week, 15-21, it will arrive the Wednesday of the 3rd week, and 22-28,29,30,31, it will arrive the Wednesday of the fourth Wednesday of tye month following the full month you qualify.
So, YES, if you turn 62 on September 15, your first full month of qualifying will be all of Oct. And your first check will DD on the Wednesday of the third week of November.
Now, similar i am allowed to work while i collect SSDI, but anything over $1220 in a calendar is called "substantial work gain," and in my case i would completely lose my SSDI check the following month. To often for me and i would be kicked off SSDI, but can keep my Medicare for the odd number of 96 months following the month of "substantial work gain ".
In your case anything earned in a month over that $1400-whatever, they will take away $1 for every $2of earnings.
If you have a lucrative consulting job, you can earn anything in August and September that you want, but come October, your first month you QUALIFY, you will lose the $1of SS per $2 EARNED.
So, if you want no trouble with SS, keep October s earnings LESS than that $1400-something, or your November check will be nicked.
Once ypu reach ypur FULL RETIREMENT AGE (FRA), ypu can earn as much as you like with out cuts to your check.
If you are 62 this September, without looking it up ypur FRA should be something like age 66, 8 mos, when you reach FRA. (PLEASE look it up, your FRA may be different than what i just stated.
( for example i was born 1960 and after, my FRA is 67, my OH was born 1959, FRA for my OH is age 66 years, 10 months to reach FRA. since my OH is 60 this year, and you are turning 62, then you were born in 1957, so your FRA SHOULD be 66,8 mos. But don't quote me, if the age example given does not apply this year, but a future "supposen" year.
Best have your high earnings end by September s end. And after that dont go over the $1400-something!
Dont mess with SS any more than mess with the IRS!!!
My goodness, so many stories and so much advise on all the SS threads!
Life did not let me wait until FRA. My company closed its doors in 2004. I had worked there for 16 years. My husband had worked there for 36 years. We made good money and had just bought a house5 months before the company shut the doors. Unexpectedly. We had planned on being there until well after FRA.
Meantime, I was dxed with MS. During different "attacks" I was blinded in one eye, paralyzed in each leg at different times, paralyzed in both arms and hands in 2001. Steroids always got me better with just minimal side effects....except my brain. I have lost so much cognitive function.
In 2004 when I no longer had a job, I applied for SSDI after being home 6 months. The lady took my story, asked some questions and made an appointment with a shrink for me. I went, then got a notification that my SSDI would start the next month with 6 months worth of retroactive checks! I took a big hit because I was only 51 years old.
Hubby died in 2012. His SS would be much more than mine and people had told me for years that I would get his. Wrong. They only gave me $300 out of his SS because he died at 61. I have been living on my SSDI plus $300 of his. What was that, survivor benefits? IDK.
I turned 66 in April, my May SS check was for hubby's amount! I am sure he would have maxed it out if he had lived to FRA but I am happy with what I got. A few hundred extra is wonderful. Sadly, I am not, never been a saver.
Ok I love my cat, mathjax107 & galaxyhi . Thanks this really helps.
So it seems I can work and earn all I want in September. That's great news as I did not want to go back and say the deals off. I consider the person asking me to come in a friend and he needs the help.
HR is the stumbling block. Everything is outsourced these days and no one wants to make a decision. How many times do they need to background check me and have me take a drug screen. Just change the dates on the last contract and I'll sign it like the last three times I've been called in to work by them.
.
Based on Maths comments in October I can earn $1470 same for November and December or I could earn more in any of those 3 months if the average earnings for these last three months are $1470 or less.
New clarification question. I know the person I do this work for would like to bring me back annually. Also, they don't give me a 1099 I get a W2. I get no benefits , no vacation. It is the way they do it because I once worked for them. I do not have a choice in the matter.
The annual limit of $17640.
I thought in 2020 that would be it as far as helping with this annual project, I was done but maybe not?. Maybe a day or two here and there to make a presentation or answer question and stay under what I assumed was a HARD and FAST monthly limit of $1470. But what I am reading is, if I made all the money in a 4 to 6 week period they would average the earnings and I would not be penalized in any way. Is that correct? In 2020 it will be an annual cap not a monthly restriction?
Last edited by Kentucky62; 07-04-2019 at 05:25 PM..
My understanding is that if you work a little now it reduces your SS check, as stated. But that money doesn’t disappear it actually comes back to you later as a tiny boost forever. The idea is that if you pick up a little work now you won’t need as much ss money now so the program just delays giving it to you until you don’t have that job. It still comes back to you eventually if you don’t get run over by a bus.
Yes , you are recalculated but it can take 17 years to actually see it come back when they recalculate you
Ok I love my cat and mathjax107 . Thanks this really helps.
So it seems I can work and earn all I want in September. That's great news as I did not want to go back and say the deals off. I consider the person asking me to come in a friend and he needs the help.
HR is the stumbling block. Everything is outsourced these days and no one wants to make a decision. How many times do they need to background check me and have me take a drug screen. Just change the dates on the last contract and I'll sign it like the last three times I've been called in to work by them.
.
Based on Maths comments in October I can earn $1470 same for November and December or I could earn more in any of those 3 months if the average earnings for these last three months are $1470 or less.
New clarification question. I know the person I do this work for would like to bring me back annually. Also, they don't give me a 1099 I get a W2. I get no benefits , no vacation. It is the way they do it because I once worked for them. I do not have a choice in the matter.
The annual limit of $17640.
I thought in 2020 that would be it as far as helping with this annual project, I was done but maybe not?. Maybe a day or two here and there to make a presentation or answer question and stay under what I assumed was a HARD and FAST monthly limit of $1470. But what I am reading is, if I made all the money in a 4 to 6 week period they would average the earnings and I would not be penalized in any way. Is that correct? In 2020 it will be an annual cap not a monthly restriction?
Yes it is a yearly cap ...
I was surprised they actually prorated the first year too ... but it makes sense that they do ...otherwise you could not paid in sept , oct and nov ..get 25k in dec and just give back 1 month
Yes , you are recalculated but it can take 17 years to actually see it come back when they recalculate you
As I said in my intro. I decided to take it early due to family life span history. I knew they would recalculate but I do not expect to be around 17 years past my FRA.
I need to possibly correct Mathjak because he is leaving the impression that the monthly test is not hard and fast. The time when the monthly test is not a hard limit is if the YEARLY amount is under the yearly limit of $17640.
If the person had already exceeded the limit of $17640 in the months prior to retirement, the monthly test is a hard limit.
They do not average. You need to stick to $1470 or less to be eligible for a full check, especially so late in the year. So, if Kentucky62, before retirement, earned $65000.00 and wanted his checks for Oct-Dec, he could only work and earn $1470 in Oct, $1470 in Nov and $1470 in Dec. If he earned $1471, say in November, it would not be a "non-work month" and he would only be due a check for November if his total for the year allowed it. And, often, the total for the year might allow it, and often it won't.
Here are some examples: if prior to reaching 62 in Sept, and being eligible in October, he earned $13000.00, well, he could earn over $1470 in a few of the months, because the yearly total is still under $17640.00.
Or, earning over $17640 doesn't mean you cannot receive any benefits in Oct thru Dec. It just means that some money needs to be withheld.
Let's say you worked every month and earned over $1740, say $1800.00 per month gross. That is $21600.00 for the year. SSA does not care about the first $17640 you earned, so they subtract it. That leaves $3960.00. Then they don't care about $1 of every $2 you earned, so we divide the $3960 in half and that leaves $1980.00 as "excess earnings". $1980 has to be held back from your checks in Oct, Nov, Dec. If your SSA check is $1250 per month, they hold back $1250 in Oct, $1250 in Nov, so they have more than held back your excess earnings of $1980.00, so they pay you $1250 for Dec.
When the year is up, they see how much you earned exactly. If you truly earned $21600.00, then they held back too much in Nov and would pay you the $520 extra they had withheld that month. But, if you earned a little less than $21600, they would pay you more. If you earned a little more than $21600, they would use that extra and even up the record.
But, let's do a more common example: a person is working in the year of age 62 and earned $65000.00 Jan-Sep. They want benefits in October. If they earned zero in Oct, zero in Nov and $1500 in Dec, well, they are definitely due Oct and Nov but not December. They are due Oct-Nov based on the monthly test (earned $1470 or less). But, Dec can't be a guaranteed month, since they exceeded $1470.00 and the yearly is way over $17640.
They aren't under the monthly limit in Dec and their yearly earnings are now $66500.00. Subtracting $17640 leaves $48860 and dividing that in half leaves $24430.00. That's their "excess earnings" and that is way too much excess to be eligible for Dec, so they won't get that check. SSA does not start counting towards their limits from Oct, they look at the earnings for the entire year.
I hope this helps.
Last edited by ilovemycat; 07-04-2019 at 09:06 PM..
Ok I love my cat, mathjax107 & galaxyhi . Thanks this really helps.
So it seems I can work and earn all I want in September. That's great news as I did not want to go back and say the deals off. I consider the person asking me to come in a friend and he needs the help.
HR is the stumbling block. Everything is outsourced these days and no one wants to make a decision. How many times do they need to background check me and have me take a drug screen. Just change the dates on the last contract and I'll sign it like the last three times I've been called in to work by them.
.
Based on Maths comments in October I can earn $1470 same for November and December or I could earn more in any of those 3 months if the average earnings for these last three months are $1470 or less.
New clarification question. I know the person I do this work for would like to bring me back annually. Also, they don't give me a 1099 I get a W2. I get no benefits , no vacation. It is the way they do it because I once worked for them. I do not have a choice in the matter.
The annual limit of $17640.
I thought in 2020 that would be it as far as helping with this annual project, I was done but maybe not?. Maybe a day or two here and there to make a presentation or answer question and stay under what I assumed was a HARD and FAST monthly limit of $1470. But what I am reading is, if I made all the money in a 4 to 6 week period they would average the earnings and I would not be penalized in any way. Is that correct? In 2020 it will be an annual cap not a monthly restriction?
Correct, Kentucky62, the monthly limits no longer count for you in 2020. You used that "privilege" in 2019. Earn the new yearly limit (to be determined) any way you like. If you stay under it, you are due all benefits in 2020. If you exceed it, they will subtract the limit, divide the remainder in half and withhold the excess.
Ok I love my cat, mathjax107 & galaxyhi . Thanks this really helps.
So it seems I can work and earn all I want in September. That's great news as I did not want to go back and say the deals off. I consider the person asking me to come in a friend and he needs the help.
HR is the stumbling block. Everything is outsourced these days and no one wants to make a decision. How many times do they need to background check me and have me take a drug screen. Just change the dates on the last contract and I'll sign it like the last three times I've been called in to work by them.
.
Based on Maths comments in October I can earn $1470 same for November and December or I could earn more in any of those 3 months if the average earnings for these last three months are $1470 or less.
New clarification question. I know the person I do this work for would like to bring me back annually. Also, they don't give me a 1099 I get a W2. I get no benefits , no vacation. It is the way they do it because I once worked for them. I do not have a choice in the matter.
The annual limit of $17640.
I thought in 2020 that would be it as far as helping with this annual project, I was done but maybe not?. Maybe a day or two here and there to make a presentation or answer question and stay under what I assumed was a HARD and FAST monthly limit of $1470. But what I am reading is, if I made all the money in a 4 to 6 week period they would average the earnings and I would not be penalized in any way. Is that correct? In 2020 it will be an annual cap not a monthly restriction?
If you take $1470 and multiply it by 12, that gives you the $17640 annually allowed.
Now I'm NOT sure if that could be made all in one month and not affect that months SS.
However, if you DID earn it all in month, it would seem to me that all you might lose is just that months SS check.
The problem with big income while on SS is that if you did earn it all in one month, you would not be able to earn any more for the year.
You COULD have the choice to say uour follow up consulting fee is only $1470/m, regardless of if you only work one day that month or all 30.
And it is correct that any w2 earnings will boost your monthly SS check permanently, but it usually takes until about sept for them to DD the increase in my SSDI check for earnings from the previous year. Then my check routinely is the higher amount for work earned the previous year.
I worked and earned in 2018 abo3/4of the year under my limit, and along about sept, i should get a leter of the dd for the boost for jan-sept all at once, then oct on my SSDI check will be the boosted higher amount, forever PLUS any annual COLAs from then on.
I have worked 16 hours a week this year since mid April, so next year I will get a boost to my SSDI next year as well, but as i said it probably wont be until along about Sept 2020.
Best to contact SS directly to find out if your consulting fees are higher than the monthly amount of $1470, but under the annual limit.
Best of luck to you
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I have been living on my SSDI plus $300 of his. What was that, survivor benefits? IDK. 
