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New job after having received social security for 4 months

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Jay968

Member
What is the name of your state?California

I retired in January 2019 and tuned 66 in February. I started collecting social security in March and have been out of work ever since.

I will be starting a new full time job in August.

My new job will not be paying me enough money to consider stopping my social security benefits. I wish to receive both.

- It is my understanding that no matter how much I make on my new job, my social security benefits will not be affected. Am I correct?
- Will the fact that I will be working and contributing once again to social security actually INCREASE future SS earnings at all?
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state?California

I retired in January 2019 and tuned 66 in February. I started collecting social security in March and have been out of work ever since.

I will be starting a new full time job in August.

My new job will not be paying me enough money to consider stopping my social security benefits. I wish to receive both.

- It is my understanding that no matter how much I make on my new job, my social security benefits will not be affected. Am I correct?
- Will the fact that I will be working and contributing once again to social security actually INCREASE future SS earnings at all?
Once you reach full retirement age the amount you are able to earn while receiving Social Security retirement benefits is unlimited. However, there is a weird quirk in the actual year that you reach your full retirement age that can cause issues. I suggest that you get an appointment with your local SSA office to discuss the situation with them. The quirk may not have much impact on you since you reached full retirement age in February.

However I can tell you that yes, you continuing to work and contribute to ss and medicare does increase your benefits.
 

Jay968

Member
This "quirk." It can still apply even if I had no income other than SS during any month this year prior to going back to work in August?
 
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LdiJ

Senior Member
This "quirk." It can still apply even if I had no income other than SS during any month this year prior to going back to work in August?
It possibly could, depending on the amount of income you actually end up having for the year. The quirk ONLY applies in the year that you first start receiving benefits. Its irrelevant after that.

I do recommend an appointment with your local SSA office. You don't have to tell them that you are actually going back to work, you can simply tell them that you are contemplating it.
 

Janke

Member
This "quirk" is called the Retirement Earnings Test. In the years under full retirement age, the exempt earnings amount for 2019 is $17,040. In the year of full retirement age, the exempt earnings for 2019 is $46,920. In the years after full retirement age, all earnings are exempt. In the first year of retirement, though, it is the monthly amounts that matter, not the annual amounts. So keep track of what you earn monthly if you go over the annual amount. SSA will eventually ask you about it. https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/colafacts2019.pdf

So how much are you going to earn in 2019? How much will you earn each month? Without that information, the question cannot be answered.

Earnings after entitlement might increase your monthly Social Security. It depends on the rest of your work history. When computing your retirement benefit, SSA looked at your highest 35 years of earnings in your lifetime. If the 2019 wages are higher (adjusted for inflation) than other years used in your comp, then the new earnings will be substituted in. I worked the year I turned 63. Made a paltry $1600 for the year, but it was enough to substitute in for a zero year in my past and it increased my retirement benefit by a whopping $1.00. So the numbers matter.
 

Jay968

Member
OK, my SS is $2350/month. My 66th birthday was in February. I have not worked yet all year. I will be making $2100/month starting in August.
I found an IRS calculator for this and every scenario I put in, the ONLY time it indicated a penalty was if my birthday hadn't come yet.
So, it looks like I am clear, correct?
Sorry to keep it here, just that I hate waiting on hold with SS for up to an hour at a time. I am actually on hold with them as I type this. The menu system is torturous.
 
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Jay968

Member
Update...just spoke with a SS rep and was told that since I have already reached my full retirement age, there is no penalty at all. I can earn as much as I want with any job that I start at this point.
 

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