Questions: Collecting Ss Retirement Benefit at Age 62

[mrtenebrae]

Hello! I turn 62 in October 2019. I researched collecting my benefit at age 62 and talked to a SS rep in July.
I understand the implications of collecting at age 62 and not receiving full benefits at age 66 and 70. I do not know if I will live to 70 yet alone 66, health issues.
I was told I would get the full monthly benefit starting in Nov. 2019.
I was told I can continue to work and earn income.
I was told I can make $17, 640.00 a year and after that, SS would deduct $1.00 for every $2.00 I go over.
Does this sound right?
I would appreciate any knowledgeable responses before I continue to bombard you with my issues now with SS.
Many thanks.

[doucar]

sounds right

[llworking]

Hello! I turn 62 in October 2019. I researched collecting my benefit at age 62 and talked to a SS rep in July.
I understand the implications of collecting at age 62 and not receiving full benefits at age 66 and 70. I do not know if I will live to 70 yet alone 66, health issues.
I was told I would get the full monthly benefit starting in Nov. 2019.
I was told I can continue to work and earn income.
I was told I can make $17, 640.00 a year and after that, SS would deduct $1.00 for every $2.00 I go over.
Does this sound right?
I would appreciate any knowledgeable responses before I continue to bombard you with my issues now with SS.
Many thanks.

Is sounds exactly correct.

[mrtenebrae]

Thanks for responses.
So, I am working full-time and plan to work full-time the remainder of this year and for all of 2020. Unless, I get sick, again, and must take a medical leave-of-absence.
I am under the impression that my job earnings for 2019, as of October (my birthday) are over the $17,640 and I will not get the benefits for 2019.
Question: My income will be zero dollars on 01/01/2020 at 12:01 AM.
Will this mean I get the full benefit amount for January 2020?
(My projected work income for 2020 is around $27,000.) Will I receive monthly benefit until my earning reach $17,640 in 2020?
(I will not even begin to discuss the confusion on my end after talking to 3 different SS reps.)

[llworking]

Thanks for responses.
So, I am working full-time and plan to work full-time the remainder of this year and for all of 2020. Unless, I get sick, again, and must take a medical leave-of-absence.
I am under the impression that my job earnings for 2019, as of October (my birthday) are over the $17,640 and I will not get the benefits for 2019.
Question: My income will be zero dollars on 01/01/2020 at 12:01 AM.
Will this mean I get the full benefit amount for January 2020?
(My projected work income for 2020 is around $27,000.) Will I receive monthly benefit until my earning reach $17,640 in 2020?
(I will not even begin to discuss the confusion on my end after talking to 3 different SS reps.)

Not exactly. When your 2020 income gets reported to the SSA via your W2, you will then have been overpaid, which you will have to repay, from your 2021 benefits. So, if you don't plan to work in 2021, you may find yourself without any income at all for part of the year. It would be wiser not to exceed the limit in 2020.

[doucar]

I had it happen to me, i exceeded the income limit one year. They came back to me 2 years later and wanted to take all my checks (2.5 months worth) to repay it. I was able to negotiate a payment over 10 months. So I would agree with Ilworking, it would be wiser not to exceed the limit in 2020, incase you may need it in 2022.

[budwad]

If you are making your choice to take early retirement is based on health issues, I can't blame you. But you should do a computation on how much SS will pay you from your early retirement compared to waiting until you are of full retirement age and how long you have to live before there is a break even point.

I have to live past 87 to make it my break point. In Nevada, the odds are against me.

If in the end, you pay your taxes, take the reduction in SS and you are ahead of the game, then it is worth it. You come out ahead.

[llworking]

If you are making your choice to take early retirement is based on health issues, I can't blame you. But you should do a computation on how much SS will pay you from your early retirement compared to waiting until you are of full retirement age and how long you have to live before there is a break even point.

I have to live past 87 to make it my break point. In Nevada, the odds are against me.

If in the end, you pay your taxes, take the reduction in SS and you are ahead of the game, then it is worth it. You come out ahead.

Some people make the decision not based on how much money they will collect in their lifetime, but rather on how much more money they will have to live on, on a monthly basis, when they actually retire. Some people are better off working as long as they can, before living on SS benefits alone, even if they die a few years after age 70.

[adjusterjack]

Thanks for responses.
So, I am working full-time and plan to work full-time the remainder of this year and for all of 2020. Unless, I get sick, again, and must take a medical leave-of-absence.
I am under the impression that my job earnings for 2019, as of October (my birthday) are over the $17,640 and I will not get the benefits for 2019.

Then don't apply in 2019. Apply in December so your first payment is in January 2020. Or apply in January to be safer.

Question: My income will be zero dollars on 01/01/2020 at 12:01 AM.
Will this mean I get the full benefit amount for January 2020?
(My projected work income for 2020 is around $27,000.) Will I receive monthly benefit until my earning reach $17,640 in 2020?
(I will not even begin to discuss the confusion on my end after talking to 3 different SS reps.)

Your benefits are based on the income you report on your tax returns. If you allow yourself to receive benefits for 2020 and then report that your income for 2020 was over the limit they will ask you for a lot of money back.

I'm all for collecting at 62. I did. And I'm 72 now. There's no guarantee about your future. My brother retired from teaching at age 60 with a pension of over $5000 per month. He died of a heart attack at the age of 61. Never got to collect SS.

If you do start taking your benefits in 2020 I suggest you give serious thought to reducing your work income to not exceed the limit.

Do you know what your monthly benefit is going to be if you take early SS?

By the way, all this stuff is pretty clearly explained on the SSA website:

https://www.ssa.gov/

[Mercy&Grace]

Have you considered applying for SSDI ? You can do both. Although for SSDI you cannot make over SGA and be approved along with other requirements.