Assuming that you have "enough retirement credits", how can you determine the impact of early retirement? The estimates Social Security provides assumes that you're going to make what you're making now until you reach FRA, but if your salary effectively goes to $0 fifteen years prior to FRA when you start taking benefits, how much lower is the benefit?
How does stopping work early affect Social Security?
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I used this online calculator to figure out the impact of ER on SS benefits:
Calculators: Online Calculator
Calculators: Online Calculator
clifp
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You can (and should) use the detailed SS benefit calculator and input 0 for your estimated future salary.
The short answer is surprisingly little for a 52 year old who made an above average wage and probably only $100 or at most $200 a month difference in benefits at 67.
The short answer is surprisingly little for a 52 year old who made an above average wage and probably only $100 or at most $200 a month difference in benefits at 67.
daylatedollarshort
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There is a calculator on the SS site. You can model any ER scenario you want and they will provide your benefit amounts.
Social Security Detailed Calculator
Social Security Detailed Calculator
Fean
Dryer sheet aficionado
Go to Retirement Estimator
Then click on the "Estimate Your Retirement Benefits" button on the bottom-left of the page. It will prompt you for your name, SSN, mother's maiden name, etc. and then take you to a page that lets you run scenarios for different retirement dates and earnings. It uses your actual SS contributions so you don't need to enter in that info.
Then click on the "Estimate Your Retirement Benefits" button on the bottom-left of the page. It will prompt you for your name, SSN, mother's maiden name, etc. and then take you to a page that lets you run scenarios for different retirement dates and earnings. It uses your actual SS contributions so you don't need to enter in that info.
That was my first instinct, but unfortunately, I've been getting this all day:
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Unfortunately, you do not have access to this service. Please check your url for errors and try again.
Short of calling Social Security to work out that glitch, does anyone know what kind of impact it would have, in rough terms?
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Unfortunately, you do not have access to this service. Please check your url for errors and try again.
Short of calling Social Security to work out that glitch, does anyone know what kind of impact it would have, in rough terms?
rbmrtn
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
The links all seem to be working, try clearing your browser cache. Can get to the main page The United States Social Security Administration ?
The impact is very small, there was a page at Greaneys site that had an estimate
What happens to my Social Security benefit if I retire early?
The impact is very small, there was a page at Greaneys site that had an estimate
What happens to my Social Security benefit if I retire early?
meierlde
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Basically if your average over 35 years exceeds the second bend point which today is 4768 per month, then additional years salaries when divided by 35 and expressed monthly yield 15% more for each additional dollar in average income. If you have earned near the cutoff limits a few years won't make a lot of difference.
clifp
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I stopped working at age 39/40, (the last 15 or so I maxed out social security). I am now 53. I used the SS online retirement estimator and told it i'd be maxing out my SS earning between now and age 67. The additional 14 years of income raised my benefit from $1951/month to $2308. SS only counts your top 35 years since I retired with only 24 years credit (including a boxboy in highschool) the additional 11 years increased my benefited by $357/month. If you are already in your early 50s you probably already have have 30-35 year of credits, so the impact of working longer will simply be to replace your lower salary years with the new ones. My estimate is around $200-$250/month.
obgyn65
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I just accessed the link you mention without any problem. I tried both using a PC and iPad.
Ran the SS calc scenarios with some approx figures for high earner (beyond SS withhold limit) born Jan '57. Compared stopping w#rk in 2013 with 0 inc in 2014 & beyond vs continued high w#rking income from 2014 thru retirement age. Monthly SS benefit went from $1825 to $1879 for SS start @ age 62, and from $2603 to $2729 for 'normal' retirement age (for born '57) of 67. So not a huge difference, particularly after income taxation (if applicable).
Thanks for the insights. So playing with a number that is a couple of thousand dollars a year lower than the smallest number SSA is offering to me is probably conservative enough, even though many of the low-income years in my top 35 years have annual totals like $235 and $180.
I will have to find some time when I'm not at work to call SSA and find out why I cannot get to the calculator. Of course, they're not open now, the time each day that I'm free and clear to deal with it.
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So the only big question mark in my calculations is the return on our investments. If I leave the "Your Portfolio" portion of FIRECalc alone, it all works, like 100% of the time. If I vary it to any of the other models, I drop down to 33%.
I will have to find some time when I'm not at work to call SSA and find out why I cannot get to the calculator. Of course, they're not open now, the time each day that I'm free and clear to deal with it.
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So the only big question mark in my calculations is the return on our investments. If I leave the "Your Portfolio" portion of FIRECalc alone, it all works, like 100% of the time. If I vary it to any of the other models, I drop down to 33%.
scrabbler1
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For me it is about $200 a month (in current dollars). I had to add 11 years of zeroes to the benefit calculation but most of that added income would fall into the 15% bend point. Because I was working only 12 hours per week when I ERed, I assumed that low income as a starting point for the 11 years of zeroes I'd be replacing.
A few years ago I downloaded the calculation program from the SS website but had trouble figuring out how to use it. There was a thread about the program last year and it helped me take another shot at figuring out how to use it and it worked. I had been using my own spreadsheet at the time which was remarkably close to the program anyway but it was good to see I was very close to the mark!
I am a pseudo ER in that I didn't retire until I was 58. When I ran the calculator with my last salary and then again with a $0 for salary, there was no change at all! Probably because I was at the top of the range for 25 of the 35 years they use.
Don't mean to hijack this thread by asking this question, but it's kind of related.
SS is COLA-ed right? So when the SS projection says to expect $1 at the age specified -- Is that in today's dollars or have they factored in a mystery COLA?
zedd
SS is COLA-ed right? So when the SS projection says to expect $1 at the age specified -- Is that in today's dollars or have they factored in a mystery COLA?
zedd
REWahoo
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Today's $.
Is there some significance to 25 years?
Well, they take the top 35 years, and in 25 of those I had maxed out (i.e. got a refund of excess SS payed in). I assume that not working a few extra years would not make a difference. I put in $0 for the remainder of years in the calculator, and there was no difference in amount I would get.
ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
We've discussed this a few times in the past. The reality is that after you've worked for 25-30 years, additional years produce a rather small increase. In my own case, stopping work at 55 instead of 62 only resulted in about a 7% drop in expected benefits.
Andre1969
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I just ran my numbers on the quick calculator. If I work until 67 (my FRA), I'll get $2096 per month. If I work until 52, the calculator assumes I'll start taking SS at age 62, and gives me the number $1294.
However, I found this table: Early or delayed retirement , which shows that my benefit at age 62 would be 70% of my benefit at 67. So, if I'm doing the math right, would that mean that if I quit working at age 52, but didn't start taking SS until 67, my benefit would be ~$1849 per month ($1294 * 100 / 70) ?
However, I found this table: Early or delayed retirement , which shows that my benefit at age 62 would be 70% of my benefit at 67. So, if I'm doing the math right, would that mean that if I quit working at age 52, but didn't start taking SS until 67, my benefit would be ~$1849 per month ($1294 * 100 / 70) ?
Calc gives you option to figure it either today's or future (inflated) $.
Amending what I wrote: I'm not sure of the math at the end, but the concept of higher SS if you wait until 66 or 70 - even if you don't work - is accurate.
I was doing this a few years ago but the increased SS amount doesn't have to do with continuing w*rking, it has to do with your age. It's calculated month to month, so I got more collecting at 62 1/2 than I would have at 62.
I feel that quitting w*rking is worth it. I decided to collect when I did so I didn't have to sell investments right then, and also I was more comfortable having an income stream coming in. You kind of have to figure out where you'll get money and what YOU are comfortable with.
I depend on SS for PART of my income... but I feel like it's a cushion. If it goes down, I'll be okay. So anyhow that is why I took it when I did. Oh, and I waited until Jan 2011 because I had been employed half the year in 2010 so I didn't want to add the SS into my taxed income for that year.
My 2 cents.
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