FIRE effect on SS benefits

[COZICAN]

I have 40 years of earnings reported. If I quit working at 59.5 will it affect my benefit by having zero for the next seven years?

Coz

 

[FlaGator]

Probably not enough to make a material difference.

Go to the SS website and use their projection tools to get real number.

 

[Crabby Mike]

It will, to whatever extent your earnings over the next few years would have exceeded the lowest (inflation-adjusted) years in your highest 35 years of earnings, which are what's used to determine your PIA. But when you think about it (or better yet, estimate with real numbers), the effect will probably be very small. This is different from the situation of those with less than 35 years of earnings, who would then have actual zeros used in computing their average.

 

[HillCountry]

Your SS benift is calculated on 35 highest indexed wages. If you were earning close to max SS wage for the years, you are already at the highest possible benefit.

 

[Chuckanut]

I left work at 62 instead of 66. I figure it is costing me about $600 a year in SS benefits since those last years would have replaced some very low earning years.

Lost $18,000 if I live 30 years more after retirement. Gained 6400 hours of extra time between retirement and FRA.

$18000/6400 = $2.81 an hour lost. Not a bad deal, IMHO. Not adjusted for inflation.

Does this make financial sense? Maybe not. But, it makes quality of life sense to me. Especially since I was able to do many things during those four extra years that will be off-limits to me for at least this year thanks to my wonky knee and the corrective surgery it will need.

Note: I am not counting the money I saved by traveling off season during those four years.

 

[COZICAN]

I was in "My Social Security" looking for some type of calculator but not finding one. Finally found one on the regular SSI website but it won't allow me to use it because of security settings. I'll figure it out. Might have something to do with credit freeze.

 

[Scuba]

Is there a way to put in zero earnings for future years and get a projection? I can’t figure out how to do that and when I called the SSA, they said they could not help me do that either. We are already retired.

 

[COZICAN]

It was worse than I imagined. I have aprox 25 high income years and the rest are pretty pathetic. If I replaced those low numbers with high numbers for the next nine years my benefits would be as projected by the SSA. But there is no way I'm going to continue working just for SSI benefits.

 

[RunningBum]

It was worse than I imagined. I have aprox 25 high income years and the rest are pretty pathetic. If I replaced those low numbers with high numbers for the next nine years my benefits would be as projected by the SSA. But there is no way I'm going to continue working just for SSI benefits.

That doesn't put it in any kind of perspective since none of us know what you imagined. What is the actual or % difference in benefits if you quit now vs working until FRA?

For myself, I retired at 49, and didn't find that the missing years hurt all that much, though I can't put numbers on that since it's been so long. You seem to have just run it and have the numbers at hand.

 

[COZICAN]

This calculator will only allow me to retire early and draw benefits at 62 as opposed to my FRA at 67. The difference is not much at all. It will not allow me to project zeros to FRA. I'll keep digging, just started really.

 

[Crabby Mike]

It was worse than I imagined. I have aprox 25 high income years and the rest are pretty pathetic. If I replaced those low numbers with high numbers for the next nine years my benefits would be as projected by the SSA. But there is no way I'm going to continue working just for SSI benefits.

Well, presumably you'd be working for both the current salary AND higher future SS benefits. And if working longer allows you to delay taking SS and tapping other sources ... well, you get the idea. But that's the quandary we all have, or had -- personally, I stopped when the pain of commuting intersected with growing certainty that we had enough to fund a comfortable retirement. Then, unfortunately, 2008 came along, rewrote my income projections, and I went back to work consulting for another 5 years.

 

[Al18]

You can use this third party site https://socialsecurity.tools/app.html to easily calculate your SS benefit. Just copy and paste your earnings history from SSA.GOV and select no future earnings.

 

[CardsFan]

This calculator will only allow me to retire early and draw benefits at 62 as opposed to my FRA at 67. The difference is not much at all. It will not allow me to project zeros to FRA. I'll keep digging, just started really.

Try the SSA Retirement estimator. https://secure.ssa.gov/acu/ACU_KBA/main.jsp?URL=/apps8z/ARPI/main.jsp?locale=en&LVL=4

 

[Dtail]

Try the SSA Retirement estimator. https://secure.ssa.gov/acu/ACU_KBA/main.jsp?URL=/apps8z/ARPI/main.jsp?locale=en&LVL=4

+1
This is the one I use. Very simple and can play around quite a bit with zeros with other numbers. Guessing it won't make much difference.
I retired at 57 and the difference to FRA IIRC was $50 per month.

 

[karen1972]

The best calculator is the ANYPIA you download from them as then you can see all the raw data and see all your earning years adjusted for inflation.

Then you can look under Wage-Indexed Formula section to see your lowest earning years so you know what you have to make to wipe it out...

Max SS for 2019 at age 65 is $2757 so I guess if you're making less than that you are leaving money on the table, the question is how much.

 

[COZICAN]

Try the SSA Retirement estimator. https://secure.ssa.gov/acu/ACU_KBA/main.jsp?URL=/apps8z/ARPI/main.jsp?locale=en&LVL=4

This assumes I will start benefits at 62 and can not be adjusted to FRA at 67

 

[COZICAN]

The best calculator is the ANYPIA you download from them as then you can see all the raw data and see all your earning years adjusted for inflation.

Then you can look under Wage-Indexed Formula section to see your lowest earning years so you know what you have to make to wipe it out...

Max SS for 2019 at age 65 is $2757 so I guess if you're making less than that you are leaving money on the table, the question is how much.

Been "trying" to download this for 30 minutes. I think I'll take a break and start from scratch.

 

[Al18]

The link I posted above does not require a download. All calculations are performed within your web browser and no info is transmitted over the internet. You can input the year you stop work and it displays a benefit amounts from ages 62-70.

 

[CardsFan]

This assumes I will start benefits at 62 and can not be adjusted to FRA at 67

That may be the default, but if you click on add new estimate, you can input any age from 62 to 70.

 

[COZICAN]

That may be the default, but if you click on add new estimate, you can input any age from 62 to 70.

But look at the results. It shows your benefit at 62. It shows your benefit at 67 and 70 IF you continue making the same $$$ you put as making to 60. It does not calculate making zero $$$$ to FRA.

 

[COZICAN]

The link I posted above does not require a download. All calculations are performed within your web browser and no info is transmitted over the internet. You can input the year you stop work and it displays a benefit amounts from ages 62-70.

I can't get your link to work. I can go directly to socialsecurity.tools and it dosen't work either.

 

[CardsFan]

But look at the results. It shows your benefit at 62. It shows your benefit at 67 and 70 IF you continue making the same $$$ you put as making to 60. It does not calculate making zero $$$$ to FRA.

When it asks what you made last year, input zero.

 

[COZICAN]

When it asks what you made last year, input zero.

Dang! Why didn't I think of that! Thanks! (as I sit here laughing out loud)

 

[COZICAN]

That doesn't put it in any kind of perspective since none of us know what you imagined. What is the actual or % difference in benefits if you quit now vs working until FRA?

For myself, I retired at 49, and didn't find that the missing years hurt all that much, though I can't put numbers on that since it's been so long. You seem to have just run it and have the numbers at hand.

Reduced my benefit at FRA of 67 by 7.4% or $211. I can live with that.

 

[Carpediem]

Reduced my benefit at FRA of 67 by 7.4% or $211. I can live with that.

$211 per month or total for the year?