I started collecting at 62 and since have been traveling the world 9 months a year You will never get back those years wasted working It was the best thing I’ve ever done
Hasn’t Covid put a damper on your travels. I have the means to travel anywhere I want but haven’t left the USA because every place I look at has draconian measures in place due to Covid.
@@johnscott2746 it sure did for a year and half. Since getting fully vaccinated, I’ve been to Costa Rica and Mexico twice. Also booked for Thailand, leaving X-mas day
@Just Passin' Through: you have done the best decision ever! keep enjoying life. I lived for 9 years in Colombia, move to the US, but in a couple years I'm moving to Thailand. I won't get much from the SS, but enough to have a good life in many places around the world.
Excellent! 68.5 years old and I may have to finally collect. In a year and a half I lose about $9,000 when my hazard supplement ends, a private program, from my fire & rescue career. Not many of us reach my age. And I'm seriously disabled from it with no regrets I can think of.
I was watching old Night Gallery episodes on the weekend and noticed Bill Bixby in one. I thought what happened to him? Passed away at age 59 due to cancer. Made mental note to myself to not work until FRA and go out and enjoy life.
I watched my family members life’s, on the go from 60 to 70, doctors appointments 70 to 80, and died or nursing home in their 80’s. So enjoy your best years in your 60’s while can.
I took off 17 years to raise my family, but was able to return to work at age 56 - worked until age 72 ,collected my SSA at age 70. Saved into 401k full amount for three years to add to my other IRA money stream. SSA now pays me over $3,000. I am relieved I have adequate funding to live on and have a generous budget to follow with savings. Single women need good financial info
I have been told that SS provides extra credit for military time...since a lot of us older folks are veterans, it would be nice if you could comment on this in a future video...keep up the good work, your videos are appreciated!
okay...I have worked for 54 years. my best 35 years? it really seems like I paid more into social security than I will ever retrieve. What a racket! And I figured out what is best for me. given almost NO one in my family lives past the age of 70? I am best off taking SS at 62. But I have to say the way they structure this is to prevent ever giving you the money you put in back.
I really appreciate your information with your videos!! I am planning on waiting till I turn 70 to start collecting so I still have a number of years to get my finances in order and do more research. I'm glad I found your videos!!
I was a BA and a CA. I have 25 years in at SSA. I dealt mainly with DIB. But out of the thousands of beneficiaries who's claims I processed, the people who received the most were professionals. Unless your AIME is high, you will not get the maximum payment, you will get YOUR maximum payment. Of course, depending on when you claim your benefits, you will get more but that is not the point. In any event, you are NOT going to get more working at Burger King than a...CPA. And you certainly are not going to tell the CR in the FO how they are going to calculate your benefits. Also, if you invest in a 401(k), your earnings will be reduced by the amount you invest. And I can tell you, if you are worried more about SS benefits than you are about retirement, you need to rethink your strategy
Nope. You still pay FICA tax on funds put into a 401(k), and your Social Security benefit will NOT be reduced. However, funds contributed to a Health Savings Account (HSA) are not subjected to FICA tax, and your Social Security benefit WILL be reduced, unless your post-contribution amount remaining is still above the maximum amount subject to FICA.
I went on SSD in 2011 at the age of 60. I became aware that I was receiving more benefits than had I retired. When I became 65 years of age, SSA began giving me retirement benefits instead of disability benefits. Actually, they changed the name of the benefit as I continued receiving the same amount. I remember asking SSA if my benefit was going to be reduced because I would now be receiving normal retirement benefits instead of disability benefits. They told me that my benefit would remain the same. I guess I am kind of curious as to why my disability benefit was higher than my normal retirement benefit to begin with and why SSA didn't reduce it when it was no longer an actual disability benefit.
Do you have a video explaining how/when career housewives should take social security in relation to their husbands? Thanks for the most CLEAR explanation about SS I've ever heard.
Its curious how people will say they are waiting to 70 to retire and just 'don't know' how they will manage. I have been thinking about this since I was 50, and in the last 2 years paid off all debts. Mortgage will be paid off long before FRA. thanks for the videos!! Great information.
I started thinking about my retirement when I was 22 and started saving in a IRA. Now 59 with everything paid off and able to retire anytime I choose. The best part is when you have enough money, you can tell your employer to shove it !
Great info. Too bad most of us don't have the luxury of waiting until 70 to retire. Also have to wonder what the trade-off is for staying in a soul-crushing job 5 extra years when your health is already on the decline. Said another way... would you rather retire at 65 and live on a base income of $2k a month for the next 30 years or retire at 70 and live on a base income of $3k/month for 10 years?
I'm in the same boat with you. The answer for me depends on how in debt you are at age 65 versus 70. With my mortgage and car paid and no medical bills I can live on $2K per month and that's my goal. I can start collecting at age 62 but couldn't pay my mortgage, car payment, taxes at the amount I would receive by beginning to collect at age 62, (don't forget you have to keep paying taxes on your car and home every year even after the mortgage is paid off). If you live to 90 and collect SS at age 62 you can likely collect more SS by retiring at 62 than you would working until 70 before beginning to collect, the only problem is, can you live comfortably on losing 40% of your SS income for the rest of your life with inflation rising every year? Notice the man says his explanation is based entirely on the age of beginning to collect the SS income. With the stressful and physical demanding career I'm in, I don't think I'll live to 70 if I keep working full time but I don't want to live off of 60% of my SS income for the rest of my life either. You can still collect SS income while working part time. I'm trying to survive working until 65 to have my mortgage and car paid off first. Too late to increase my SS income by marrying a man so I can also be entitled to collect half of what he collects.
Kent, I'm sorry your job is so awful. Is there really no other company with similar work that you could work for instead? Your choice probably isn't between retirement or only your current job. Consider changing jobs so you can work longer and improve your health.
I began collecting the minimum at 63,but SSI told me that the 38 years I had a small business where your deductions for IRS were lowered each year by the first 2,000 dollars ,is NOT considered cash paid in, But the math is still there. So Ive been cheated by 80k. They said congress would have to change the law.
Excellent. I knew the general theory of how the benefit is less per dollar, but I thought it would have been done on a more variable calc. It really is an additional unspoken tax on those making more that approx 70k per year. Thanks for the education.
SS rewards those who stay employed for a long time. I had had enough of the working grind after 17 years. I quit my accounting job and moved overseas and began teaching English. Here it is 24 years later and I'm 63 years old. SSA tells me I'll only get about $1,500 a month if I wait until FRA, and even plans to claw back some of that thanks to something called the Windfall Elimination Provision. Am I sad? Nope. I got to experience overseas living and have the feeling my life has been an adventure. When I compare that life with sitting in an office, churning out financials and tax returns, I get a big smile on my face. Don't worry about me, though. I knew I couldn't rely on SS and invested well.
@@BruceLee-xn3nn Well, lawmakers decided they would reward housewives/spouses for staying home to take care of the home front while the main breadwinner was out earning the big bucks in the workplace. It would be a little unfair to pay your mother only based on her three years of work, so lawmakers decided to give her a benefit calculated on her husband's much higher income.
@@rickj1983 true but I also had a neighbor who was a vegetarian, jogged everyday, and never smoked or touched alcohol. He passed early from cancer. There is an element of luck we can’t control. But as you noted we can try to massage the odds.
@@Omikoshi78 lol! Everyone seems to have that neighbor! The fact is that the biggest danger that the elderly have is running short of money in their old age. If you wait to collect Social Security and die at 69, then you are dead and don’t need the money. But what is more likely is that you live to be 85 or 90 and the higher benefit will really be needed.
@@johnscott2746 fair enough. What I didn't want to state directly (because it can be depressing for some) was look at your family's health history as well. If everyone's passed around age X you probably don't want to start collecting social security at age X-1 or X-2. Best case you can breakthrough the trend with extra due diligence and advancement in medical science. But I like to be a realist when doing this type of math :)
I'm 54 and have already qualified for the maximum SS payment. It doesn't matter if I work another day. But, I'm not going to wait until 70 to start drawing. I figure my life expectancy is 81 because that is the age both of my parents died at and I'm no more healthy than they were. My wife has also already qualified for the maximum SS. payout as well at 51. I believe I will start at 62. The difference is minimal and immaterial when added all up whether I start at 62 and live to 81 or 70 and live to 81.
My mother has never worked a day in her life and draws spousal SS from my dad ,who shes not married to anymore. And recieves 1,200 a month. I know some that worked all their lives and only draw 1,500 a month
Thank you for this detailed and informative video. I have a spreadsheet that includes every year I worked and paid into FICA (starting 1975), adjusted for inflation. This took a great deal of time to build, but allows me to see clearly what the impact has been, and continues to be, of each working year. I also needed to avoid the Windfall Elimination Provision, and this allowed me to track all 30 years with significant earnings according to the SSA. Hoping to turn on SSI at my FRA in 4 years. Wife starts earlier at her FRA, but then should add a spousal benefit once I file. Working now to max out contributions/earnings each year through and including 2025.
If you’re that detailed and anal about the numbers, I highly doubt you are going to rely on or need social security. Something tells me you will be fine in retirement.
@@SCfanIam100 I actually got divorced over my retirement plans. My ex wanted to spend, I wanted to save. My plan is to retire at 62 and travel, my ex wanted me to work till I die and rely on social security. It was a set back financially to divorce, but im on track with my plan.
Compare your monthly expenses (it may take some work) compared to your expected income. Worst-case scenario, take on a roommate or evaluate a reverse mortgage.
@@dougb8207 Thanks Doug. Yes, getting my ducks in a row, evaluating all my expenses, etc., are on my high-priority To Do list. Mortgage concerns are not part of the process; I live in an apartment. Thanks again for your input.
Carol B, I think you're right about choosing a good channel to get retirement info from but I can't understand why someone approaching 69 years of age would wait to this point of your working life to start planning and studying about it! At least you're healthy enough to still be around to think about it now! I hope you have many more years left to enjoy the fruits of your labor. In the last few years I've had a few people pass away suddenly who happen to be much younger than you or me for that matter, so I hope you get to spend some time doing things that make you happy! :) After all isn't that the ultimate goal?
Great explanation of the bendpoints. And this perfectly explains why the cries to remove the contributions cap are so sinister and evil. High wage earners already get screwed by social security. Removing the cap will screw them even more.
The system also favors older people. Two people wait to seventy. One is old enough to qualify for a retirement age of 66 years and 8 months. The other is younger with a retirement age of 67. The older person gets an additional 4 months of credits, which can be significant.
The SSA like the govt that runs it wants you to work longer and thus paying more taxes, rather than retiring young. They tax in the past, the present, the future, and at your death!
Well I have never in my life earned anywhere near 100k, not even 50k so there is no way I would even consider waiting to the max age to draw SS. Waiting to the max age is only feasible if you are comfortable with an existing income and you are completely healthy. I don't know anyone who has ever drawn 1500, let alone 3k. It's the poor or average wage earner who depend on SS, not the rich. Honestly if I were rich, I would donate my SS to someone in need. There are so many people who were never taught anything about how SS works and only that when they got there, they would draw a pension. The sad part for the average person is that even if you have phenominal health insurance, you are still forced onto medicare that you have to pay a much higher premium for and whoever you were already with becomes a secondary payer. Old age is not for the poor!
no, it really isn't. my friend paid 60 a month for insurance under obamacare, but when she turned 65, they forced her to medicare...$400 a month for the equivalent. for a person who can barely afford food??? seriously????! This country needs work.
This is my first time watching you, I watch Dave Ramsey program but never hear of you till now. I like how you use board to explain and your calmness. But a person as myself on SSI and SSA will I still get retirement money and will my ssi be less? Only wondering 🤔
Ha, I was just telling someone that those who become members of FIRE will almost certainly have lower SS collections when they are able to draw......however, those people never relied on SS as part of their plan ad thus what SS they do get is kind of like found money.
One of my jobs, I worked for a large Navy contractor for almost 5 years. When I applied for my SSI they showed no income for those years, thus reducing my SSI. This was before computers, everything was paper & pen. I called the contractor numerous times to get "we'll look into it." I later find out everything is in a huge warehouse with 100's of thousands of files. They did take out federal, state & county taxes which were correct. The only thing that made any sense was the suggestion that someone wrote / entered my SS# wrong and my money went into another's SS account. Of course, I had long ago destroyed any paperwork from those decades earlier. Any suggestions ??
The SSA has just sent out the benefit notices for 2022. The IRMAA brackets are up, but they are not up as much as other inflation adjusted payments and brackets. That's because IRMAA inflation adjustments use an entirely different formula - just as IRMAA is calculated based on a different MAGI than is used in other parts of the tax code.
Thumbs down (to IRMAA and the "soak the rich" schemes that punish the middle income person more than the truly rich) I believe both IRMAA and the taxation scheme for Social Security received have not been adequately adjusted to reflect the effects of inflation; pushing people towards higher taxes without their actually having received any more purchasing power
@@davidpowell3347 - Well, single retirees with 6-figure incomes are not exactly poor. A single retired guy can live very nicely on $125K in most parts of the country.
I started working full-time nights in high school in 1981 I graduated in 83 got fired in 86 because my supervisor stole a bank deposit. I got unemployment he got jail time lol anyway I was unemployed for about 6 months I said to myself never again. I've had 2 jobs till I got a union job at age 32 been there for 27 years going hit 30 years and 62 at the same time with a full pension
Thank you for the video. I find it very interesting. It’s unfortunate that I lack trust in others, so I’m trying to figure it out myself. Wish me luck!
Just feel like general comment (haven't looked at today's stocks yet) that a 20% "correction" feels a whole lot better to me than continued accelerating inflation due to recklessly inappropriately low interest rates. Plenty of time later on for "it"(Market) to go back up.
So basically the govt has performed the risk assessment that you will not live pass 70+ to achieve you maximum ss benefit. They count on you claiming early to only receive the minimum possible benefit
Stay healthy 'dont let your employer burn u out 'exercise 'play sports 'hobbies that generate income very important ' a handiman with licenses does well 'take cash money cash money' quit at 65
I feel the first person you should go talk to while making Social Security plans is a reputable actuary. This may be an uncomfortable conversation for some, but the reality is if you're probably going to live to age 75 it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to wait till age 70 to pull the Social Security trigger. Conversely if the actuary thinks you will probably live to age 98 you're most likely better off in holding off. Ironically watch the beginning of the Jack Nicholson movie "About Schmidt" and it pretty much sums up the business of what actuaries do and are capable of. And always remember when seeking forecasted advice..... Your actual mileage may vary.
You can't go by those numbers because they take into account deaths at all ages. However, if you ONLY look at the life expectancy of those who made it past age 65, then life expectancy goes way up to something like 84. So if you have reached retirement age, you have a very good chance of reaching mid your 80s. Beau is right, the break even point if you wait until 70 to draw is about 81.5 which suggests that MOST people would benefit from waiting.
@@dlg5485 thanks that is good to know.. I think about all the people (obituaries) I see and I noticed that age thing.. quite by accident, but it got my attention. Where did you see this statistical analysis of the life expectancy? I would like to review it.
With all this vaccine complications with blood clots and other medical issues coming, it mite pay to take SS at 62 and enjoy the money. Why wait to collect SS and break even at 78, take it when you’re ready. I will delay for some years , because of taxes and need too draw down on a IRA.
Do you know why SS is capped on paychecks at $147k? Why wouldn't the government tax everyone above that too, I mean then there would be plenty in the kitty.
I'm 67 now and after I ran all the figures I think the sweet spot for me is going to be to sign up at 69.......I retired at 61 and have been living off my 401k rolled over to a IRA ever since then and I draw out $20,000 every year(Everything I have was paid off before 61 and at $20,000 I'm still putting thousands back into my savings every year) and even if I go all the way to 70 I will still be drawing out that $20,000 for 2 more years. So to me all I'm going to be doing is replacing one paycheck(My IRA) with another one(SSA).
I'm far from this age-wise, but I like your idea. Got my 401k + Roth going and yeah if I do my math right and have enough years of work under my belt - I can not work for a bit and wait to start SSA while living off retirement benefits first. Thanks for sharing.
Sir my hands were cut off saving somebody's life and they were reattached the right hand is nothing but a claw the left hand I have partial use of. I tried to go back to work in 2018 Walmart I did pretty good but the pain was so great and I kept having to hustle harder than everybody else couldn't hold boxes so I had to become a manager really quick but the pain kept growing the nerves were fused in with the skin and the bones. I reapplied to get back on social security early January 2020. They put me on a 6-month trial period where the judge was supposed to decide he didn't then they put me on the second 6-month trial. He didn't he kicked it my case all the way back to where it was first claimed. I am using a different law firm now the lubovic law group. Just filled out everything waiting to close the envelope on you there is a federal law statute 1744 connected maybe the 1734 the reading is a little bit confusing but anyway 1744 says that I can hire nurse maids to help me cuz I can't even tie my shoes cut up food and I eat frozen vegetables chopped vegetables I love my food marinated chopped I can't do things around the house especially time my shoes put on my clothes right takes me a while pick up things struggling. Anyway they said that I could hire nurse maids I wrote down for three of them are actually want to hire four but since last December they haven't paid me any of my back pay and that's December of last year so my back pay was around 15 to 16,000 because I had first filed in 20 but they paid me all the way to that December of this last year. So I added in $3,600 a month paying the three women to take care of me for you know 6 hours a day at around $10 an hour somewhere close to 5 days a week so somewhere around there it came to about 3,600 a month to hire three women I wanted four. So I told them to add that with the back pay and the back pay is now 55,000 this is for me word of mouth social security knows nothing about it yet because I haven't finished all the paperwork but that federal law statute 1744 is true because a lawyer friend of mine his best friend did it and he hired one woman. So what I'm trying to say is there anything else you can tell me any information you can give me to help me out my hand constantly hurts I can't type I can't do nothing the pain is grown so bad since I tried to use it that it just it's a pain and aching the whole time the skin is tight I just hurt every second of every hour and sleeping I wake up and my hands are numb and cold it takes me about 30 minutes before I get started feeling again meanwhile I'm fumbling around like I have two thumbs on the end of my elbows any information you can give me before I seal these documents would be appreciated
Thank you, I checked my social security account and they project my annual payment to be around $50K when I hit 70 in two years. I was wondering if that was correct because my peak earning years were less than $142K. You did a great job explaining the magical formula that social security uses. I suspect I am near the bottom of the scale that will receive the maximum benefit which is fine with me. I am trying to factor all of this in with my RMD at age 72.
What about when you've been on disability for 5 years only bring in 1300 a month I'm 61,is it smarter to just take social security or are they just calling disability your social security I worked since I was 16 to when I was 55
I began working for the Government in 2005 in California. They have a PERS system and do not pay into Social Security. In addition, instead of collecting full SS I will be docked a large percentage. I'm told there are other factors like I shouldn't collect my husband's SS because I will have a stop point around 5 years. I'm so confused about what to do.
I just got approved for disability SS and was wondering if it is taxable in the state of NY ? I do receive a retirement payment from a Roth Ira every month and I am 60 years old. Great video's by the way.
@@Adi-S Windfall Elimination Provision. Basically I didn’t pay into SS as a teacher but rather a state pension program. Even though I have now worked outside texas for 20+ years and even paid SS tax on income from part time jobs my SS benefits are reduced under WEP.
@@DavidSmith-lp5tz me too. I am German, married an American and worked here 26 years and 23 years in Germany. Once I apply for my pension in the US they will deduct SS by 200$. That’s a lot to me since I only get 1400$. I worked 49 years in my life and to me , that’s not fair. My pension from Germany is about 900euros. I can only make it because I have no debt and my condo is paid off.
Due to a financial crises I had to take SS early but then I was able to find employment again, and the SSA made me pay back the payments I received once I got back to work, in the period before my full retirement age. Also, my SS payments were reduced from the full retirement age amount due to being forced to take early retirement. But now that I have paid back those early payments received is it possible for me to get the amount I would have received if I did not have to take early payments? I am still working and paying into SS, and over my full retirement age.
How do I draw my husband's social security instead of mine he has begun to draw, but he only qualified for the last 3 months of the year he is still working and the way it was calculated they only allow him to draw 3 months he began at age 62 I will be 62 in a couple of months I plan to keep working and adding to my benefit portion if possible.
I was forced onto SS when I turned 63 because I was already on disability, but my payments don’t account for my inability to work. Shouldn’t my SS benefits be augmented, instead of paying as if I was not disabled?
SS disability is based on your FRA for SS. So, you have already been getting that amt. since you started receiving disability. You are ahead of the game.
@@dresser6135 Do you think us homeless people in wheelchairs who are on disability should be forced to live in our vehicles on the street? I have found no way to avoid it or go to the doctor anymore. Rent and utilities is way more than my disability check, and Medicare steals $170/ month of my money for insurance that only covers 80% of any bill. I can’t afford the other 20%. The $170 premium is wasted every month. People should just line us all up and shoot us. It would save the government a lot of money. People consider all homeless as living off the system. If we are dead, more money for them. It is cruel the way they barely keep us alive living on the streets dodging the mentally ill, crazy people, meth heads, and even cops waking us up when we finally do sleep just to harass us. It’s not our fault we got injured. In many cases its no one’s fault. Things happen. But we are lumped in with the druggies and drinkers like we caused our own issues. We can and should take care of at least the disabled. The only way to get housing, and all the good stuff is to develop a heroin addiction. They will give you everything for free. How screwed up is that? But that is the way things really are out here for the homeless disabled people.
@@SandfordSmythe absolutely. If you became disabled then you also would be entitled to the insurance benefits of Social Security. That’s the law FDR set up since 1935. It’s not a hand out. We all pay in. It is benefits of insurance and people still think we are living off others. We paid into that for decades. Now unable to work we are entitled to the benefits as you would be also if you become disabled. So it’s not a handout for not being able to work. I hope you understand now and understand this difference. Most people think it is a gift. Try living in a wheelchair in a vehicle for 6 1/2 years because what they give you in benefits is over the amount to qualify for housing but under the amount to pay for anything other than just the rent. So you choose between sitting in a bare apartment in you wheelchair with no money for water, power, food, dishes, furniture basically anything but just the rent, to living in your car and being able to eat and pay your car insurance, phone, and any other expenses. Still no money for a doctor but what can you do. Trust me. I have explored all options. Housing is not an option on the benefits they give if you are homeless and disabled. We are forced to live on the street and can’t go to the Dr while they steal $170 in Medicare premiums for 80% of the bill leaving us to pay the other 20% with no ability to pay it. All the money goes to food since we can’t cook with no power we are forced to buy prepared more expensive food.
Great video! Once I started watching your videos, I got more and more confused/worried. There are so many things I do not understand. One thing is a spouse benefit?!? If both work and both are eligible for a benefit, does that mean one of them does not get the full benefit, because the spouse gets also his/her own benefit?
the SS amount is only dependent on your personal income. So nobodys income from SS decreases because of someone elses benefit. The only time 'spousal' benefit comes into play is when the 'spouse' earned significantly less. If you were married at least 10 years, and your calculated SS benefit comes out to LESS than HALF of your spouses benefit, then you could get the "spousal' benefit, which is half of the other's amount, but it would not affect how much they get.
Can you do a video on getting a disability check at the age of 55 and what happens when you retire at 67. Will your social security check be smaller because you were on disability at a younger age?
It's complete and utter B.S. that I'll get hosed on my SSI because I'm also getting a pension. I worked 2 full time jobs and that penalizes me for rising up out of poverty?
Thanks for videos, all these are great. I think there was an error in your math of the bend points. You said the example was $48k adjusted income divided by 12 is $4k per month. First $1024 yields $922, so far I'm following. $4k-1024 = $2976; x0.32 = $952.32. So, I calculate 922+952 = $1874 monthly soc sec (before age calc). You skipped the example $48k and just assumed a $74k yearly adjusted income. Did I miss something?
I think he went from Apples to Oranges to explain his math Talked about maximizing benefits, then using the $48,000 figure when he talked Then used the new bend points to calculate
@@Satjr35031 yeah, it looked like there was an edit point where something was cut when he was talking about the $48k. I think was just to simplify the math. I think he could have made it clearer just saying the max 32% bend point was $74k yearly income.
Thanks!! I was following until that income tweak he made, then I got lost in the numbers.. I wonder if this could be done with an algebraic equation? I can do algebra, I just cannot reverse engineer it.
What if you raised a family and didn't work but a couple years and ended up disabled . What happens to a person ? Will said person lose their SSI at normal retirement age?
Healthy ? Enjoy your work ? Wait to retire / collect til 70. Best plan. Even if you keeled over at 70 & a day- your wife would collect your larger Soc Sec Pmt for the rest of her life. Give her that peace of mind.
Is there a process available that one can get out there that gives the conversion rate by year? Thank you for your videos, it is wonderful to stay informed.
I have both employment and self-employment. In 2021 I had a loss in my business. SS tax was paid on my employment, but will taking a loss on my SE business reduce my earnings toward SS?
Unfortunately, I get penalized by the WEP. I'm 55 now and have 25 pts so my goal is to continue working 2 jobs until age 60, hitting the "significant earnings" threshold those 5 more years to get me to 30 pts. Then retire and live off of my pension, DROP, and deferred comp accounts until age 70. By 70, my DROP account should be about half depleted and my deferred comp should be pretty much fully depleted. But then that's when I'll start taking my social security to offset no longer having the deferred comp income. Or should I take SS at 62 and roll it directly into an IRA so that should I not survive to 70, I can at least will the IRA to my kids, whereas I wouldn't be able to will that SS money to family if I never collected it before I die?
I have worked for around forty years. Mostly low paying jobs until I got an education and did better the last ten years of working. I am 65 years old and am currently not working. I am going to wait until my full retirement to collect. I go to the SSA website. They say that I will get 1650 per month at full retirement, period. Are you saying I could get more by using your method of calculations? And if so, how do I tell the SSA they are wrong?
I will have 31 years at age 70, but I will probably continue to work. Is the amount of my SS determined and set in stone when I start to collect at 70? Or is it recalculated as I continue to work & contribute?
Mr. Schmidt, I have a question. I quit working for a long time to raise our children, so don't have 35 years of income. I do qualify for benefits and will be 62 in a few years. It makes sense for me to collect at 62, because I can claim higher spousal benefits later when my husband retires. I'm currently working a part time job, and plan to do so after age 62. If those years of income after 62 would replace years of zero income out of the 35 years, would that increase my benefit, or is the amount set based on the amounts in place when I start collecting (ignoring COLA increases)?
My FRA is 66 and 4 months which will occur on July 31. If I start collecting now, I realize I will get a reduced amount, but will my payment go up to my FRA payment when I reach that point? Or will I be locked in at the lower amount forever?
Just a quick question not really related to this video. Can you explain what these "Crash-proof" investment options might be? I have received invites to free lunches for investment advisors to tell me about their "crash-proof" plans. Are they a bunch of hooey or might they be good fits for some people?
The SSA indexes all your earnings then takes the top 35 and divides by 420, which is the number of months in 35 years,to get your AIME…average index MONTHLY earnings.
I'm confused... Doesn't the Social Security figure this out for you when you retire? Is this video meant for those who haven't retired yet as a planning tool? My Mother is already retired so was this the way that Social Security figured out what her monthly benefit payment is or should she be using the explanation of your video to make sure she's getting the maximum Social Security she's due?
They definitely do, you can't choose how much you want to receive. They send you documents in the mail with your earnings. I know that depending on your birthday , start drawing maximum amount at 66 and you can work as much as you want and not get pentilized.
@@BruceLee-xn3nn I heard there's different age groups that determine how old you have to be to receive the maximum benefit you are entitled to. For example, the age for receiving full benefit was 65 for my father, but for people of my age group, it was raised to 67 and for people a few years younger than me, they have to wait until age 70 to receive their maximum benefit, not THE maximum, THEIR maximum, based on THEIR income. I'm sure the age will keep increasing to the point that most will die before collecting. I am 62 but unless I want my benefit income to be cut by 40% penalty, I must not collect until 67 if I want the maximum amount based on my income and my best 35 years. I have worked full time since I was sixteen except half time while I was in college. I have no husband's benefit's that I will be entitled to claim because there is a minimum amount of years you must have been married to qualify for that, so I'm penalized for not being married long enough, whereas my friend my age hasn't worked for several years, goes directly from collecting alimony to being able to claim the amount of half her ex-husband's benefit which is $4K per month in addition to her own retirement benefits. People despise those women who marry for money but since whomever you marry these days is more likely to be your ex-husband when you retire anyway, it's so smart to have an ex with a higher social security benefit.
I started collecting at 62 and since have been traveling the world 9 months a year
You will never get back those years wasted working
It was the best thing I’ve ever done
I plan to do this by age 58. I have a business I can do from anywhere, so I won't need SS right away. Good to know it's not regretted! Safe travels!
Hasn’t Covid put a damper on your travels. I have the means to travel anywhere I want but haven’t left the USA because every place I look at has draconian measures in place due to Covid.
@@johnscott2746 it sure did for a year and half. Since getting fully vaccinated, I’ve been to Costa Rica and Mexico twice.
Also booked for Thailand, leaving X-mas day
@@1deadhead I had plans to go to Greece but it’s bad over there so may have to wait a year or two. Have a great retirement! Merry Christmas!
@Just Passin' Through: you have done the best decision ever! keep enjoying life. I lived for 9 years in Colombia, move to the US, but in a couple years I'm moving to Thailand. I won't get much from the SS, but enough to have a good life in many places around the world.
70? We aren't guarenteed to live to see tomorrow, let alone until 70. I'm leaving the work force in January at age 62! Awesome video!
Excellent! 68.5 years old and I may have to finally collect. In a year and a half I lose about $9,000 when my hazard supplement ends, a private program, from my fire & rescue career. Not many of us reach my age. And I'm seriously disabled from it with no regrets I can think of.
I was watching old Night Gallery episodes on the weekend and noticed Bill Bixby in one. I thought what happened to him? Passed away at age 59 due to cancer. Made mental note to myself to not work until FRA and go out and enjoy life.
I watched my family members life’s, on the go from 60 to 70, doctors appointments 70 to 80, and died or nursing home in their 80’s. So enjoy your best years in your 60’s while can.
@@william-fla-321 I saw about the same thing.
I took off 17 years to raise my family, but was able to return to work at age 56 - worked until age 72 ,collected my SSA at age 70. Saved into 401k full amount for three years to add to my other IRA money stream. SSA now pays me over $3,000. I am relieved I have adequate funding to live on and have a generous budget to follow with savings. Single women need good financial info
Way to go Chris! Super encouraging comments to enlighten awesome moms out there that did not work for a while but then joined the workforce later.
Hi Chris 😊 How many total years did you work?
Amalia Hightower- I worked over 35 years accumulately. So SSA was able to pick the best 35 years.
😊👍 You made it ! 🎊
I was on SSDI and when I turned 66 it was transferred to SS..... I am getting much less than others. I worked since I was 16 . Stopped at 39.....
I have been told that SS provides extra credit for military time...since a lot of us older folks are veterans, it would be nice if you could comment on this in a future video...keep up the good work, your videos are appreciated!
okay...I have worked for 54 years. my best 35 years? it really seems like I paid more into social security than I will ever retrieve. What a racket! And I figured out what is best for me. given almost NO one in my family lives past the age of 70? I am best off taking SS at 62. But I have to say the way they structure this is to prevent ever giving you the money you put in back.
I really appreciate your information with your videos!! I am planning on waiting till I turn 70 to start collecting so I still have a number of years to get my finances in order and do more research. I'm glad I found your videos!!
I was a BA and a CA. I have 25 years in at SSA. I dealt mainly with DIB. But out of the thousands of beneficiaries who's claims I processed, the people who received the most were professionals. Unless your AIME is high, you will not get the maximum payment, you will get YOUR maximum payment. Of course, depending on when you claim your benefits, you will get more but that is not the point. In any event, you are NOT going to get more working at Burger King than a...CPA. And you certainly are not going to tell the CR in the FO how they are going to calculate your benefits. Also, if you invest in a 401(k), your earnings will be reduced by the amount you invest. And I can tell you, if you are worried more about SS benefits than you are about retirement, you need to rethink your strategy
Nope. You still pay FICA tax on funds put into a 401(k), and your Social Security benefit will NOT be reduced. However, funds contributed to a Health Savings Account (HSA) are not subjected to FICA tax, and your Social Security benefit WILL be reduced, unless your post-contribution amount remaining is still above the maximum amount subject to FICA.
I went on SSD in 2011 at the age of 60. I became aware that I was receiving more benefits than had I retired. When I became 65 years of age, SSA began giving me retirement benefits instead of disability benefits. Actually, they changed the name of the benefit as I continued receiving the same amount. I remember asking SSA if my benefit was going to be reduced because I would now be receiving normal retirement benefits instead of disability benefits. They told me that my benefit would remain the same. I guess I am kind of curious as to why my disability benefit was higher than my normal retirement benefit to begin with and why SSA didn't reduce it when it was no longer an actual disability benefit.
Do you have a video explaining how/when career housewives should take social security in relation to their husbands? Thanks for the most CLEAR explanation about SS I've ever heard.
Its curious how people will say they are waiting to 70 to retire and just 'don't know' how they will manage. I have been thinking about this since I was 50, and in the last 2 years paid off all debts. Mortgage will be paid off long before FRA. thanks for the videos!! Great information.
I started thinking about my retirement when I was 22 and started saving in a IRA. Now 59 with everything paid off and able to retire anytime I choose. The best part is when you have enough money, you can tell your employer to shove it !
They say "Time and die wait for no man"
Great info. Too bad most of us don't have the luxury of waiting until 70 to retire. Also have to wonder what the trade-off is for staying in a soul-crushing job 5 extra years when your health is already on the decline. Said another way... would you rather retire at 65 and live on a base income of $2k a month for the next 30 years or retire at 70 and live on a base income of $3k/month for 10 years?
I'm in the same boat with you. The answer for me depends on how in debt you are at age 65 versus 70. With my mortgage and car paid and no medical bills I can live on $2K per month and that's my goal. I can start collecting at age 62 but couldn't pay my mortgage, car payment, taxes at the amount I would receive by beginning to collect at age 62, (don't forget you have to keep paying taxes on your car and home every year even after the mortgage is paid off). If you live to 90 and collect SS at age 62 you can likely collect more SS by retiring at 62 than you would working until 70 before beginning to collect, the only problem is, can you live comfortably on losing 40% of your SS income for the rest of your life with inflation rising every year? Notice the man says his explanation is based entirely on the age of beginning to collect the SS income. With the stressful and physical demanding career I'm in, I don't think I'll live to 70 if I keep working full time but I don't want to live off of 60% of my SS income for the rest of my life either. You can still collect SS income while working part time. I'm trying to survive working until 65 to have my mortgage and car paid off first. Too late to increase my SS income by marrying a man so I can also be entitled to collect half of what he collects.
Kent, I'm sorry your job is so awful. Is there really no other company with similar work that you could work for instead? Your choice probably isn't between retirement or only your current job. Consider changing jobs so you can work longer and improve your health.
I began collecting the minimum at 63,but SSI told me that the 38 years I had a small business where your deductions for IRS were lowered each year by the first 2,000 dollars ,is NOT considered cash paid in, But the math is still there. So Ive been cheated by 80k. They said congress would have to change the law.
76,000, hope it wasn't a Tax business.
@@thisismagacountry1318 no,,I had a commercial interstate trucking service.
I dont wait 35 yrs. I might be dead by 28 yrs. I took SSA at 62. I am happy with $2k enjoying it while still alive n healthy.
Thanks for the comment
I learn something every time I watch one of your videos. Bravo! Thank you!
You are welcome Rosa
Thank you Schmidty! Took 2.1K at 62!
Excellent. I knew the general theory of how the benefit is less per dollar, but I thought it would have been done on a more variable calc. It really is an additional unspoken tax on those making more that approx 70k per year. Thanks for the education.
You bet
SS rewards those who stay employed for a long time. I had had enough of the working grind after 17 years. I quit my accounting job and moved overseas and began teaching English. Here it is 24 years later and I'm 63 years old. SSA tells me I'll only get about $1,500 a month if I wait until FRA, and even plans to claw back some of that thanks to something called the Windfall Elimination Provision. Am I sad? Nope. I got to experience overseas living and have the feeling my life has been an adventure. When I compare that life with sitting in an office, churning out financials and tax returns, I get a big smile on my face. Don't worry about me, though. I knew I couldn't rely on SS and invested well.
Thats screwed up. My mother gets spousal ss and has only worked maybe 3 years of her entire life and receives 1,200 a month.
@@BruceLee-xn3nn Well, lawmakers decided they would reward housewives/spouses for staying home to take care of the home front while the main breadwinner was out earning the big bucks in the workplace. It would be a little unfair to pay your mother only based on her three years of work, so lawmakers decided to give her a benefit calculated on her husband's much higher income.
4th involuntary lever is mortality. You can get less if you wait too long to collect in hopes of higher monthly payout.
Genetics you're stuck with. Things like smoking, alcohol, and other factors that reduce longevity can be tailored.
@@rickj1983 true but I also had a neighbor who was a vegetarian, jogged everyday, and never smoked or touched alcohol. He passed early from cancer. There is an element of luck we can’t control. But as you noted we can try to massage the odds.
@@Omikoshi78 lol! Everyone seems to have that neighbor! The fact is that the biggest danger that the elderly have is running short of money in their old age. If you wait to collect Social Security and die at 69, then you are dead and don’t need the money. But what is more likely is that you live to be 85 or 90 and the higher benefit will really be needed.
@@johnscott2746 fair enough. What I didn't want to state directly (because it can be depressing for some) was look at your family's health history as well. If everyone's passed around age X you probably don't want to start collecting social security at age X-1 or X-2. Best case you can breakthrough the trend with extra due diligence and advancement in medical science. But I like to be a realist when doing this type of math :)
@@Omikoshi78 yep. And that’s kinda a given. People should always look at their own personal situation when deciding when to collect their benefits.
I'm 54 and have already qualified for the maximum SS payment. It doesn't matter if I work another day. But, I'm not going to wait until 70 to start drawing. I figure my life expectancy is 81 because that is the age both of my parents died at and I'm no more healthy than they were. My wife has also already qualified for the maximum SS. payout as well at 51. I believe I will start at 62. The difference is minimal and immaterial when added all up whether I start at 62 and live to 81 or 70 and live to 81.
My mother has never worked a day in her life and draws spousal SS from my dad ,who shes not married to anymore. And recieves 1,200 a month. I know some that worked all their lives and only draw 1,500 a month
Thank you for this detailed and informative video. I have a spreadsheet that includes every year I worked and paid into FICA (starting 1975), adjusted for inflation. This took a great deal of time to build, but allows me to see clearly what the impact has been, and continues to be, of each working year. I also needed to avoid the Windfall Elimination Provision, and this allowed me to track all 30 years with significant earnings according to the SSA.
Hoping to turn on SSI at my FRA in 4 years. Wife starts earlier at her FRA, but then should add a spousal benefit once I file. Working now to max out contributions/earnings each year through and including 2025.
Great to see a fellow spreadsheet aficionado!
wish i understood how to do that!!
If you’re that detailed and anal about the numbers, I highly doubt you are going to rely on or need social security. Something tells me you will be fine in retirement.
@@jeremyking3986 He just had a good plan and I wish I had been more prepared for what is to come at retirement.
@@SCfanIam100 I actually got divorced over my retirement plans. My ex wanted to spend, I wanted to save. My plan is to retire at 62 and travel, my ex wanted me to work till I die and rely on social security. It was a set back financially to divorce, but im on track with my plan.
I’m always, always so very grateful for your incredible, trustworthy, and reliable information. Thanks so much for all that you do!!!
Thanks for the kinds words Carol!
Compare your monthly expenses (it may take some work) compared to your expected income. Worst-case scenario, take on a roommate or evaluate a reverse mortgage.
@@dougb8207 Thanks Doug. Yes, getting my ducks in a row, evaluating all my expenses, etc., are on my high-priority To Do list. Mortgage concerns are not part of the process; I live in an apartment. Thanks again for your input.
Carol B, I think you're right about choosing a good channel to get retirement info from but I can't understand why someone approaching 69 years of age would wait to this point of your working life to start planning and studying about it! At least you're healthy enough to still be around to think about it now! I hope you have many more years left to enjoy the fruits of your labor. In the last few years I've had a few people pass away suddenly who happen to be much younger than you or me for that matter, so I hope you get to spend some time doing things that make you happy! :) After all isn't that the ultimate goal?
@@dougb8207 Be very very careful. I know of a person that was screwed on hers because the company lowballed the value of her house.
Great explanation of the bendpoints. And this perfectly explains why the cries to remove the contributions cap are so sinister and evil. High wage earners already get screwed by social security. Removing the cap will screw them even more.
The system also favors older people. Two people wait to seventy. One is old enough to qualify for a retirement age of 66 years and 8 months. The other is younger with a retirement age of 67. The older person gets an additional 4 months of credits, which can be significant.
Totally. Seems unfair I admit.
The SSA like the govt that runs it wants you to work longer and thus paying more taxes, rather than retiring young. They tax in the past, the present, the future, and at your death!
That change happened under Bush, I think..
@LCARS DATA NODE That is not even remotely what I said. Read again this FACTUAL statement and perhaps you’ll learn something.
Well I have never in my life earned anywhere near 100k, not even 50k so there is no way I would even consider waiting to the max age to draw SS. Waiting to the max age is only feasible if you are comfortable with an existing income and you are completely healthy. I don't know anyone who has ever drawn 1500, let alone 3k. It's the poor or average wage earner who depend on SS, not the rich. Honestly if I were rich, I would donate my SS to someone in need. There are so many people who were never taught anything about how SS works and only that when they got there, they would draw a pension. The sad part for the average person is that even if you have phenominal health insurance, you are still forced onto medicare that you have to pay a much higher premium for and whoever you were already with becomes a secondary payer.
Old age is not for the poor!
no, it really isn't. my friend paid 60 a month for insurance under obamacare, but when she turned 65, they forced her to medicare...$400 a month for the equivalent. for a person who can barely afford food??? seriously????! This country needs work.
Great information! Easy to understand and not condescending.
Thank you for this great information and the Retirement Ready Checklist. Very generous of you.
This is my first time watching you, I watch Dave Ramsey program but never hear of you till now. I like how you use board to explain and your calmness. But a person as myself on SSI and SSA will I still get retirement money and will my ssi be less? Only wondering 🤔
I, too, recently discovered Schmidt. HIs information is GOLDEN. Plus, it is very easy to understand.
Thanks for sharing this important information in a well-organized fashion.
Ha, I was just telling someone that those who become members of FIRE will almost certainly have lower SS collections when they are able to draw......however, those people never relied on SS as part of their plan ad thus what SS they do get is kind of like found money.
Find your videos to be quite helpful as I begin to look at my options for retirement…Thanks!
One of my jobs, I worked for a large Navy contractor for almost 5 years. When I applied for my SSI they showed no income for those years, thus reducing my SSI. This was before computers, everything was paper & pen. I called the contractor numerous times to get "we'll look into it." I later find out everything is in a huge warehouse with 100's of thousands of files. They did take out federal, state & county taxes which were correct. The only thing that made any sense was the suggestion that someone wrote / entered my SS# wrong and my money went into another's SS account. Of course, I had long ago destroyed any paperwork from those decades earlier. Any suggestions ??
W-2 forms?
You mentioned we need to ask a lot of questions. I don't even know where to begin. So, what questions should we be asking?
Thank you, Jeff. You’re a good man.
I hope by the time I retire, the SSA is not running out of money or looted by politicians.
You should worry more about current workers wanting to fund SS
The SSA has just sent out the benefit notices for 2022. The IRMAA brackets are up, but they are not up as much as other inflation adjusted payments and brackets. That's because IRMAA inflation adjustments use an entirely different formula - just as IRMAA is calculated based on a different MAGI than is used in other parts of the tax code.
Thumbs down (to IRMAA and the "soak the rich" schemes that punish the middle income person more than the truly rich)
I believe both IRMAA and the taxation scheme for Social Security received have not been adequately adjusted to reflect the effects of inflation; pushing people towards higher taxes without their actually having received any more purchasing power
@@davidpowell3347 - Well, single retirees with 6-figure incomes are not exactly poor. A single retired guy can live very nicely on $125K in most parts of the country.
Thank you for your tireless efforts. The spread sheet is greatly appreciated.
I started working full-time nights in high school in 1981 I graduated in 83 got fired in 86 because my supervisor stole a bank deposit. I got unemployment he got jail time lol anyway I was unemployed for about 6 months I said to myself never again. I've had 2 jobs till I got a union job at age 32 been there for 27 years going hit 30 years and 62 at the same time with a full pension
Social Security sends me yearly statements showing what i will get, so its easy, they do all the math.
Thank you for the video. I find it very interesting. It’s unfortunate that I lack trust in others, so I’m trying to figure it out myself. Wish me luck!
Good luck. Keep asking questions.
Just feel like general comment (haven't looked at today's stocks yet) that a 20% "correction" feels a whole lot better to me than continued accelerating inflation due to recklessly inappropriately low interest rates.
Plenty of time later on for "it"(Market) to go back up.
1:55 and no info..I think this briefing could be done in 3 1/2 minutes...although it was very good.
So basically the govt has performed the risk assessment that you will not live pass 70+ to achieve you maximum ss benefit. They count on you claiming early to only receive the minimum possible benefit
Dad paid extra in to SS to slightly increase mom’s SS payment… didn’t realize that spouse gets half the amount of SS from the word go!
Do you have a video discussing the cost of Medicare and the age at which you take SSI?
Stay healthy 'dont let your employer burn u out 'exercise 'play sports 'hobbies that generate income very important ' a handiman with licenses does well 'take cash money cash money' quit at 65
Everyone approaching SS age should watch this guy. The big question is take it at 62? I guess it depends, haha. Larry
I feel the first person you should go talk to while making Social Security plans is a reputable actuary.
This may be an uncomfortable conversation for some, but the reality is if you're probably going to live to age 75 it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to wait till age 70 to pull the Social Security trigger.
Conversely if the actuary thinks you will probably live to age 98 you're most likely better off in holding off.
Ironically watch the beginning of the
Jack Nicholson movie "About Schmidt" and it pretty much sums up the business of what actuaries do and are capable of.
And always remember when seeking forecasted advice..... Your actual mileage may vary.
As I recall, the break even point is around 81 or 82 years old.
You can't go by those numbers because they take into account deaths at all ages. However, if you ONLY look at the life expectancy of those who made it past age 65, then life expectancy goes way up to something like 84. So if you have reached retirement age, you have a very good chance of reaching mid your 80s. Beau is right, the break even point if you wait until 70 to draw is about 81.5 which suggests that MOST people would benefit from waiting.
@@dlg5485 thanks that is good to know.. I think about all the people (obituaries) I see and I noticed that age thing.. quite by accident, but it got my attention. Where did you see this statistical analysis of the life expectancy? I would like to review it.
With all this vaccine complications with blood clots and other medical issues coming, it mite pay to take SS at 62 and enjoy the money. Why wait to collect SS and break even at 78, take it when you’re ready. I will delay for some years , because of taxes and need too draw down on a IRA.
@@william-fla-321 really getting tired of you anti-vaxxers. If you don’t want to take it , fine but stop spreading lies!
Do you know why SS is capped on paychecks at $147k? Why wouldn't the government tax everyone above that too, I mean then there would be plenty in the kitty.
Because these rich people have better places to invest their money. You are expecting they would for pay your benefits?
I'm 67 now and after I ran all the figures I think the sweet spot for me is going to be to sign up at 69.......I retired at 61 and have been living off my 401k rolled over to a IRA ever since then and I draw out $20,000 every year(Everything I have was paid off before 61 and at $20,000 I'm still putting thousands back into my savings every year) and even if I go all the way to 70 I will still be drawing out that $20,000 for 2 more years.
So to me all I'm going to be doing is replacing one paycheck(My IRA) with another one(SSA).
I'm far from this age-wise, but I like your idea. Got my 401k + Roth going and yeah if I do my math right and have enough years of work under my belt - I can not work for a bit and wait to start SSA while living off retirement benefits first. Thanks for sharing.
My SS payment was reduced because half of my career I have school retirement. SSI calls this Windfall??? I earned both. How is this fair?
Great video as always, thanks!
Thanks David
Sir my hands were cut off saving somebody's life and they were reattached the right hand is nothing but a claw the left hand I have partial use of. I tried to go back to work in 2018 Walmart I did pretty good but the pain was so great and I kept having to hustle harder than everybody else couldn't hold boxes so I had to become a manager really quick but the pain kept growing the nerves were fused in with the skin and the bones. I reapplied to get back on social security early January 2020. They put me on a 6-month trial period where the judge was supposed to decide he didn't then they put me on the second 6-month trial. He didn't he kicked it my case all the way back to where it was first claimed. I am using a different law firm now the lubovic law group. Just filled out everything waiting to close the envelope on you there is a federal law statute 1744 connected maybe the 1734 the reading is a little bit confusing but anyway 1744 says that I can hire nurse maids to help me cuz I can't even tie my shoes cut up food and I eat frozen vegetables chopped vegetables I love my food marinated chopped I can't do things around the house especially time my shoes put on my clothes right takes me a while pick up things struggling. Anyway they said that I could hire nurse maids I wrote down for three of them are actually want to hire four but since last December they haven't paid me any of my back pay and that's December of last year so my back pay was around 15 to 16,000 because I had first filed in 20 but they paid me all the way to that December of this last year. So I added in $3,600 a month paying the three women to take care of me for you know 6 hours a day at around $10 an hour somewhere close to 5 days a week so somewhere around there it came to about 3,600 a month to hire three women I wanted four. So I told them to add that with the back pay and the back pay is now 55,000 this is for me word of mouth social security knows nothing about it yet because I haven't finished all the paperwork but that federal law statute 1744 is true because a lawyer friend of mine his best friend did it and he hired one woman. So what I'm trying to say is there anything else you can tell me any information you can give me to help me out my hand constantly hurts I can't type I can't do nothing the pain is grown so bad since I tried to use it that it just it's a pain and aching the whole time the skin is tight I just hurt every second of every hour and sleeping I wake up and my hands are numb and cold it takes me about 30 minutes before I get started feeling again meanwhile I'm fumbling around like I have two thumbs on the end of my elbows any information you can give me before I seal these documents would be appreciated
Thank you, I checked my social security account and they project my annual payment to be around $50K when I hit 70 in two years. I was wondering if that was correct because my peak earning years were less than $142K. You did a great job explaining the magical formula that social security uses. I suspect I am near the bottom of the scale that will receive the maximum benefit which is fine with me. I am trying to factor all of this in with my RMD at age 72.
Nicely presented and very helpful.
I think your video title is off. It should have been, “How does the SSA determine your social security payment.”
What about when you've been on disability for 5 years only bring in 1300 a month I'm 61,is it smarter to just take social security or are they just calling disability your social security I worked since I was 16 to when I was 55
I began working for the Government in 2005 in California. They have a PERS system and do not pay into Social Security. In addition, instead of collecting full SS I will be docked a large percentage. I'm told there are other factors like I shouldn't collect my husband's SS because I will have a stop point around 5 years. I'm so confused about what to do.
Great information! Thanks for the information!
You bet
I just got approved for disability SS and was wondering if it is taxable in the state of NY ? I do receive a retirement payment from a Roth Ira every month and I am 60 years old. Great video's by the way.
I was a public school teacher in texas for 12 years. My SS will be reduced for WEP. I’d like to see your take on WEP and any work around.
What is a WEP?
@@Adi-S Windfall Elimination Provision. Basically I didn’t pay into SS as a teacher but rather a state pension program. Even though I have now worked outside texas for 20+ years and even paid SS tax on income from part time jobs my SS benefits are reduced under WEP.
@@DavidSmith-lp5tz me too. I am German, married an American and worked here 26 years and 23 years in Germany. Once I apply for my pension in the US they will deduct SS by 200$. That’s a lot to me since I only get 1400$. I worked 49 years in my life and to me , that’s not fair. My pension from Germany is about 900euros. I can only make it because I have no debt and my condo is paid off.
@@beautyRest1 You just don't get the extra money low earners get.
No work around. They got you for now.
Look at that. I had no idea thats how it worked. 👏🏽👏🏽👍🏾
This was a fantastic video to ubderstand ss! Thank you!!
Due to a financial crises I had to take SS early but then I was able to find employment again, and the SSA made me pay back the payments I received once I got back to work, in the period before my full retirement age. Also, my SS payments were reduced from the full retirement age amount due to being forced to take early retirement. But now that I have paid back those early payments received is it possible for me to get the amount I would have received if I did not have to take early payments? I am still working and paying into SS, and over my full retirement age.
The biggest lever is waiting until 70. My Federal welfare check,SS, at 70 will be $4,328. None of us paid much into the program.
Also, don't forget this payment is before tax calculation, so it will be further reduced.
I became disabled at age 37. I am confused about the 3 step formula. Where can I find an explanation that can help me increase my SSDI income?😊
How do I draw my husband's social security instead of mine he has begun to draw, but he only qualified for the last 3 months of the year he is still working and the way it was calculated they only allow him to draw 3 months he began at age 62 I will be 62 in a couple of months I plan to keep working and adding to my benefit portion if possible.
I was forced onto SS when I turned 63 because I was already on disability, but my payments don’t account for my inability to work. Shouldn’t my SS benefits be augmented, instead of paying as if I was not disabled?
SS disability is based on your FRA for SS. So, you have already been getting that amt. since you started receiving disability. You are ahead of the game.
Retirement means you are no longer going to work, so would you expect money for not being able to work?
@@dresser6135 Do you think us homeless people in wheelchairs who are on disability should be forced to live in our vehicles on the street? I have found no way to avoid it or go to the doctor anymore. Rent and utilities is way more than my disability check, and Medicare steals $170/ month of my money for insurance that only covers 80% of any bill. I can’t afford the other 20%. The $170 premium is wasted every month. People should just line us all up and shoot us. It would save the government a lot of money. People consider all homeless as living off the system. If we are dead, more money for them. It is cruel the way they barely keep us alive living on the streets dodging the mentally ill, crazy people, meth heads, and even cops waking us up when we finally do sleep just to harass us. It’s not our fault we got injured. In many cases its no one’s fault. Things happen. But we are lumped in with the druggies and drinkers like we caused our own issues. We can and should take care of at least the disabled. The only way to get housing, and all the good stuff is to develop a heroin addiction. They will give you everything for free. How screwed up is that? But that is the way things really are out here for the homeless disabled people.
@@SandfordSmythe absolutely. If you became disabled then you also would be entitled to the insurance benefits of Social Security. That’s the law FDR set up since 1935. It’s not a hand out. We all pay in. It is benefits of insurance and people still think we are living off others. We paid into that for decades. Now unable to work we are entitled to the benefits as you would be also if you become disabled. So it’s not a handout for not being able to work. I hope you understand now and understand this difference. Most people think it is a gift. Try living in a wheelchair in a vehicle for 6 1/2 years because what they give you in benefits is over the amount to qualify for housing but under the amount to pay for anything other than just the rent. So you choose between sitting in a bare apartment in you wheelchair with no money for water, power, food, dishes, furniture basically anything but just the rent, to living in your car and being able to eat and pay your car insurance, phone, and any other expenses. Still no money for a doctor but what can you do. Trust me. I have explored all options. Housing is not an option on the benefits they give if you are homeless and disabled. We are forced to live on the street and can’t go to the Dr while they steal $170 in Medicare premiums for 80% of the bill leaving us to pay the other 20% with no ability to pay it. All the money goes to food since we can’t cook with no power we are forced to buy prepared more expensive food.
@@mehameha4453 His status is unclear.
Great video! Once I started watching your videos, I got more and more confused/worried.
There are so many things I do not understand.
One thing is a spouse benefit?!? If both work and both are eligible for a benefit, does that
mean one of them does not get the full benefit, because the spouse gets also his/her own benefit?
the SS amount is only dependent on your personal income. So nobodys income from SS decreases because of someone elses benefit. The only time 'spousal' benefit comes into play is when the 'spouse' earned significantly less. If you were married at least 10 years, and your calculated SS benefit comes out to LESS than HALF of your spouses benefit, then you could get the "spousal' benefit, which is half of the other's amount, but it would not affect how much they get.
@@anniesshenanigans3815 thanks you!
Can you do a video on getting a disability check at the age of 55 and what happens when you retire at 67. Will your social security check be smaller because you were on disability at a younger age?
Does your Bendpoint spreadsheet calculations include the 5.9% SS increase for 2022?
Always grateful for the knowledge... 🥳
You bet
It's complete and utter B.S. that I'll get hosed on my SSI because I'm also getting a pension. I worked 2 full time jobs and that penalizes me for rising up out of poverty?
Thanks for videos, all these are great. I think there was an error in your math of the bend points. You said the example was $48k adjusted income divided by 12 is $4k per month. First $1024 yields $922, so far I'm following. $4k-1024 = $2976; x0.32 = $952.32. So, I calculate 922+952 = $1874 monthly soc sec (before age calc). You skipped the example $48k and just assumed a $74k yearly adjusted income. Did I miss something?
I think he went from Apples to Oranges to explain his math Talked about maximizing benefits, then using the $48,000 figure when he talked Then used the new bend points to calculate
@@Satjr35031 yeah, it looked like there was an edit point where something was cut when he was talking about the $48k. I think was just to simplify the math. I think he could have made it clearer just saying the max 32% bend point was $74k yearly income.
@@billhall1555 good pickup anyway
Thanks!! I was following until that income tweak he made, then I got lost in the numbers.. I wonder if this could be done with an algebraic equation? I can do algebra, I just cannot reverse engineer it.
Subscribing today! Thx Schmitt
I get $20.000 a week from the TDA card because I have the routing number already done with the social security office
What if you raised a family and didn't work but a couple years and ended up disabled . What happens to a person ? Will said person lose their SSI at normal retirement age?
Doesn't the calculator on the SS site do this for you? You move the needle on age, etc.
Yes, I love to play on the SSA website! 😂
Who do you go to to adjust your payment. The offices just aren't that friendly. Is there a mail in form?
Healthy ? Enjoy your work ? Wait to retire / collect til 70. Best plan. Even if you keeled over at 70 & a day- your wife would collect your larger Soc Sec Pmt for the rest of her life. Give her that peace of mind.
Mine was based on last year of taxable income, of which I happened to only work for half the year.
Is there a process available that one can get out there that gives the conversion rate by year? Thank you for your videos, it is wonderful to stay informed.
I'm on SSDI and have been for 20 years. I'm 64. What will happen to my SSDI income and can a retired person work any
I have both employment and self-employment. In 2021 I had a loss in my business. SS tax was paid on my employment, but will taking a loss on my SE business reduce my earnings toward SS?
Unfortunately, I get penalized by the WEP. I'm 55 now and have 25 pts so my goal is to continue working 2 jobs until age 60, hitting the "significant earnings" threshold those 5 more years to get me to 30 pts. Then retire and live off of my pension, DROP, and deferred comp accounts until age 70. By 70, my DROP account should be about half depleted and my deferred comp should be pretty much fully depleted. But then that's when I'll start taking my social security to offset no longer having the deferred comp income. Or should I take SS at 62 and roll it directly into an IRA so that should I not survive to 70, I can at least will the IRA to my kids, whereas I wouldn't be able to will that SS money to family if I never collected it before I die?
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!
All this is retired ssi wat about regular ssi in Texas the maximum is 794
I have worked for around forty years. Mostly low paying jobs until I got an education and did better the last ten years of working. I am 65 years old and am currently not working. I am going to wait until my full retirement to collect. I go to the SSA website. They say that I will get 1650 per month at full retirement, period. Are you saying I could get more by using your method of calculations? And if so, how do I tell the SSA they are wrong?
I will have 31 years at age 70, but I will probably continue to work. Is the amount of my SS determined and set in stone when I start to collect at 70? Or is it recalculated as I continue to work & contribute?
Mr. Schmidt, I have a question. I quit working for a long time to raise our children, so don't have 35 years of income. I do qualify for benefits and will be 62 in a few years. It makes sense for me to collect at 62, because I can claim higher spousal benefits later when my husband retires. I'm currently working a part time job, and plan to do so after age 62. If those years of income after 62 would replace years of zero income out of the 35 years, would that increase my benefit, or is the amount set based on the amounts in place when I start collecting (ignoring COLA increases)?
I'm 65 and will work for two and a half years and wonder how much I can draw and still work
Is the spreadsheet still available to download? it only allows me to download the Checklist but not the Spreadsheet
Is the estimate provided by SSA on their web site accurate?
What about people who take forever to get to the point? Is their advice valuable? Hello? Hello?
My FRA is 66 and 4 months which will occur on July 31. If I start collecting now, I realize I will get a reduced amount, but will my payment go up to my FRA payment when I reach that point? Or will I be locked in at the lower amount forever?
Just a quick question not really related to this video. Can you explain what these "Crash-proof" investment options might be? I have received invites to free lunches for investment advisors to tell me about their "crash-proof" plans. Are they a bunch of hooey or might they be good fits for some people?
The SSA indexes all your earnings then takes the top 35 and divides by 420, which is the number of months in 35 years,to get your AIME…average index MONTHLY earnings.
Except any earnings 60 and older are not indexed for inflation
I'm confused... Doesn't the Social Security figure this out for you when you retire? Is this video meant for those who haven't retired yet as a planning tool? My Mother is already retired so was this the way that Social Security figured out what her monthly benefit payment is or should she be using the explanation of your video to make sure she's getting the maximum Social Security she's due?
They definitely do, you can't choose how much you want to receive. They send you documents in the mail with your earnings. I know that depending on your birthday , start drawing maximum amount at 66 and you can work as much as you want and not get pentilized.
@@BruceLee-xn3nn I heard there's different age groups that determine how old you have to be to receive the maximum benefit you are entitled to. For example, the age for receiving full benefit was 65 for my father, but for people of my age group, it was raised to 67 and for people a few years younger than me, they have to wait until age 70 to receive their maximum benefit, not THE maximum, THEIR maximum, based on THEIR income. I'm sure the age will keep increasing to the point that most will die before collecting. I am 62 but unless I want my benefit income to be cut by 40% penalty, I must not collect until 67 if I want the maximum amount based on my income and my best 35 years. I have worked full time since I was sixteen except half time while I was in college. I have no husband's benefit's that I will be entitled to claim because there is a minimum amount of years you must have been married to qualify for that, so I'm penalized for not being married long enough, whereas my friend my age hasn't worked for several years, goes directly from collecting alimony to being able to claim the amount of half her ex-husband's benefit which is $4K per month in addition to her own retirement benefits. People despise those women who marry for money but since whomever you marry these days is more likely to be your ex-husband when you retire anyway, it's so smart to have an ex with a higher social security benefit.