Ask Rusty: What is the Formula for Deciding When to Claim SS?

Dear Rusty: I am curious about the “formula” to decide when to take Social Security (SS) while still working. I am past the full retirement age (FRA). How do you best address such? Should we schedule a call? Signed: Wondering When Dear Wondering When: Well, you can always contact us by phone on (888) 750-2622 to speak to one of our certified Social Security advisors, or you can send your questions to us via email at SSadvisor@amacfoundation.org. You don’t need to pre-schedule a meeting, as we have multiple advisors answering the phone on most normal business days. If they all happen to be busy when you call, simply leave a voicemail and an advisor will return your call promptly. For starters, since you have reached your FRA, know that your work earnings will no longer negatively affect your SS benefits. You can earn as much as possible, and your monthly SS amount will be the same, based on your average lifetime monthly earnings (for your highest 35 years), and based on your age when you claim. Since you have not yet claimed SS, you are already earning delayed retirement credits (DRCs) which increase your monthly SS amount by 0.667 percent for each month you continue to delay. That’s 8 percent for each full year you delay past your FRA. You should not, however, wait longer than age 70 to claim because that is when you will get your maximum SS benefit amount. For you, that means that your age 70 amount will be 28 percent more than the amount you would have received at your FRA of 66 years and 6 months (in October 2023), and about 15 percent more than if you were to claim now. Note too, that if your more recent income is among the highest of your lifetime, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will automatically increase your monthly SS retirement amount to account for that event. It will check your work earnings each year to see if you are entitled to a larger SS amount because of your recent earnings. Since (according to your AMAC member record) you are married, you may also wish to consider whether your wife will get a spousal benefit from you when you claim. If your wife’s personal SS retirement amount at her FRA is less than the amount you were entitled to at your FRA, then she will get a spousal boost when you claim. With her spousal boost (if claimed at her FRA), her total SS benefit should be about 50 percent of your FRA benefit amount (not half of the higher amount you will get because you waited longer to claim). But your wife cannot get a spousal boost until you are collecting your SS. And here is something else to think about: received SS benefits will become part of your overall income taxed by the IRS when you submit your income-tax return. If you file your income tax as “married/jointly” and your combined income from all sources is more than $32,000 then some of your SS benefits will become taxable income. If your combined income is between $32,001 and $44,000, then half of the SS benefits you received during the tax year becomes part of your taxable income. Or, if your combined income from all sources exceeds $44,000, then about 85 percent of your received SS benefits will become part of your income taxed by the IRS. Just something to keep in mind, especially since you are still working.                      

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Russell Gloor is a national Social Security advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC). The 2.4-million-member AMAC says it is a senior advocacy organization. Send your questions to: ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org. Author’s note: This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained, and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). The NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity.