Many people close to retirement are ready to collect Social Security, but not quite ready to stop working. This might be because they love what they do, or because the need to keep working to make ends meet. A common misunderstanding that many potential retires have is that they cannot collect Social Security benefits while working. On the contrary, a US resident may qualify for and receive Social Security benefits and still keep their job. If this is for you, then you just need to follow the Social Security Administration‘s guidelines to receive the benefits.
There are some criteria spelled out by the SSA that will allow you to work and receive Social Security benefits at the same time. These depend on how old you are, how much you work and the amount of income you are earning. Planning with this in mind, you should be able to continue working and collecting Social Security with little difficulty.
Can I collect Social Security at 62 and still work?
One can start collecting Social Security benefits as of age 62. However, they won’t reach Full Retirement Age (FRA) until they are age 66 or 67. However, keep in mind that the amount of retirement benefits you can receive at age 62 is substantially less than you can get when you are FRA, or if you wait until you are 70, at which point you can receive some 23% more than you would get at FRA.
If you do claim early retirement support, it is important that you understand how working while collecting Social Security can also affect you’re the amount of benefits you might be entitled to. Every year, the SSA establishes an earning limit for enrollees. This means that you can only receive up to a certain amount of income before your Social Security benefits are reduced. If you earn more than your limit before you reach your FRA, the Social Security Administration will withhold some of your benefits. For every $2 you earn over the income limit, $1 is deducted from your benefit payment.
Can I collect Social Security benefits at age 66 and still be working?
Of course! You may work and receive social security benefits at age 66 or 67 as well. At this point, you would be eligible to receive full social security retirement benefits. However, if you apply during your birth year but before you meet your FRA, your benefit amount may be reduced, so if you can hold off, you might be served better.
