People sometimes decide that they would like to continue working even after they reach the age of Social Security eligibility. Some simply enjoy their work and they see no real reason to step away. Others continue working out of financial need.
If you do not want to be forced to work as a senior citizen you would do well to engage in some intelligent retirement planning. When you work up a cogent plan for the future with the assistance of a good South Carolina financial planning attorney you have a game plan to stick to that leads to the fruition of your goals.
On the other hand, people who improvise on a day-to-day basis without any cogent framework to live by are often those who wind up with little choice but to work until they simply can’t do so anymore because of physical limitations.
Those who choose to work while receiving Social Security should be aware of the guidelines. Your full retirement age depends on your year of birth, but if you are not receiving Social Security yet it is somewhere between the age of 66 and 67.
If you wait until you reach full retirement age to apply for Social Security you can earn any amount of money working without seeing your benefit reduced at all.
However, under Social Security rules you can receive your benefit early. Once you reach the age of 62 you can apply for your benefit, but it would be less than you would have received had you waited until you reached the age of full benefit eligibility.
There is a potential benefit reduction for people who continue working after accepting Social Security early. In 2012 you can only earn $14,640 before a benefit reduction kicks in. Your Social Security benefit is reduced by one dollar for every two dollars that you make that exceeds this figure.
It should be noted that this $14,640 limit is subject to change on an ongoing basis.
John Kuhn, Estate Planning Attorney
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