Estimating Social Security for one or two years of additional work

Question

I was looking at Social Security web site and they have option to find out how much will be retirement benefits will I get in two scenarios: Below are two scenarios and numbers(slightly modified).

• If stop Working Now ( I suppose at end of 2021)

At Age 62: $930 per month

At Age 67: $1315 per month

At Age 70: $1610 per month

• If Continue to Work (in similar wage)

At Age 62: $1710 per month

At Age 67: $2605 per month

At Age 70: $3330 per month

My question is that currently I have about 28 years of credit ( not full 35 years), but suppose if I want to just stop working right now in year 2020 ( i.e should get full 4 credit of the year but at half rate) and next year in.e in year 2023 if I just work part time to get all 4 credit ( but at really low wage), how Can I estimate my monthly social security retirement benefit at say when I turn 67 as I can certainly sustain till 67 years without earning ?

Note: I was looking for answer for, what will be benefits at 67, if I only work for next 2 years. The tool at SSN, is a good one and did for 62, I put retirement age as current age plus 2 and rounded earning from past and for earnings of 2022 about 95% or 2021 earning and for 2023 and beyond 25% of 2021. The benefit moved from $930 to $1075 in today's dollar. In terms of future $ it was about 1.9 times at $2044. So will not be a part of Great Resignation.

Answer 1

Credits only matter to get the 40 to qualify. Beyond that they are completely meaningless, only your total social security income (adjusted for inflation) is relevant. They add up your top 35 years and base your check on that although the relationship is not linear.

Note that they do this even if you're already drawing benefits--if you earn enough for it to be one of your top 35 years (since you only have 28 even $1 increases it) your check will go up.

Answer 2

There are several different calculators on the Social Security site. The simpler ones make a number of assumptions including future earnings. Others allow you to provide such information. It appears to me that the "My Social Security Retirement Estimate" calculator on this page will allow you to enter your expected income in future years and calculate your expected benefit.

If that one doesn't give what you need, take a look at this one:

Answer 3

What is your current age? The Social Security benefit amount is set depending on the age at which you choose to start receiving SS benefits.

If you stop working now but choose to start your SS benefits at Age 62, SSA will pay you $930/month for the rest of your life (amount increases a little as per SSA announcements of general increases). If you choose to start at Age 67 (full retirement age), SSA will pay you $1315/month for the rest of your life etc.

If you continue working (at similar wages) till 62 and then retire and choose to start receiving SS benefits right away, you will increase th total number of years that you have paid SS tax, and your SS benefit will be $1710/month, more than the $1315/month you would have received if you had stopped working now and opted to start SS benefits at age 70.

Under either scenario, the SS benefit increases by about 8% per year from a start date of Age 62 to Start date of Age 70. There are no further increases after Age 70. Roughly speaking, if you start receiving SS benefits at any age X between 62 and 70 and live for exactly as many years as the life expectancy tables say that an X year-old can be expected to live, then the total amount of SS benefit that you will collect over your lifetime is the same as retiring at any other age between 62 and 70.

Moral: if you are not in good health and are likely to not survive as long as the life expectancy tables, start your SS benefits at Age 62 even though the amount is small, so that you collect at least something while you are still alive. But if you are in good health and expect to live well past what the life expectancy tables say, wait till Age 70 to start your SS benefit. You will be laughing all the way to the bank once you have exceeded your life expectancy at Age 70