Social Security Question

[notfornothing]

Cool. I’m in my eighth year and I hereby reserve the right to freepmail you if I get stumped by something!

PS - I made $17,000 babysitting last year - I wrote it down on a single piece of paper - and I want to claim my nieces and nephews....will you do my taxes? ;)

[savedbygrace]

Thank you. As far as I can tell, that is the correct solution.

[savedbygrace]

I thank everyone who posted here. I appreciate it.

[notfornothing]

You bet. Glad I could help!

[trebb]

I wouldn’t worry about it - if you are eligible for SS, apply for it. Statistics show that waiting until 65 (or older) for higher amounts doesn’t usually pay as much in the long run as taking it early. Even if part of it is taxed, you still net more than if you’re not taking it.

[savedbygrace]

I understand that. What I’m trying to determine is if my net dollars working part time and collecting SS would be at least what my net dollars are now, working full time.

So far, it looks like my net after making this move would equal my net now. I need to do some more thinking about this, and I have until the last day of September this year to make the decision for next year. (You have to apply for SS payments 3 months ahead of the first payment you want to receive, and if you ask for payments to begin later than January, then the SSA does some calculations with your income that can result in not receiving the first few SS payments.)

One of the last factors to consider is what I would do with the additional spare time. If I would merely plop down in front of my HDTV and in front of my computer, then it probably isn’t going to be helpful to me at all.

[trebb]

I understand your "dilemma". My wife is going to retire at the end of May and we applied for her social security so it starts in July. Between it and her retirement, we should be only losing about $200/month. She's already realizing that her "hobbies" won't fill all the time, shopping for recreation isn't an option, and maybe a part-time job is in order. So many possibilities; so little money (unless we decide to have a good time for 10 years and then go dumpster diving...).

Good luck and enjoy...

[firebrand]

And don’t forget nonfinancial factors, like dying, getting too sick to enjoy yourself, other turns of events that can keep you from enjoying yourself, like having to be a full-time caretaker, etc. etc. Don’t mean to bring up downers, but enjoy it while you can.