Social Security S**tposting

It's click-bait at its worst. Social Security S**tposting. You see the stories now almost every day, well every-other day at least:

• Loose your social security unless you fill out this form
• Get $4,387 per month from Social Security
• The government will take all your Social Security if you work

... and other totally crap headlines. Drill in and the writer is using scare-monger tactics. Even as one who did his research on Social Security BEFORE retiring, its easy to look at these stories and waste time drilling in to them, just to find out they are referencing the same old stuff. Over, and over again.

So lets get to the bottom of some of these time-wasting posts. Like many who play mind-games, there is nearly always some truth to what they are saying:

• Social Security does require correct information before you can receive your benefits.
• The $$ quoted are often the highest benefit amount, only available to those folks who worked the greatest number of years, waited until 70 years old to claim benefits and made the most money, putting the most money into the system.
• And the government will take your Social Security? Oh YES it can. This article from Sensible Money gives an excellent example and explains it quite well, in addition to tips on how to keep both your earnings and your benefit (depends on the date you file for Social Security).

In an article, any article on Social Security, it is not even possible to detail the many scenarios that would or could happen. The very best source, even with the current reduction in staff, is Social Security Administration online. Sign up, get your password and look at your benefit letter online.

A Social Security Primer

(this is not financial advice, I am not qualified or authorized to give financial advice). However, most of those giving advice are not over age 62, and for sure it changes your perspective!

Age 40+ > look at your Social Security benefit letter, maybe for the first time. Look at the difference between retiring at age 62 vs. age 67 or even working through to age 70. It sure seems a long way off in your 40's. Learn about FRA (full-retirement age), which for anyone not retired now is 67 years. I bought my first investment property in my 40's. Should have done it 10 years earlier, but did not know how!

Age 50+ > look again at your benefit letter and validate that the $$ you thought you would get are in fact still the same approximate numbers. If you haven't got spreadsheets in sheets.google.com for your taxes, retirement, investment, emergency fund and play money accounts, definitely start them now. Track your real estate, knowing your rental income may not cover every expense, but selling at a profit will be worth your time.

Age 60+ > figure how long you can make it working. For many of us, layoffs, reduction-in-force (RIFs), ill health (I got COVID (again) while working remotely on a project!), arthritis, car accidents, falling down on the ice, pulling a muscle getting off the sofa, any number of things that may have happened to you when younger, but now you are older, the bounce-back just isn't there, no matter if the heart is willing, the body is saying "oh, hell no, we won't go ..."

If you are working at age 60+ and you like your job, or it is at least tollerable, stay there until you have your retirement ducks in a row. This will be a separate article, but at least have the following:

• Emergency fund with 3 to 12 months savings in high-interest account. How to build an emergency fund? Article from Morgan Stanley with details
• A paid off car or truck (truck gives you options, but not for delivering pizza)
• A small used trailer you can pull behind your car or truck (10,000 uses esp in retirement). See Mr Money Mustache for FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) and never-stop-working tips
• A paid off house (perhaps a smaller property 50 to 200 miles from a major city).
• Retirement fund in a Roth IRA (avoiding taxation on gains and on distribution)
• 401k investment fund(s) with a good balance of ETF's, dividend payers and growth stocks. See SeekingAlpha for details.
• Consolidate your retirement funds. If like me you have worked at a number of employers, you will have funds in different places (one in Fidelity, one in Schwab, etc). Use wizards in your apps to consolidate funds and close out smaller accounts. Do it correctly, or you will pay taxes on the withdrawals! Using a wizard in one of your finance apps makes transferring flawless.
• a side-gig, a hustle, a part-time thang that gives you play money, or at least some good thoughts as to one that may work for you, such as Uber, Roadie, deck building, boat polishing, RV repair, pizza delivery, etc
• there are a number of other prep items, but these are the major ones. Look for an article on side-gigs. Whew. Everyone has them, but it never seems like any of their suggestions for work or gigs works out. I delivered pizza, had a handyman gig, painted houses, did some landscaping, no matter what my day job.

Age 62 > the magic moment when you can take Social Security. YES, I took Social Security at age 62, and I do not regret it. You can do the calculations that show how much more you would get if you delayed until Full-Retirement-Age. My FRA (is 66 years 10 months) and for anyone much younger it is now 67 years of age. Forget 65. That's when you get Medicare, which in these days of expensive health insurance, is a real blessing.

What does taking Social Security at age 62 mean ?

For me, it was an additional breath of fresh air. Taking Social Security at the earliest point possible means you can stop for a bit. Take a breather from life. You have earned it. You have stinkin' earned it. But don't stop working! Cut your grass, paint the living room, sell that junker car in the garage or on the side of the house. Clear out any junk. I'm still not done and have had TWO large purges. Whew.

YES - you do have to watch out when you earn more than the Social Security retirement earnings exempt amount, otherwise there will be a clawback. Social Security will hold back funds. The interesting thing is, after FRA, they will recalculate your benefit and give it back to you, amortized over 20 plus years.

YES - you will get less $$ per month than if you waited until FRA or age 70. But the money you get in benefits during those 6 to 8 years or so will only be less after age 82, approximately. Leave this world any time before that, and you got a little more from your Uncle Sam than if you had waited.

SIDE HUSTLES ARE US - Finding or expanding a side gig can be empowering. Many folks start a second or a third career. One thing is for sure, it's not over until its over!