The Pros and Cons of Working While on Social Security
With the average Social Security recipient receiving only $1,543 each month, many people continue to work – even part-time – to supplement that income. But that might not always be a good choice. There are pros and cons to working while collecting Social Security benefits.
According to AARP, if your wages fall into your 35 highest earning years, your benefits could increase. However, if you claimed Social Security before full retirement age (FRA), job income could work against you. That’s because before FRA you are subject to Social Security’s earnings test, which reduces your benefits if your income exceeds a set limit. It happens to be $18,960 this year – so if you make more than that you could actually see your benefits decrease.
One thing is certain, if retirees received better benefits from Social Security many would not need to continue or go back to work.
The Seniors Trust is working diligently to increase minimum Social Security benefits to provide higher payments to seniors and greatly reduce senior poverty. It will accomplish this through passage of the Social Security Expansion Act.
This landmark piece of legislation will increase benefits for most seniors by about $65 per month and use the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) to calculate Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) instead of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W) used currently. The CPI-E takes the unique spending habits of seniors into account — particularly regarding the cost of healthcare — and offers a more realistic COLA for retirees ensuring that benefits keep up with spending.
