When you reach a certain age or are disabled, social security benefits can help cover your expenses. They can also support your legal dependents in the event of your death. Your monthly benefit amount will depend on how much you earn and when you claim. SSA has tools to help you estimate how much you will receive at your full retirement age (FRA) and age 70.
The benefits you receive at your full retirement age (FRA) are based on your average wages over your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for inflation. If your earnings after FRA are higher than you had before it, Social Security may recalculate your wage amount to reflect your new income and increase the size of your monthly benefits.
However, if you choose to begin collecting benefits at a younger age, your monthly benefit will be reduced. For example, if your FRA is 66 and you claim Social Security at age 62, you'll get 30% less each month than someone who waits until their full retirement age of 67 to collect benefits.
On the other hand, if you delay claiming Social Security until age 70, you'll get an 8% higher benefit for each year you do so. This could result in a 24% higher monthly benefit if you have sufficient resources and expect to live long after retirement.
If you decide to work in retirement, your Social Security benefits can be reduced if your earnings exceed a certain threshold. However, once you reach full retirement age, you can earn as much as you want and keep all your benefits.
If, like John, you're younger than your FRA and have yet to reach it, you'll forfeit $1 for every $3 in earnings above the annual limit. That means if you earned $25,600 in 2022, you'd have $290 withheld from your monthly benefit.
The good news is that in 2023, the penalty will be a lot smaller. In 2023, you can earn up to $4,710 per month ($56,520 per year) before benefits are withheld. But you might still have to pay income tax on some of your earnings. That can be a big deal for retirees with taxable investments and other taxable income, such as dividends from a 401(k) plan or distributions from a retirement account.
When more than one person in your family receives Social Security benefits, you may want to know about a particular rule known as the family maximum. Essentially, the family maximum limits the amount of retirement, disability, spousal, children's, and survivor benefits you can receive.
The family maximum is based on a formula that sums four separate percentages of the worker's primary insurance amount, or PIA. For 2020 these percentages are the first $1,226, the amount between $1,226 and $2,056, and the amount over $2,309.
Workers who take their benefits past full retirement age to earn delayed-retirement credits don't count toward the family maximum. Also, dual-earning couples in which both spouses qualify for a benefit more significant than 50% of the other's are not subject to this limitation.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of golf is the chance to take a mulligan after you muff a shot. Using this "do-over" opportunity can help you speed up your round and make it easier to fix problems in real-time.
However, there are limits to when you can use a mulligan and when you cannot. Taking a mulligan is only sometimes popular among your fellow players and can cause some friction, so it is essential to know how and when to use them.
Mulligans are often employed in friendly games played with friends or during charity event or playday tournaments, where mulligans are sometimes sold. However, they are not allowed in formal play and must be mutually agreed upon by all parties before the start of the game.