I was planning to work until I'm 70. However, I have some friends about the same age who are continuing to work but have filed already for SS. How does that work? Should I file for SS now? I'm a little confused.

Hi,

You can file to start drawing Social Security retirement benefits any time from age 62 to age 70, and your benefit rate would vary accordingly. The earlier you file, the lower your rate. There is an earnings test (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking.html) that can prevent people from drawing benefits prior to full retirement age (FRA), but once you reach FRA you can choose to start drawing your benefits regardless of how much you work and earn.

Your best strategy for claiming your benefits depends on a number of different factors, so you should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to explore and compare all of your various options in order to determine the option that's best for you.

Best, Jerry