I turn 66 December 31 2019 - I was told that I can receive my SSA benefits because I will be 66 in the year of 2019. I do plan to continue to work and was told as long as I made under $45..350 I would not be penalized is this true?
How will this affect my taxes?

Hi,

Yes, as long as you earn less than the earnings test exempt amount in 2019 you could potentially draw benefits starting with January 2019 and not lose any of your benefits to the earnings test. And, even though you won't reach your full retirement age (FRA) of 66 until the last day of 2019, the applicable exempt amount for you next year would be the higher amount set for people who reach FRA during the year. The higher exempt amount for people reaching FRA in 2018 is $45360, but 2019's exempt amount won't be announced until later this year.

However, the downside of starting your benefits earlier than December 2019 is that you will then receive a reduced benefit rate. Furthermore, depending on your marital history you may have other and better filing options available to you. You should strongly consider using our maximization software to explore and compare your filing options before you make a decision on when to apply for benefits.

I'm unable to answer your tax question because Social Security is my only area of expertise. You may find the following page regarding taxation of benefits on Social Security's website helpful: https://www.ssa.gov/planners/taxes.html.

Best, Jerry