I am 66 and one month, still working full time and make a fairly decent income. I am also receiving my Arizona state retirement but its only $511 a month. I wasn't employed for several years due to the economy and went through most of my retirement savings and when I was not employed I ran up some debt. I'm doing as best as I can to pay my debt off before I officially retire. I would like to keep working and my health is good, however I worry about being replaced with a younger and less expensive employee. It's happened to me before. My question is should I take my SSI benefit, suck up the taxes and work harder to pay off all my debt? Also, If I'm still employed after that, can I suspend my SSI until a later date to receive a higher benefit?

Hi,

Your Social Security retirement benefit rate will grow by 2/3rds of 1% for every month (i.e. 8% annually) that you wait to draw benefits until age 70. Filing for and drawing your benefits now and then suspending at some point prior to age 70 is an option, but you would then not receive any increase for the months that you are paid benefits.

When to start drawing your benefits is a personal decision, so I can't advise you what to do. Our maximization software will allow you to explore and compare all of your filing options, though, which should be of great help to you in making your decision.

Best, Jerry