I am considering retiring from my career job at 63 and becoming an independent contractor delivering campers across the country. My schedule c income would be under 19k...lots of legal deducts. In this business.would be driving 50 hours a week...would my benefit be ok...or would they say I'm not retired?? Help!!!!! And thanks!!!!!

Hi. You wouldn't necessarily need to be retired to start collecting Social Security benefits, but Social Security would need to withhold $1 of your benefits for every $2 that you earn in excess of $18.960 in 2021. And, even if you don't claim benefits until the middle of the year, your earnings from January through December count toward the earnings limit.

Countable earnings include any combination of gross wages and net earnings from self-employment. Your best filing strategy depends on a number of different factors, so you should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry