Social Security estimates are based on future income. I'm looking for work but feel I will not be able to come close to my past income. Would it make sense to collect early in this case? I did a couple calculators and factored in a reduced future income and even waiting until age 70 the benefit is much lower than the calculations based on now. Thank you so much for the helpful information!

Hi,

Social Security retirement benefits are calculated based on a person's best 35 years of inflation adjusted earnings. If you have fewer than 35 years of earnings, zero years are averaged in.

Your benefit amount does not go down if your earnings drop, or stop altogether. They simply don't go up any further. And, if you start your benefits at age 62 instead of full retirement age, your monthly rate will permanently be 25% to 30% lower depending on your year of birth, and around 45% less than if you had waited until age 70 to file.

You may want to consider running the maximization software available on this website to obtain a full analysis of all of your filing options so that you can determine the best strategy.

Best, Jerry