Can my husband collect full Social Security at 68 while still working? Do we tell his employer?

Yes, your husband can absolutely collect his full Social Security retirement benefits at age 68 while continuing to work, with no restrictions on his earnings. Since he's well past his Full Retirement Age (which would have been 66 for someone his age), there's no earnings limit to worry about. Regarding notifying his employer - there's absolutely NO requirement to tell them. Social Security benefits are completely separate from employment. His employer won't be notified, and this won't affect his job status or health insurance at all. The tax question is important though - up to 85% of his Social Security benefits may become taxable depending on your combined income. With his benefit amount and continued earnings, you'll likely pay some tax on his benefits. I'd recommend talking to a tax professional about strategies to manage this.

my husband started taking ss at 67 last year and still works part time. we didnt tell his boss, why would we? its none of their business lol. but yeah the taxes are a pain, we got hit with a big bill last april because we didnt plan for it.

Just to add a bit more technical detail to what others have said - since your husband is past his Full Retirement Age (FRA), he qualifies for what's called the "Delayed Retirement Credit" - about 8% more in benefits for each year he waited beyond his FRA. At 68, he's already earned approximately 16% more than his base benefit amount. One strategy some people consider: If your husband plans to work 2-3 more years anyway, he could potentially delay taking benefits until 70 to maximize his monthly payment (which would be 32% higher than at FRA). This would also provide you with the maximum possible survivor benefit should you outlive him. But if you need the income now, taking it at 68 is perfectly reasonable and still gives you a nice boost over the FRA amount. There's no single "right" answer - it depends on your overall financial situation, health outlook, and other retirement resources.

I tried calling SSA 14 TIMES last month with questions about this exact situation with my wife!!! Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent in under 10 minutes. You can see how it works in their video: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed everything people are saying here - no earnings limit after FRA, no need to tell employer, but warned me about the tax implications. She also helped us run some calculations about taking benefits now vs waiting. Worth the call to get personalized info for your situation.

Your husband ABSOLUTELY should claim now!!!! I waited until 70 and REGRET IT SO MUCH. That's 2 years of payments ($3200 x 24 = $76,800!!!) that you'll NEVER get back. The break-even point is in your mid-80s, and who knows if we'll live that long. The SSA doesn't tell you this because they WANT you to delay claiming so they can keep more of your money!!!!! And don't worry about the employer - it's none of their business. I never told mine.

This is a really good question and something I wondered about too. My husband started collecting his SS at 66 and 2 months (his FRA) while still working full-time. Just wanted to share that we had to adjust his withholding at work because the first year we got surprised by a big tax bill! Social Security is taxed differently than regular income - like others mentioned, up to 85% of it can be taxable depending on your combined income. Oh and we never told his employer either. Two years later and they still have no idea he's collecting SS. It's really a personal financial matter.

can he still contribute to his 401k if hes collecting social security? im in a similar situation

I saw someone mention Claimyr above - I tried it too after spending TWO DAYS trying to get through to SSA. The wait time went from 3+ hours to literally 15 minutes. Just so you know, they don't give tax advice though - the SSA agent told me I needed to talk to a tax professional about that part.

One additional point that hasn't been mentioned: If your husband continues working while collecting Social Security, his benefit amount may actually increase over time. SSA recalculates benefits annually to account for additional earnings that might increase his Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). It's automatic - no action needed on your part. This happens because Social Security uses the highest 35 years of indexed earnings to calculate benefits. If his current earnings are higher than some of those earlier years (after indexing for inflation), his benefit could increase slightly.

we got a letter from ssa about the taxes thing. u can choose to have federal taxes withheld from ur ss payments if u want. i think its 7%, 10%, 12% or 22% options. might be easier than messing with his work withholding

This is such a helpful thread! My husband is in a similar situation - he'll be 67 next year and we've been going back and forth on this decision. Reading everyone's experiences with the tax implications is really eye-opening. I had no idea about the automatic benefit recalculation that @StarStrider mentioned - that's actually a nice bonus! One thing I'm curious about - for those who started collecting while working, did you notice any changes in how your coworkers or management treated you? I know legally there's no requirement to disclose, but I'm wondering if there are any subtle workplace dynamics to consider. My husband is in a pretty competitive field and I worry that even the perception that he might be "one foot out the door" could affect opportunities. Also, does anyone know if there are any advantages to applying online versus in person? We're pretty tech-savvy but want to make sure we don't miss anything important in the process.