Need SS early retirement calculator beyond SSA website - worth taking benefits while still working?
I've been looking at the retirement estimator on the SSA website, but it doesn't really help me understand if taking Social Security early makes financial sense in our situation. My husband (62) and I (61) are both still working full-time but considering scaling back in the next year or so. Our combined income is around $95,000 annually. I know there's that earnings limit where they take back $1 for every $2 over $22,320 (I think that's the 2025 number?), but I'm struggling to figure out the long-term math. Are there better calculators out there where I can input our specific dates, earnings, and retirement plans to see if taking SS early would be financially smart for us? Or would we be better waiting until our FRA? We're trying to make an informed decision here rather than just guessing.
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Oscar Murphy
Check out Maximize My Social Security or Social Security Solutions. Both have paid calculators that are WAY more detailed than the SSA site. They let you model different scenarios - like you both working part time while claiming, or one of you claiming early while the other waits. They cost about $40-50 but totally worth it for this decision that impacts thousands of dollars over your lifetime.
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Jasmine Quinn
•Thanks! Have you personally used either of these? Just wondering which one might be more user-friendly. $40-50 is definitely worth it if it helps us make a better decision.
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Nora Bennett
The earnings test is a HUGE consideration in your situation. If you're both working full-time with combined income of $95k, claiming early would probably result in most of your benefits being withheld due to the earnings test. Remember that any benefits withheld before FRA aren't truly "lost" - they're recalculated into your benefit once you reach FRA, but it's still probably not optimal. I'd recommend looking at Open Social Security calculator (it's free) and also consider talking to a financial advisor who specializes in retirement planning. The optimal strategy depends on health history, expected longevity, other retirement savings, etc.
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Ryan Andre
•Open Social security is OK but doesnt account for taxes on SS benefits which is super important if their still working! And it doesnt handle the earnings test calculations very well IMO.
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Lauren Zeb
I'm in a pretty similar situation as you! I wasted hours on the SSA site before finding a tool called Social Security Timing that my financial advisor used. It showed me that in our case, my wife claiming at 62 while I wait until 68 was our optimal strategy even tho we're both still working part time. It really depends on your specific birth dates, earnings history, and how long you'll both keep working. Also don't forget that SS benefits can be taxed up to 85% if your combined income is high enough which is another reason I wouldn't trust the simple calculators.
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Jasmine Quinn
•That's really interesting about your wife claiming early while you wait. I hadn't considered staggering our claims like that. Did your advisor explain why that particular strategy worked best for your situation?
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Daniel Washington
my sister took ss early while working part time and REGRETS IT SO MUCH!!! they took back most of her benefits because of the earnings limit. and now her permanent benefit is reduced forever. wait till FRA!!!!
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Aurora Lacasse
•This isn't entirely accurate. When benefits are withheld due to the earnings test, they're not permanently lost. Once your sister reaches her full retirement age, SSA will recalculate her benefit amount to credit her for the months when benefits were withheld. Her permanent reduction is only based on the months she actually received benefits before FRA, not the months when benefits were withheld. She should check with SSA about this recalculation when she reaches her FRA.
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Anthony Young
Have you considered delaying AND continuing to work? That's what we did - kept working until 66 (my FRA) and the extra years of maximum earnings actually increased my PIA by quite a bit. The delayed retirement credits on top of that gave me a much bigger monthly check. If you can afford to wait, it's usually the better financial move unless you have health concerns. Btw if you want to actually talk to someone at SSA about your specific numbers, good luck getting through on the phone. I used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in under 20 minutes after I'd spent days trying to get through on my own. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU
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Jasmine Quinn
•That's a really good point about the extra years of earnings potentially increasing our PIA. I hadn't fully considered that aspect. And thanks for the Claimyr tip - I've been dreading trying to call SSA because everyone says it's impossible to get through these days.
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Aurora Lacasse
One important factor I haven't seen mentioned yet is spousal benefits. Even with the rule changes from a few years ago, there can still be advantages to coordinating your claiming strategies. If one of you has a significantly higher earning record, it might make sense for the lower earner to claim early (especially if they plan to stop working soon) while the higher earner delays until 70 to maximize their benefit. For the earnings test in 2025, you're correct that it's approximately $22,320. But remember this applies individually, not as a couple. So if one of you stops working or reduces hours significantly while the other continues full-time, you might have different optimal claiming ages. As for calculators beyond the SSA site, I strongly recommend either Maximize My Social Security or Social Security Solutions. Both allow detailed modeling of different scenarios and show the lifetime value of different claiming strategies.
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Lauren Zeb
•Great point about the earnings test applying individually! So many people miss that. Also want to add that the earnings test is much more generous in the calendar year when you reach FRA - it's something like $59,000 for 2025 (the months before your birthday month when you hit FRA).
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Ryan Andre
Im surprised nobody mentioned health yet?? If either of u have health issues or family history of not living long then taking it early makes more sense. My husband and me both took SS at 62 because both our parents died before 75. We figured we'd rather have smaller checks for longer than risk waiting for bigger checks we might never get.
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Jasmine Quinn
•That's a very practical consideration. Both our families tend to be long-lived (parents all made it to their late 80s), so we're probably looking at a different calculation than you were. But you're absolutely right that health and life expectancy should be part of the decision.
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Oscar Murphy
Whatever calculator you use, make sure you understand the "break-even point" concept. If you claim at 62 vs waiting until FRA (66-67 depending on birth year), you'll need to live to around 78-80 for the waiting strategy to pay off. If you wait until 70, the break-even against claiming at FRA is usually around 82-83. The calculators others have mentioned will show you these breakeven ages based on your specific numbers. That's what makes them so valuable compared to the basic SSA calculator.
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Daniel Washington
•this is what i always try to tell people! my aunt waited till 70 to get "max benefit" then died at 73. She lost 8 YEARS of payments she could have had!!
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