Should I take Social Security at FRA while still working to maintain our household income?

Since you're already at your Full Retirement Age, you can absolutely collect your full Social Security retirement benefit while continuing to work without any reduction in benefits. There's no earnings test after FRA. This is actually a pretty common strategy that can help maintain your household income level. The main consideration is taxes. If your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of SS benefits) exceeds $32,000 for married filing jointly, up to 85% of your Social Security benefits could become taxable. Since you're already working full-time, adding SS benefits will likely push you into this territory. But remember - paying taxes on benefits just means they're valuable income! You're still coming out ahead financially by claiming.

my sister did this exact thing!!! she kept working after 67 but started taking ss checks too. said it was the best decision she ever made, paid off all her credit cards and started ACTUALLY enjoying life instead of just working all the time. taxes went up a bit but she still had way more money each month

Are you SURE there's no penalty for working while collecting Social Security??? I thought they take away $1 for every $2 you earn?? My cousin lost half his benefits because he was working part time at Home Depot!!! The gov't doesn't want us to have extra money, they're always looking for ways to take it back!!! Be careful!!!!

I'm going thru something similar with my husband. His checks started in January and I'm still working. Just remember that if you start taking yours now, the amount is fixed (except for COLAs). If you wait even one more year, you'd get an 8% increase for life. Depends on your health and family history too.

You need to calculate your break-even point. For every year you delay past FRA, you gain 8% in monthly benefits but lose 12 months of payments. Generally, the break-even age for delaying from FRA to 70 is around 82-83 years old. If you expect to live past that age, delaying provides more lifetime income. If not, taking it earlier makes more sense. For your specific situation, since your household income has dropped significantly and your expenses remain the same, taking your benefit now while continuing to work could provide immediate financial relief without any penalty. Just prepare for potentially moving into a higher tax bracket and having up to 85% of your SS benefits subject to taxation. Another strategy worth considering: if your wife's FRA benefit is significantly lower than yours, you might want to claim now while she switches to a spousal benefit if that would give her more than her own retirement benefit.

I'm in the exact same situation! Been trying to call SSA for two weeks to discuss this very issue and can't get through to anyone. Either busy signals or disconnected after waiting 2+ hours. So frustrating! I finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual SSA agent in 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours or days. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with confirmed everything the others here are saying - no penalty for working while collecting at or after FRA. They also ran calculations showing how delaying would increase my monthly amount versus taking it now. For me, the immediate cash flow was more important than maximizing the benefit later.

You didnt say how much your making at work or how much social security you will get. Makes a big difference in what u should do. My husband decided to keep working and wait to 70 for maximum benefit cause he makes enough still. If your not making much at work then taking ss now makes sense but if your making good money might be better to wait for bigger checks later specially if you got good genes like you said

also think about what happens when you do fully retire. will your wifes benefit be enough to support both of you if yours hasn't started yet? my friend had to go back to work at 72 because they didn't plan this right!!

One additional consideration that hasn't been mentioned yet: while your Social Security benefits can be subject to income tax, they're typically taxed at a lower effective rate than regular income. So even if you're in a higher tax bracket due to working + collecting SS, you may still come out ahead financially compared to just your work income alone. Also, if you're planning to continue working for several more years, claiming now gives you more flexibility. You could use the SS income to max out retirement account contributions, pay down debt, or build an emergency fund that will serve you well in full retirement.