Social Security retirement penalty for quitting before FRA but after starting Medicare Part A?

You've got two separate issues here - the SS retirement reduction and Medicare timing. For Social Security: If you claim now (at 65 and 10 months), you'll get about 94-95% of your full benefit amount. The reduction is roughly 5/9 of 1% for each month before FRA, up to 36 months. So you're looking at roughly a 5-6% permanent reduction from your full benefit amount. For Medicare: No additional penalties. You're in your Special Enrollment Period since you have employer coverage. When you quit, you'll have 8 months to sign up for Part B without any late penalties. Don't miss that window though!

i retired at 64 and took the hit on my benefits cause i couldnt stand my job anymore. best decision i ever made even with less money. your health is more important trust me

There's one more thing to consider here - the earnings test. If you claim benefits before your FRA year and continue working at all (even part-time), SSA will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above the annual limit ($22,320 in 2025). If you've had significant earnings so far this year, they'll apply this test when calculating your initial benefits. It's not a permanent reduction - they'll recalculate and increase your benefit when you reach FRA to account for any months benefits were withheld. But it can affect your short-term payment amounts. You'll also want to make sure you enroll in Medicare Part B within 8 months of your employer coverage ending to avoid the permanent 10% premium penalty that applies for each 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't.

You don't permanently lose the money. What happens is: 1. If you earned $38,000 this year and the limit is $22,320, you're $15,680 over the limit 2. They would withhold $7,840 from your benefits (half of the amount you went over) 3. When you reach FRA, they recalculate your benefit and give you credit for the months when benefits were completely withheld It essentially means you might not receive much in SS payments for the first several months after you apply, depending on your monthly benefit amount. But your future benefit amount will be adjusted upward at FRA to account for those withheld months.

WATCH OUT for the Medicare enrollment!!! I missed my window after retiring and now I pay an EXTRA 20% on my Part B premiums FOREVER!!! The SS office NEVER told me about the 8 month deadline and now I'm stuck paying more every month. Make sure you sign up for Part B right away after your employer coverage ends!!!!!

my brother tried calling social security about this exact situation and he was on hold for 3 hours before getting disconnected. happened 4 times! he ended up using claimyr.com to get through - they got him connected to an agent in like 15 minutes. they have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU might save you some headaches if you need to talk to someone directly about your specific situation

hey just to add a different perspective - have you considered just reducing your hours instead of fully retiring? thats what i did at 65, went down to 20 hours a week. kept my insurance and didnt have to deal with any benefit reductions. then when i hit my full retirement age i fully retired and got my full ss amount. just a thought!

One thing nobody has mentioned is that your Social Security benefit amount is based on your highest 35 years of earnings. If you're earning more now than you did in some earlier years (adjusted for inflation), working even a bit longer could bump up your benefit calculation. You can create an account at my.ssa.gov if you haven't already and see your earnings record and benefit estimates. That might help you make a more informed decision about the financial impact of stopping work now versus pushing through a bit longer. That said, I fully understand the health considerations. I left my job at 64 for similar reasons and have zero regrets despite the slightly lower benefit.

u should also think about taxes if u take ss and work parttime. my friend did that and got hit with a huge tax bill she wasnt expecting

Thank you all for the helpful advice! I've decided to talk to my employer about reducing my hours first before completely retiring. If that doesn't work out, I'll go ahead with retirement knowing what to expect with the benefit reduction and making sure I handle the Medicare enrollment correctly. I'm also going to check my earnings record on my.ssa.gov to see if working longer would significantly improve my benefit calculation. I really appreciate all your insights!