Will working 2 more years significantly increase my Social Security benefit with gaps in work history?

Just create a my ssa account and you can see all that there

The SSA website actually has a tool that can help with this. If you log into your my Social Security account at ssa.gov, you can use the retirement calculator that shows your estimated benefits. For someone in your situation with gaps in your work history, additional years of earnings can definitely make a difference. Here's why: when your benefit is calculated, any years with zero earnings among those 35 years will bring down your average. Each year you work now will replace a zero or low-earning year in your calculation. You can run different scenarios on the calculator by adjusting your expected future earnings. This will give you a much clearer picture of how those 2 extra years might impact your monthly benefit. Based on what you've described, I suspect you would see a measurable increase, but the calculator will give you the specifics.

DONT BOTHER with the ssa calculator its USELESS for cases like yours!!! i spent HOURS trying to figure this out last year and the online tools dont account for complex situations!!! called SSA 18 TIMES and couldnt get anyone on the phone kept disconnecting me!!!!!!!

i tried to figure this out too. each year of work matters a lot if ur replacing a zero. for me working 2 more years added like $175 to my monthly check but depends on what ur earning

In your situation, with several zero or low-earning years in your history, working those additional two years could make a substantial difference. Here's a rough way to estimate it: 1. Get your earnings record from your my Social Security account 2. Identify your 35 highest-earning years (including zeros if you don't have 35 years of work) 3. See what your current estimated PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) is 4. Calculate what your future earnings might be for those extra two years 5. Replace your two lowest earning years with these projected earnings This won't be exact because the SSA uses a complex formula with bend points, but it might give you a ballpark idea. Generally speaking, if you have several zero years in your calculation, each additional year of solid earnings can increase your monthly benefit by $50-100 or more, depending on your income level. If you're replacing zeros with earnings around $60,000, that could potentially add $150+ to your monthly benefit, which adds up to thousands over your retirement lifetime.

I just want to point out something nobody's mentioned... if you're considering working 2 more years just for SS purposes, remember it's not just about the monthly benefit. Consider your overall retirement picture, including: - Your health and quality of life - Other retirement savings/401k/pension - Whether you enjoy your job - Other income sources in retirement Sometimes the mental health benefits of retiring earlier outweigh a slightly higher SS check.

One other thing to consider - the Social Security Administration recalculates your benefit automatically each year you work, even after you've started receiving benefits. So if you did decide to work part-time during retirement (before or after your FRA), those earnings could still potentially increase your benefit if they're higher than some of your previous 35 years. This is especially relevant for people like you who have gaps or lower-earning years in their history. It's not an all-or-nothing decision.

Since no one's mentioned it yet, there's also an actual formula you can use to get a rough idea. Your Social Security benefit is based on your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME). If you have several zero years in your 35-year calculation: 1. Every $1,200 in additional annual earnings translates to about $1 more per month in benefits for the rest of your life So if you're earning $72,000 per year as you mentioned, and replacing zeros, that's potentially adding about $60 monthly to your benefit for each year worked ($72,000 ÷ $1,200 = $60). Over a 20-year retirement, that's about $28,800 in additional benefits for each extra year you work (not counting cost of living adjustments). This is simplified, but gives you a ballpark figure to compare against your work satisfaction and other factors.