Yahoo Finance 10 Social Security Rules Everyone Should Know
How to boost your payments.
How much you earn and your age when you sign up play a big role in how much you will receive from Social Security. Workers who familiarize themselves with the Social Security rules will be better able to maximize their payments. Pay close attention to these aspects of the program when making Social Security decisions.
6.2 percent payroll tax
Most workers pay 6.2 percent of their earnings into the Social Security system, and employers match this amount. Self-employed workers contribute 12.4 percent of their income to Social Security. You can see how much you have paid in and check that your earnings have been recorded correctly with a my Social Security account.
$127,200 tax cap
This is the Social Security maximum taxable amount of earnings in 2017. Earnings above the tax cap aren't taxed by Social Security or used to calculate retirement benefits. Workers who earn more than $127,200 in 2017 will notice a bump in their paycheck when Social Security taxes stop being withheld.
35 years of earnings
Your Social Security payments are calculated using the 35 years in which you earn the most. If you don't work for at least 35 years, zeros are averaged in and will reduce your retirement payments. Working for more than 35 years can improve your payments because your lowest earning years could be dropped from the calculation.
$1,360 average payment
Retired workers will receive an average Social Security payment of $1,360 per month in 2017. Retired couples bring in an average of $2,260 monthly. Payments are adjusted each year to keep up with inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. Cost-of-living adjustments have ranged from zero in 2010, 2011 and 2016 to 14.3 percent in 1980.
Initial eligibility at age 62
Workers first become eligible to start retirement benefits at age 62. However, monthly payments are reduced by 25 or 30 percent if you claim them at this age, depending on your birth year. For example, a baby boomer who qualifies for $1,000 per month from Social Security at age 66 would get a reduced payment of $750 per month if he elects to sign up for Social Security at age 62.
The baby boomer full retirement age is 66.
People born between 1943 and 1954 are eligible to claim unreduced Social Security benefits at age 66. The full retirement age then gradually increases from 66 and two months for people born in 1955 to 66 and 10 months for those with a birth year of 1959.
The full retirement age will increase to 67.
People born in 1960 or later become eligible for the full retirement benefit they have earned at age 67. Millennials and members of generation X need to wait a year longer than the baby boomers and two years longer than their grandparents to claim their full retirement benefit.
Maximize your monthly payments at age 70.
Social Security payments increase each month you delay starting your payments up until age 70. After age 70 there is typically no additional benefit to waiting to sign up for your benefit. Retirees can boost their monthly payments by 24 to 32 percent, depending on their birth year, by claiming Social Security at age 70.
$16,920 earnings limit
If you work and collect Social Security at the same time at age 65 or younger, part of your Social Security payments could be temporally withheld if you earn more than $16,920 in 2017. Beneficiaries who exceed the earnings limit will have $1 in benefits withheld for every $2 in income above the limit. Those who turn 66 in 2017 have a higher earnings limit of $44,880, and the penalty declines to $1 withheld for every $3 in excess of the earnings limit. However, once you turn 66, there's no benefit reduction for working and claiming benefits at the same time, and your payments will be increased to give you credit for payments that were withheld in the past.
$25,000 in retirement income
If the sum of your adjusted gross income, nontaxable interest and half of your Social Security benefits exceeds $25,000 ($32,000 for couples), half of your Social Security benefit becomes subject to income tax. And if these income sources top $34,000 ($44,000 for couples), income tax could be due on 85 percent of your Social Security payments.
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