Getting old does not have to suck.

[RABid]

Yes, I don't have the stamina I used to, and my knees tend to give out, but today I went by the bank and asked for a printout of the last week's activity. There it was, plain as day. My first Social Security deposit. Two days earlier than they said it would come. I went right home and ordered that Jupiter Xm I have been gassing for.

 

Merry Christmas to me, and to everyone here.

[LarsHarner]

Congrats on your purchase and enjoy, it is always exciting to get a new board

[Biggles]

Congrats and welcome to the Oldie Club.

 

Good choice of keys

[Ed A.]

Yes, I don't have the stamina I used to, and my knees tend to give out, but today I went by the bank and asked for a printout of the last week's activity. There it was, plain as day. My first Social Security deposit. Two days earlier than they said it would come. I went right home and ordered that Jupiter Xm I have been gassing for.

 

Merry Christmas to me, and to everyone here.

 

Plus us old geezers get a 6% SS increase next month.

Happy New Year !

[Marzzz]

Congrats, you earned it! I am about a month away from being eligible, but will hold off collecting just yetâ¦

[Doerfler]

today I went by the bank and asked for a printout of the last week's activity.

 

this sounds so 20th century.

[area51recording]

I got my first SS check this past Wednesday. I'm 64, but I did the math and the little bit more I would have gotten by putting it off to 66 and a half would have taken me to like 77 to get back what I'd be leaving on the table for these 2 years. Kind of sucks, but it was my call to play the typical musician game of showing very little, ahem, official income all these years....still, it's a nice bump every month, that's for sure.....

[Docbop]

I got my first SS check this past Wednesday. I'm 64, but I did the math and the little bit more I would have gotten by putting it off to 66 and a half would have taken me to like 77 to get back what I'd be leaving on the table for these 2 years. Kind of sucks, but it was my call to play the typical musician game of showing very little, ahem, official income all these years....still, it's a nice bump every month, that's for sure.....

 

 

Be careful with your taxes for next couple years. When you retire early you're limited on how much you can make, if you make more than the limit they nail you with taxes.

[KuruPrionz]

I got my first SS check this past Wednesday. I'm 64, but I did the math and the little bit more I would have gotten by putting it off to 66 and a half would have taken me to like 77 to get back what I'd be leaving on the table for these 2 years. Kind of sucks, but it was my call to play the typical musician game of showing very little, ahem, official income all these years....still, it's a nice bump every month, that's for sure.....

 

 

Be careful with your taxes for next couple years. When you retire early you're limited on how much you can make, if you make more than the limit they nail you with taxes.

 

Yep. This year I turned 66 1/2, the limit is raised considerably this year and next year there is no limit to how much I can earn, there will be no penalty from SS.

 

At 64, if you earn more than a specified amount (see the SS website and get the details), you are liable to pay back $1 of your SS for each $2 that you earned. Plus taxes on your non SS income. If you don't make enough, it won't matter at all.

 

66 1/2 was for my birthdate, that could be different for yours so make sure you check on it and understand how it all works.

[stillearning]

Yep, for me it was 66, and that"s when I started drawing out. I 'work" one day a week teaching, along with the occasional gig, so it wouldn"t have mattered either way earnings/tax wise.

[LarsHarner]

I am like middle age with a milestone birthday next year. The one thing I don't like is the decrease in classic rock concerts I would be seeing due to time moving on . I am hoping social security benefits dont decrease by 2035-2036- heard they might raise the payroll tax rate along the way.

[area51recording]

I got my first SS check this past Wednesday. I'm 64, but I did the math and the little bit more I would have gotten by putting it off to 66 and a half would have taken me to like 77 to get back what I'd be leaving on the table for these 2 years. Kind of sucks, but it was my call to play the typical musician game of showing very little, ahem, official income all these years....still, it's a nice bump every month, that's for sure.....

 

 

Be careful with your taxes for next couple years. When you retire early you're limited on how much you can make, if you make more than the limit they nail you with taxes.

 

Yeah, that was part of the calculation too.....it's been more than a few years now that I've had an income where it would be an issue.....

[Ed A.]

I got my first SS check this past Wednesday. I'm 64, but I did the math and the little bit more I would have gotten by putting it off to 66 and a half would have taken me to like 77 to get back what I'd be leaving on the table for these 2 years.

 

That's exactly why I started taking SS at 62. I figured that if I waited to my full retirement age of 66 years 8 months, I would have left about $80,000 on the table and it would also have taken me to about 77 to make it back. I might be dead by then, so I'd rather take the money now.

[Ed A.]

I got my first SS check this past Wednesday. I'm 64, but I did the math and the little bit more I would have gotten by putting it off to 66 and a half would have taken me to like 77 to get back what I'd be leaving on the table for these 2 years. Kind of sucks, but it was my call to play the typical musician game of showing very little, ahem, official income all these years....still, it's a nice bump every month, that's for sure.....

 

 

Be careful with your taxes for next couple years. When you retire early you're limited on how much you can make, if you make more than the limit they nail you with taxes.

 

Yeah, they'll take 50% tax for anything I earn over $19,000 per year. Once I'm at full retirement age, I can earn as much as I want and they'll take the normal tax rate.

[Zydecat]

As a 71 year old, I've learned getting old is not for the faint of heart. But, it beats the alternative as far as I know. Good to be seen, better than being viewed.

[David Emm]

I'm biased because I'm still above the dirt rather than under it.

Maybe getting older needn't suck per se, but as my mother-in-law said, "Zits don't go away when you get older. They just move to worse places."

 

Sometimes people produce their greatest works in their last couple of decades. Others become... inscrutable.

 

[Mr. Nightime]

I got my first SS check this past Wednesday. I'm 64, but I did the math and the little bit more I would have gotten by putting it off to 66 and a half would have taken me to like 77 to get back what I'd be leaving on the table for these 2 years. Kind of sucks, but it was my call to play the typical musician game of showing very little, ahem, official income all these years....still, it's a nice bump every month, that's for sure.....

 

 

Be careful with your taxes for next couple years. When you retire early you're limited on how much you can make, if you make more than the limit they nail you with taxes.

 

Yeah, they'll take 50% tax for anything I earn over $19,000 per year. Once I'm at full retirement age, I can earn as much as I want and they'll take the normal tax rate.

Actually. for every $2 over the max, which for 2022 will be $19,560, they decrease your benefit by $1.

So that means that if you earn $29,560, then your benefit will drop by $5,000. Since they don't give partial checks, that means there will be months that you get NO check.

 

The is, until you reach the calendar year of your full retirement age.

 

So, my benefit after the cost of living increase will be around $1500 per month. So, since they are always behind a month, I will get one in January, but not in February, March, April, and possibly May.

 

At age 65 you become eligible for Medicare.

 

2023 will be my full retirement year. After that, the amounts change to $1 taken out for every $3 over the minimum, which is $51,960

 

I hit my 65th on 2 weeks, so I'll miss a few checks this year, but not next year.

 

I started getting checks at 62

[Docbop]

I'm 72 and glad I didn't start my SS early. I retired early, but waited till the official date to start SS. Every month you wait you get more in SS, at the rate cost of living is increasing and how little SS increases are I think waiting was worth it.

[area51recording]

Well, as I said, I wasn't going to hit the "break even" point on this thing until I turned 77. I watched my dad work like a dog his whole life, finally deciding to retire at 62, only to drop dead of a massive heart attack AT the Social Security office filling out the paperwork at the age of 61.....we never know how long we have.....

[cphollis]

I retired two years ago at 60. "Plan A" for me was to postpone SS until full retirement age (66 2/3). Then things changed, and my wife and I still have significant taxable income. I have to assume that's going to continue. The marginal tax rate on SS over the limit is higher than our marginal rate on ordinary income, so now the plan is to postpone until our taxable income drops closer to the threshold. It's not how much you make, it's how much you keep after taxes.

 

Other things that don't suck about getting old: having plenty of time for music, having a more mature perspective on making music, having plenty of toys and a place to use them, being much calmer about life in general.

[SteveCoscia]

My SS checks started almost two years ago at 66 - a life changer. Those SS deposits allowed my wife and I to advance financial goals and save more.

 

Thankfully, my consultancy is about 70% passive revenue from online courses and textbook royalties. So I don't work much these days. Yes.... getting old doesn't have to suck. Not yet anyway.