I’m Working; Why Hasn’t My Social Security Bene t Increased?
in today’s dollars and is the amount used to compute your benefit. However, you would also need to exceed that amount with your current earnings to increase your monthly benefit amount. So, unless your most recent earnings exceed the inflated dollar amounts used to compute your benefit at the age of 64, your monthly benefit won’t change. Keep in mind that Social Security only consid- ers the 35 years in which you earned the most, so years with lower earnings (for example, when you first started working) are likely not included in the computation. In any case, rest assured that claiming at the age of 64 didn’t disqualify you from receiving a larger benefit if you’re enti- tled to one because your current earnings exceed the inflation-adjusted amounts originally used. Even if they are already collecting Social Security, everyone who works and earns will have their earnings record reviewed every year to see if their current earnings entitle them to a larger benefit. If so, it is given automatically. Signed, Russell Gloor This article presents the opinions of the AMAC Foundation Staff and is intended for information purposes only. It does not represent legal or finan- cial guidance. Have a Social Security question? Contact us at SSAdvisor@AMACFoundation.org or 888-750-2622
to be made, they will be made in March of the following year. Nothing has changed regarding this as I have continued to work. Does the fact that I claimed my benefit at age 64 take me out of the equation? Signed, Working Still at 72 Dear Working, The Social Security representatives you spoke with told you correctly: They examine your recent earnings every year and automatically adjust your benefit if necessary. However, the dollar values considered to determine if you should receive a benefit increase may not be what you think. When you claimed your Social Security benefits at the age of 64, they computed your benefit using the highest-earning 35 years you had at that time, but they “indexed” (adjusted for inflation) those earnings for the year you turned 60 and earlier years. This means that to calcu- late your benefit at the age of 64, your historical earnings were increased by an inflation percentage for each year to pay your benefit in current dollars. For exam- ple, if your earnings in 1985 were $25,000, that equates to approximately $62,000
Dear Rusty, I will be 72 in July. I started taking my Social Security at age 64 after a job loss and other items that came up. So, my plan to wait past 68 evaporated, but I have contin- ued to work since that time at a considerably smaller amount. I have contacted Social Secu- rity about increasing my “enti- tlement” since my earnings of late are considerably more than my first few years of earnings. Using the formula of the highest earnings over the last 35 years divided by 420, my monthly increase would be about $500. I've contacted Social Security several times about this. Their standard reply is that they eval- uate all accounts every Octo- ber and if any adjustments are
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