Increasing Monthly Benefits for the Rest of Your Life

Many people continue to work and still receive retirement benefits.

According to the Social Security Administration, you can work and still receive your full Social Security benefit payment.

But if you are younger than full retirement age (66 years if you were born 1943-1954) and if your earnings exceed certain dollar amounts, some of your benefit payments will be withheld.

If you work and earn more than the exempt amount, you should know that it will not, on average, reduce the total value of Social Security lifetime benefits--and may increase them.

If you reach full retirement age and have earned enough so much that you collect reduced social security payments, the SSA will recalculate your benefit amount to give you credit for any months in which you did not receive benefits. Every year you continue to work, the SSA will check your earnings to determine whether or not your monthly benefit should be increased.

P.S. Even if you don't plan to receive monthly benefits, you should sign up for Medicare three months before reaching age 65.