Monday, January 14, 2008

Social Security Benefits in Retirement

Just a few years' more work can have a significant impact on your retirement income. You can continue adding to your 401(k) or other retirement plan, which reduces your current taxes and lets those investments continue to grow. Working longer also means you'll have to rely on your savings for fewer years.
A job can also boost your Social Security benefits. Although you can collect as early as age 62, your Social Security checks will be about 25% smaller -- for the rest of your life -- than if you wait till your normal retirement age. And if you continue to work and collect Social Security before your normal retirement age, you will lose $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn over $13,560 in 2008.
Once you reach your regular retirement age -- which is 65 and 10 months for those born in 1942, who turned 65 in 2007 -- you can collect full Social Security benefits, no matter how much you earn by working. The normal retirement age increases to 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954, and rises gradually to 67 for people born later. www.kiplinger.com

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