Ask the Expert: How does early retirement affect Social Security benefits?

How does leaving work early affect a Social Security benefit? My husband stopped working at 55 and doesn't plan on returning. His Social Security statement projects that he'll receive $3,029 a month at 67, his full retirement age (FRA). Will that projection change if he doesn't work anymore, even if he waits until 67 to start taking benefits?

Your husband's high estimated future benefit suggests that his working years were well compensated. But that estimate assumes that he'll keep working, and earning his most recent annual salary, every year until he reaches his FRA.

A person only has to work for 10 years to qualify for Social Security. But the size of his or her benefit is always based on 35 years of earnings. If you stop working after 10 years, for example, the calculation determining your benefit will include 25 years of zeros. As a result, someone who earned a very high salary but worked for only 10 years receives a smaller Social Security benefit than someone who earned less but worked for 35 years.

Your husband should obtain a benefit estimate that reflects his decision to stop working at age 55, either by making an appointment at a local Social Security office or by using the Social Security Administration's online Benefit Estimator calculator.

The calculator is linked to your actual earnings record, letting you see how your Social Security benefit would change if you worked fewer years or earned less than you do now. You can type in your own assumptions, increasing or reducing the number of future work years and how much you'll earn, to see how each scenario would affect your benefit at FRA.

The bottom line

Your estimated Social Security benefit assumes you'll work at your current salary until your full retirement age.

More information

ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html

ssa.gov/planners/retire/otherthings.html