Still Working at 67? Every Year You Wait on Social Security Locks In a Guaranteed 8% Raise
Still punching the clock at 67 means you have a rare window to permanently supercharge your retirement income, but most workers never take advantage of it.
Social Security
All Social Security Articles
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His Ski-Season Job Stretched From December Into Summer. Social Security Split It Across Two Earnings Years.
A ski instructor thought he was working one long season, but Social Security drew a line at midnight on New Year's Eve and started counting his wages all over again. What that invisible reset…
At 88, He Still Climbs Ladders at His Shoe Store. His Age Ended the Earnings Test, but Not the Social Security Tax.
An 88-year-old shoe store owner has collected Social Security for over two decades while still climbing ladders and fitting customers, but hitting his retirement milestone only cancelled one of his obligations to the program,…
He Retired From Lobstering, Bought a Deli, and Left the Profit in the Business. Social Security Counted It Anyway.
A former lobsterman trades traps for a deli counter, leaves every dollar of profit inside the business, and still watches Social Security start withholding his checks. What he missed about partnership income changes the…
He Worked 600 Hours of Wildfire Overtime at 64. He Thought the New Tax Break Would Protect His Social Security Check. He Was Wrong.
Six hundred hours of wildfire overtime looked like a financial lifeline until a well-meaning tip from a coworker set up a collision between two federal programs that measure income in completely different ways.
Retirees Are Rooting for a Big 2027 COLA. A Large One Means Higher Medicare Premiums and a Bigger Tax Bill
A generous Social Security raise in 2027 sounds like a win, but for some retirees it could quietly trigger a chain reaction that leaves them worse off than before.
He Worked at a Tribal Casino and Received a Share of Gaming Revenue. Social Security Saw One Check as Pay and the Other as Unearned.
Two checks from the same tribal casino look nearly identical on tax day, but Social Security treats them as completely different animals, and mixing them up can cost an early retiree real money.
The Government Called It a Grain Loan. One Line on His Tax Return Could Make Social Security Call It Farm Income.
A CCC marketing assistance loan looks nothing like a farm sale, but one optional election on Schedule F can transform borrowed cash into self-employment earnings that Social Security counts against an early claimant's monthly…
He Tore His Rotator Cuff at 63 and Went on Workers’ Comp. Social Security’s Earnings Test Didn’t Count a Dollar of It.
Two checks arrived after the rotator cuff tore, but the rules governing them pulled in completely opposite directions depending on a single word printed at the top of his Social Security paperwork.
The USDA Paid Him Rent on 200 Retired Acres. Claiming Social Security Changed the Tax on the Same Check.
When a longtime farmer starts collecting Social Security, something unexpected happens to the USDA rent arriving on his enrolled acreage, and the timing of his claiming decision can quietly shift how that money gets…
Medicare Covered Her Knee Replacement but Not the Dental Clearance Her Surgeon Wanted First
Her surgeon handed her a knee replacement date, then a preoperative packet that sent her straight to the dentist for a procedure Medicare had no intention of paying for. The tooth and the surgery…
Saving Social Security With Payroll Taxes Alone Would Mean a 4.42 to 4.9% Hike. Here’s What That Costs the Average Worker
Social Security faces a funding crisis that could force a painful choice on workers and lawmakers alike, and the 2026 Trustees Report has made the math more urgent: the program's trust fund is now…
He Sold the Blueberry Farm With the Last Crop Still on the Bushes. Social Security Did Not Count It as One Last Harvest.
A blueberry grower selling his farm before full retirement age discovered that the choice between picking the last crop or leaving it on the bushes could determine whether Social Security treated his final season…
Traditional Medicare Put 15 Procedures Under New Review in Six States. The List Can Grow.
A Medicare card that hasn't changed, a procedure that has been scheduled for years, and suddenly a private reviewer holds the power to decide whether payment follows. Six states are running a test that…
One Power-Line Settlement Paid Him Three Ways. Social Security Counted Only the Lost Harvest.
A single utility settlement paid a rancher three different ways, and he assumed Social Security would treat all of it the same. That assumption was going to cost him.