[Elizabeth]

Hi, social security question. I’m burning it at both ends in a well-paying exec role at 55 and have done ok saving.
Right now my monthly SS estimate is $3690 at FRA.

If I decide to take my foot off the gas and move to a lower level position with less stress before calling it a career, will my SS payment be reduced since I won’t make as much in my final working years?

I feel I need do work through FRA to maintain health insurance. Are there other options?

I really don’t want my SS to be less simply because I want less stress approaching my 60s.

[Johnny]

You social security payment is based on your highest 35 years. Since 10 years of lower pay that’s less stressed will be part of the 35 years, it will lower the social security payment.

Go to your local social security office and let them compute it.

[Brenda]

Don’t depend on SS. What have you saved for retirement in your executive role?

[Sandy]

It will probably be impacted but may not be material. Log in to your social security website and play around with their calculator.

Benefits are based on a 35 year average of your earning but only up to the taxable wage base (currently around $168,000).

[Steve]

Probably, yes, but not tremendously. It goes off your 35 highest earning years.

[Shiao]

Go to to your personal page on the ssn website. You can adjust all the assumptions and it will calculate for you.

[Laurie]

Yes, if your income decreases in the next ten years it will decrease your SS, but possibly by not a huge amount.

Go to their website and put in your projected new income and it will tell you what it will be.

Very simple.

[Shanty]

Depends on whether you have higher earnings with less stress job or when you start working 35 years ago

[Nicole]

Just go to the SS website, go to the calculator where it estimates your payout and it defaults to your current pay as your “future pay” but you can change that number to a lower number you expect to make in another job to see what it changes your estimate to.

I just did that recently and I’m only 36 just to see what it would be if I stopped working this year (changed future pay to zero)! (Just curiosity not because I’m in a position to do that)

[Jenn]

You can get health insurance with working part time (16 hours) at lowes.

If you don’t need the money, just health benefits this isn’t a bad way to go.

[Robyn]

Go to their website and create an account. You can see all of that on their website. I don’t think it will hardly make a difference in your case.

It might go down a hundred or two a month but probably not even that much.

You can plug in the numbers on their website for various scenarios.

[Brian]

Use the SSA website, and if you haven’t registered on that site you should. It will play out all possible scenarios you enter and tell you exactly what your SS payment will be based on all your own data and the timing you input.

I’m 52 and if I stop corporate role and were to have zero income until full retirement age my payment only goes down about $150/month.

So, my guess is your decrease in payment will be minimal. Good luck!

[Amy]

Go on SS website and put in future salary that you think you might make and if can tell you. It’s completely worth it to have less stress as less stress will prolong your life.

[John]

If you’re exec level and you’ve actually done ok saving/investing, why are you worried about social security?

Your amount of ss payment is likely to change only a couple hundred(ss website can give better idea).

Quality of life matters most, take the small hit and enjoy life now!

My father passed at 65, the best decision he made was early retirement.

[Joe]

It could still increase if the lowest of your previous years of earnings are lower than what your new wages will be.

It takes the average of the best 35 years of previous worked years. Non working years count as zero.

[Andrea]

Social security is calculated using an average index of the last 30 plus years I think. You can Google what that is.

It will go down but not sure how much.

[Leslie]

They are saying around 2033, our SS could be reduced by 20 percent. Unless they fix it, I am not sure what would happen to it.

Make sure you have a back up plan for other sources of income just in case.

I am not sure if we will even have SS in the future.

Also remember, things can change. They are always changing the rules so what they do now may not be what they do in the future.

[Author]

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