SSI

[Oaktree]

One thing nobody has mentioned is that if you file at a younger age and are penalized for making more than allowed, you will recover that further down the line.
Hopefully nobody here plans to go this route.

I did, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
I started taking SS at 62. The company I worked for went feet up, and the only similar jobs would have involved a 2 hour commute (each way) so I took SS early.
I had already lined up a couple clients to do the same work for as an independent contractor, but had no idea how much work there'd be...indeed, the first year or so was pretty lean but things picked up as time moved on. By this point it was too late to cancel SS & return the money (you only have 1 year to change your mind). They did, however extend my time by the the number of years my income exceeded the limit, so it turned out that in the eyes of the gov't I started SS at 65, only one year earlier than full retirement age (born in 1949 so FRA was 66 for me).
Had I known that my side hustle would have been as lucrative as it was, I probably would have held off.

I calculated breakeven at 81, if I follow in the footsteps of my father & grandfather I'll live to be 85 (the men on my mother's side only made it to their mid-late 70s). Close enough.

 

[Oaktree]

I have been thinking about getting it replaced for a while, and this discussion got me to do something. After reading the above though, I probably won't bother. I know that my old one is in a box someplace... I just need to remember which one I put it in when I moved here in 2003.

I have never used my SS Card for ID and I didn't need it to get the Real ID card. There were several other options available.

Must vary by state, I had to produce my SS card when I tried to renew my driver's license as a real ID. I still had the card I was issued when I got my SS# back in the 1960s, but the DMV claimed this old style card wasn't valid.

I went to the SS office in person, and they were very helpful, and I had my new card within a week. Now to reschedule my license renewal with the state (after waiting in line for an hour and a half last time, I just renewed the non real ID license). Was on the fence about getting real ID at all, since I have no desire to fly, but there may come a time when I need to enter a federal building (does a post office count?).

 

[TractorGuy]

Do you remember when it was not legal to use SS Card for ID? Not sure the exact wording that was printed on the card. Now I have typed this was it the card of the SS number that was legal to use for ID?

Mine says right across the bottom it is for Social Security and Tax Purposes, Not for Identification. The State of Florida REQUIRED it for my new chipped Drivers License. They had no problem accepting my 59 year old SS card.

 

[Doofy]

Of all things to counterfeit, the Social Security card and Medicare card would be the easiest since they are just plain paper cards without any type of security built in.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I did, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
I started taking SS at 62. The company I worked for went feet up, and the only similar jobs would have involved a 2 hour commute (each way) so I took SS early.
I had already lined up a couple clients to do the same work for as an independent contractor, but had no idea how much work there'd be...indeed, the first year or so was pretty lean but things picked up as time moved on. By this point it was too late to cancel SS & return the money (you only have 1 year to change your mind). They did, however extend my time by the the number of years my income exceeded the limit, so it turned out that in the eyes of the gov't I started SS at 65, only one year earlier than full retirement age (born in 1949 so FRA was 66 for me).
Had I known that my side hustle would have been as lucrative as it was, I probably would have held off.

I calculated breakeven at 81, if I follow in the footsteps of my father & grandfather I'll live to be 85 (the men on my mother's side only made it to their mid-late 70s). Close enough.

One plus factor is: every year you work, and pay in more, after you start drawing up to age 70, triggers an annual re-computation of your annuity. I was able to in 5 years raise my annuity from $600+/month to $1600/month by both paying in more and deleting those low paying years from my 35 year average.

Ron

 

[Jstpssng]

There are no security features on the old ones like mine:

Just paper/card stock.

I was thinking the same thing. And even though it was laminated when nearly new, it was still getting bedraggled the last time that I saw it. Probably that's the reason I stopped carrying it 20 years ago.

 

[Diggin It]

Tomorrow morning the August CPI gets released. That helps determine the COLA for next year, if any.

June was 0.6%
July was 0.6%

 

[Diggin It]

Uh Uh, this can't be right! 0.4% in August ?????

Consumer Price Index Summary

 

[RickB]

Sure. It’s election strategy.

 

[Doofy]

Sorry. Sounds like all double-talk and hooey to me. All that is is meaningless jabber and can be skewed any way they wish. You can bet, we will see little if anything in our checks. Rich get richer, poor get poorer.