The Influence of Work
Work offers a confluence of possibilities, ranging from satisfaction to frustration to, many days, a little of both. If you work during retirement, here’s an interesting revelation: Social Security taxes are deducted from your work paycheck even if you’re already drawing benefits. For a lot of retirees, wages from some type of job represent a significant portion of their retirement income.1
This is a scenario in which you may be able to increase your Social Security benefits even if you started taking them early. If the annual income you earn in retirement is higher than the lowest inflation-adjusted year of earnings factored into your current benefit, a new benefit will be calculated for a higher amount.2
The decision to work or not during retirement is a personal one, based on both financial and lifestyle factors. Please contact us to discuss creating retirement strategies through the use of insurance products that can help you work toward your long-term retirement income goals.
When you’re making the decision about whether to retire, remember you may have more options than you think. Some people may want to work longer either because they could stand to save more or want to keep their brains engaged — or both. However, if they’ve grown tired of their job, they figure they might as well retire. But it doesn’t have to be one or the other. Many people go job hunting because they’re frustrated with their boss or company and no longer feel they get the respect they deserve.3 You can do that too, even if you’re older. If you aren’t ready to retire, consider looking for another job.
If that doesn’t appear to be a feasible option, there are other ways to cope with a job that has you down. People often talk about developing hobbies during retirement to occupy their time, keep their minds engaged and nurture a social network. There’s no reason to wait until retirement. Studies show people experience long-term fulfillment when they commit to an activity for the sake of the activity itself.4 This gives you something to look forward to doing outside work, so that the day-to-day grind is more tolerable. A secondary benefit is that once you do retire, the activity could be waiting for your full-time attention.
Then again, you might be considering quitting your job and working for yourself. To get started, human resources professional Liz Ryan offers the following questions to ask yourself:5
· What services can I sell?
· What kinds of problems or challenges can I solve for clients?
· What is the going rate for my services?
· How can I explore the possibilities as a new consultant while continuing to work at my job?
· How can I market my new business?
Content prepared by Kara Stefan Communications.
1 Tom Margenau. Arizona Daily Star. March 23, 2017. “Social Security and you: Working seniors pay taxes and may see benefit increase.” http://tucson.com/business/social-security-and-you-working-seniors-pay-taxes-and-may/article_d12b59db-5376-549c-a628-e7c569db772c.html. Accessed May 19, 2017.
2 Ibid.
3 Liz Ryan. Forbes. March 31, 2017. “The Real Reason Good Employees Quit.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2017/03/31/the-real-reason-good-employees-quit/#4390ea844b4e. Accessed May 19, 2017.
4 Brad Stulberg. New York. March 27, 2017. “Your Job Can’t Be the Only Meaningful Thing in Your Life.” http://nymag.com/scienceofus/article/how-to-find-meaning-outside-of-work.html?mid=twitter_scienceofus. Accessed May 19, 2017.
5 Liz Ryan. Forbes. April 2, 2017. “Full-Time Employment Is Great For Employers – Not So Great For You.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2017/04/02/full-time-employment-is-great-for-employers-not-so-great-for-you/print/. Accessed May 19, 2017.
We are able to provide you with information but not guidance or advice related to Social Security benefits. Our firm is not affiliated with the Social Security Administration or any governmental agency.
We are an independent firm helping individuals create retirement strategies using a variety of insurance products to custom suit their needs and objectives. This material is intended to provide general information to help you understand basic retirement income strategies and should not be construed as financial advice.
The information contained in this material is believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed; it is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions. If you are unable to access any of the news articles and sources through the links provided in this text, please contact us to request a copy of the desired reference.
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