Author Topic: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?  (Read 6476 times)

JackandJill

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2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« on: July 19, 2013, 11:43:21 AM »
I have 15 years of work behind me.
Himself has 35 years and will retire in 4 or less years.
We are out of debt, all debt.
One of his pensions started this year.
Our house is paid off this year.
Money is coming in faster than going out now.

I'm currently unemployed and have been frugal since birth due to the foxfire books and raised by a farm woman.
I could put in 15 more years of work if work is found.
I have 2000 sq feet of gardens, pressure cook, can, dehydrate vegetables, fruits, herbs, for half the year. I sell the excess.
In the winter, I bake bread, pizza, make soap, do sewing repairs.
At all times I stay home, make all our food from scratch (yes even pasta and bakery items).
We used a cake mix 2 years ago--it wasn't that good.

Cost to work: So, if I find work, I'll have driving expenses, clothing expenses, won't be able to put up a garden and food, won't be able to make everything for the 3 of us. How much is it going to cost me to work? (I want to factor that into my salary negotiations.)

SS:
If I work another 15 years, how much will that add to my social security benefit, will it be worth it?

I know the SS calculations are very complicated, let's go on me making an average college educated (I am) salary of say $44,000/year.
If I drive to work, I'll most likely drive 100 miles per day, losing 2 hours per day for that.

Please have mercy on my soul--I'm new and have much to contribute, but, I'm very much in a quandary on these two questions.
Very truly yours, ~Jill

Eric

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2013, 11:48:40 AM »
You can use the Social Security website to determine your benefits, whether retiring now or in X number of years.

http://www.ssa.gov/estimator/

Catbert

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2013, 12:02:33 PM »
Remember if you're married you can get 1/2 again of what he gets.  (Of course, SS computations are complicated so it may not be exactly half...depends on your ages.)

Spork

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2013, 01:32:58 PM »

I first have to wonder: How much do you want to work 15 years? 

I am reading between the lines here (so I might be wrong) but it sounds like you enjoy gardening/cooking/etc.  How much of that will you have to scale back?

I generally don't factor SS into any retirement calculations.  You'll find a wide range of opinions of SS ranging from "oh it will be fine" down to "oh my god, there will be zero!".  I suspect the real world is somewhere "less than now" but "more than zero."  But... I do expect some things will change between now and retirement for many of us and I expect that any calculation you make based on the current rules is likely to change.

For me, it's enough of an unknown that I'll assume the most pessimist outcome and be darn happy with what I get. 

So... that takes me back to: Do you want to work?  Is it a necessity?  Or are you in a position to happily live on what you've got?

(There's nothing wrong with wanting to go back.  But ... there's nothing wrong with wanting to spend 15 more years with your fingers in the garden soil either.)

JackandJill

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2013, 02:06:18 PM »
Eric--I'm very uncomfortable entering my SS number into a government calculator online. Thank you for the calculator information.

Mary--you say "you can get 1/2 AGAIN what he gets".....I'm not sure that is true. I may be able to get UP TO 1/2 as much as what he gets, but, not "1/2 AGAIN" as much. Say he gets $1000 and I qualify for $400, I could get up to $500 per month, I could not get my benefit of $400 PLUS half his benefit $500, together, $900. That is my understanding. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm interested in a kind of estimate of what a year (or 15) of working ADDS to my SS benefits and I can't seem to figure that part out.

He can work another 4 years--medical coverage is the important part. If I work, I can take over the medical coverage, he can quit early. Or I can work after he retires for medical coverage. Or we can divorce and I can qualify for subsidized medical care (YIKES) for 9 years
I loved working outside the house, I'm over 50, jobs are scarce for me. Most of the money saving work I do now would have to sit idle until I retire. I'd have to pay for car expenses to work, and clothing expenses, less lunches brought to work, less time with family, garden, and cooking for them--all cost money. Even their expenses will go up.
Do I want to find a job, YES, I've loved all my jobs, I get a great sense of accomplishment from what I do. I also have a great sense of accomplishment not spending money and saving our household money.
I'm trying to find the balance for all of us. ~Jill

MissStache

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2013, 02:19:34 PM »
Do you HAVE to work?  The only thing that would make me drive 100 miles per day to get to work is certainty that I would be homeless if I didn't do it.

I'd rather work at Walmart than make a drive like that, especially if it meant I had to give up my gardening and canning and sewing, etc.  OK, maybe not Walmart, but with low wages for sure.   The time, the expense, the danger, the boredom...yuck!

It seems like the thing you are worried about is health coverage- have you looking into purchasing your own?  It may be less than you think it would be and something affordable on husband's pension!

All I can say is that your life sounds like EXACTLY what I want to be doing when I'm 50- hate to think of you giving that up to go back to the grind!

lizzigee

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #6 on: July 19, 2013, 02:31:27 PM »
Hi Jill, you talk about the three of you.  Is there a third person who is financially dependent upon you/Jack, and if so are they likely to move out or become financially independent in the foreseeable future? 

JackandJill

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #7 on: July 19, 2013, 02:39:56 PM »
Yes, I do not HAVE to work, I think I might want to--for medical coverage and to increase SS and savings.

Yes, my son is 22, he is dependent on us, as a slave (kidding), we all get along very well, he is VERY helpful, chores, laundry, dishes, cooking with us, and hopefully he will become independent and move out for his own benefit. On the other side of that equation, the house is too big, so having another adult here is a benefit to us as well as to him.

Eric

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #8 on: July 19, 2013, 02:56:46 PM »
Eric--I'm very uncomfortable entering my SS number into a government calculator online. Thank you for the calculator information.

You realize that this is the Social Security Administration, right?  They're the ones that issued you that number to begin with.  It's not like they don't have it already.

I'm sure there are other ways to figure it out, but I've never taken the time since this was so easy and uses my exact info.  Someone around here might know though.

Good luck!

JackandJill

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #9 on: July 19, 2013, 03:24:49 PM »
Yes Eric I do understand it is our SS gov't site and it is secure. Thank you though. I may find a good use for that yet.

oldtoyota

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2013, 08:04:34 AM »
Eric--I'm very uncomfortable entering my SS number into a government calculator online. Thank you for the calculator information.


The NSA already has all your info (phone calls and emails and numbers), so you can rest assured you won't be providing something that is not already in a gubment database. ;-)


JackandJill

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #11 on: July 20, 2013, 09:21:55 AM »
And let's not forget they also have been tracking license plates with traffic Cams so they know where you drive, your GPS information from your phone, the web sites you browse, with your phone data, they can find out who your friends/family are, and who are friends/family members of them too, your credit card data and the things you buy, what you grow in your yard with satellite images, your face in crowds from surveillance cameras, and how much electricity you use from your utility bills. Oh, almost forgot, the drones! I haven't seen any yet.

I wonder how interesting it is to them that I'm harvesting green beans and garlic today, canning green beans, and making plum and peach jams?


Catbert

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #12 on: July 20, 2013, 11:19:00 AM »


Mary--you say "you can get 1/2 AGAIN what he gets".....I'm not sure that is true. I may be able to get UP TO 1/2 as much as what he gets, but, not "1/2 AGAIN" as much. Say he gets $1000 and I qualify for $400, I could get up to $500 per month, I could not get my benefit of $400 PLUS half his benefit $500, together, $900. That is my understanding. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


You're right.  I phrased it incorrectly.  I meant to indicate that your 1/2 or so doesn't decrease his SS.

JackandJill

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #13 on: July 20, 2013, 11:52:09 AM »
Mary, ah, got it, thank you! You meant AGAIN as in for our household. TX ~Jill

tomsang

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #14 on: July 20, 2013, 12:04:45 PM »
There are Social Security offices throughout the country that are there to answer questions like this. If you are not comfortable entering your SSN online, you can go in person. Of course, waiting for hours in their lobby may make you more comfortable online:). Online you can find the calculation formula and do it yourself.

I think that this will walk you through the calculation if you want to do it by hand.

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10070.pdf

Good luck!

JackandJill

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Re: 2 ??: SS and How much will it cost me to work?
« Reply #15 on: July 20, 2013, 12:12:45 PM »
Tomsang, I so get, becoming more comfortable with online once having spent time in a SS office waiting. :)
That PDF is exactly what I needed, thank you for that prescription!
I'm going to calculate actual numbers and figure out exactly what it means for me to work 1, 2,....to 15 more years, in SS Benefits, THANK YOU!
I'll post my results in case someone else has this question, once I get through the numbers. ~Jill

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!