When you retire then wait to draw s.s. What do they go by is it the highest wages you made or the wages for the last 5 years. Anyone know?

Supposedly they base it on the highest 35 years of income, of your work history.....Any reduced income years, or blank years shy of 35, will bring down the average.

Waiting until after 62 will increase the amount you draw.

The Top 5 years

I was just told that Trump said he wanted to do away with SS and its up to each person to save for their own retirement.
Any truth to that?

I doubt it.

We can hope it’s true.

This is the correct answer...

Dad was a financial wiz and taught me 20 years ago to NOT to count on SS but to invest on your own, be it 401k or IRA or preferably both.
Let SS be a lil bonus.
Typically the longer ya work the more ya draw.

I'm good with that...as long as I get back what I've already paid in.

Biden and Democrat scare tactic. The fact is hide supported and pushed thru the vote to tax 50% of your SS in the 80’s then in the 90’s he was the deciding vote on raising the tax on 85% of your SS. Now Biden wants to tax your 401 k and IRA’s 3% per year. Fact check it it’s on thief party platform page 78

Interesting, what do you do for a living?

There is an annual cap. Has been going up most of my life.

I begin collecting next month, I turned 62 today. I’ll get $ 2247 a month. My amount is reduced somewhat....I retired at 54 so I had zero earnings the since 2013.

Wrong answer. Go to https://www.ssa.gov/site/signin/en/ and study up. It is the highest 35 years, but they have inflation multipliers to bring up the average of older wages. I've been collecting eight years and still work and pay into the system. My benefit goes up each year as A higher year replaces a lower year. Top 35 is the correct answer.

Self-employed.

I run a small construction company and a property management business.

Your earlier years may be higher in the calculation as the wages are corrected to current levels. So if you had a good paying job say and retired early at say 60 and took a lower paying job until say 65 the higher years adjusted could help more. Also there are bend points based on salaries, lower income is multiplied by higher factors then higher income. Each year based on inflation etc. the bend points change. Also it was much easier to reach the upper limit years ago then today.

Bryce

Hobbie, you need to remember that self-employed pay double what a normal employee would pay.

If your business is paying you $100,000.00 a year, you’re over paying yourself.

Depending on when you where born you may not have the option but to wait . Most now days must be 66.

Lugnut ( or hobbie ) hard to tell who posted it first ...., you have paid in OVER half a million in SS? Man you must make a lot of money !!!!!! Or have paid for 75 plus years!!! LOL

SS is with held at 6.2% so if you have paid in 500,000 you would have made 100,000 for 83 years to reach 500,000 paid in ....