Double Dipping Rule Reduces Social Security Income
My wife and I are both 67 yrs. old and have not yet started taking our S.S.I. My reasoning, we do not need the income now but will need all we can get when we do take it. When I turned 65 yrs. old I had an appointment at the S.S. office and was told that I would not receive my full benefit due to Double Dipping rules.
One of my seminar attendees raised the above question; I thought to share the answer with everyone. I am making some assumptions here. The primary assumption is that when a person is looking to apply for social security benefits at age 65 and he or she has not yet reached full retirement age. They will be subject to double dipping rules that would reduce the social security income by the amount of earned income. After full retirement age that reduction does not apply. However, just because you can claim social security income does not mean you should. I am attaching a link to an article that you will want to look at before making a decision. In my personal opinion, if you can delay the payments, do so. Or, take the income and bank it and then return it at a later time and still claim the higher income. You are allowed to keep the interest from the money and only return the principal. The article does clarify this issue.
http://crr.bc.edu/images/stories/Briefs/ib_9-9.pdf
http://crr.bc.edu/briefs/strange_but_true_free_loan_from_social_security_4.html
