I plan to retire in 2 years at age 62 because I have young children who will get checks along with me and my wife as their caretaker. I am self-employed (LLC) and I am winding down my business (no new clients, no new work) but because of the nature of my business, I get paid some time, (often several years) after I do the work. I have about $1 million in receivable for work done over the last several years that will continue to roll in over the next few years. I understand that money from work done *before* I retire does not count in the income test, but how do I document/report it to the SSA to make sure it is not counted against me?

Hi. The specific documentation that you may need to provide to Social Security would depend on the nature of your business and the type of income you receive. For example, documenting renewal commissions received by an insurance agent would be different than the documentation needed for royalties received by an author (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0302505125).

In general, what you'll need to do after any year in which you a) received Social Security benefits prior to your full retirement age (FRA) and b) reported earned income (i.e. net earnings from self-employment and/or gross wages) in excess of the Social Security earnings test exempt amount is contact Social Security and provide them with a copy of your W-2 form(s) and/or Schedule SE from your tax return along with any evidence that you can provide showing that some or all of the income included on your tax return was earned prior to the year in which you started drawing benefits. Social Security should then let you know what if any additional evidence you may need to provide.

Also, you may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry