My husband was born oct 2nd, 1955. He would like to collect SS but continue to work until he is 70. Can he earn $80,000 and collect SSA? Do we have to pay tax on the collected SS? Should he wait one more year to collect SS for a better return on his SS? Does he have to pay Medicare when he has health insurance? Thank you so much for your help. Rosan

Hi Rosan. Yes, since your husband is past his full retirement age (FRA) he could collect his Social Security benefits regardless of how much he earns. Whether or not he'd have to pay income taxes on his Social Security benefits depends on his income level, but if he's earning $80,000 then he'd almost certainly have to pay income taxes on a portion of his benefits. For details, refer to the following Social Security website: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/taxes.html.

Assuming that he isn't already enrolled, your husband will automatically be enrolled in Part A of Medicare when he applies for benefits. However, there is no premium charge for Part A of Medicare for people who qualify for Social Security benefits. Your husband would also have the option to enroll in Part B of Medicare, but it's not mandatory. There is a monthly premium charge for Part B of Medicare. If your husband is covered by an employer group health plan where he works and if there are at least 20 employees covered under that plan, then he can likely delay enrolling in Part B of Medicare until he retires without any penalties.

The best time for your husband to start drawing benefits depends on many different factors. Therefore, he should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of his options so that he can determine his best strategy for maximizing benefits.

Best, Jerry