Hi Larry, I would like to know if my earnings after age 60 will go towards calculation of my Social Security benefit. I understand about the 35 highest earning years, but I am not sure if it is only for the 35 highest earning years up to the age of 60. I plan on working until 70.

Hi,

Yes, your earnings can be used to calculate your Social Security retirement benefit rate regardless of what age you are at the time you produce the earnings. The only difference is that earnings in years prior to the year a person reaches age 60 are indexed when determining the amount credited for benefit calculation purposes. Indexing basically converts a person's earnings in years prior to age 60 to a more current day figure, and generally results in their being credited with an amount higher than their actual earnings for years prior to the year in which they reach age 60.

For example, say that the national average wage index in the year that a person turns 60 is $51,000, and in the year they turned 30 it was $17,000. Indexing would then cause that person's earnings in the year they turned 30 to be credited at 3 times their actual amount (i.e. $51,000/$17,000 = 3.0). So, for example, if that person earned $20,000 in the year they turned 30 they would be credited with earnings of $60,000 in that year when calculating their Social Security retirement benefit rate.

Earnings in years that a person turns age 60 and later can still be used to calculate their benefit rate, but only the actual amount of earnings is credited for those years. In other words, those earnings cannot be indexed to a higher amount.

Best, Jerry