What Happens If? (Part 1)
August 13, 2013
What happens if you file early at age 62 for Social Security benefits due to losing your job? Then you receive $1,770 for 4 months, become employed again, and your benefit automatically stops. Is the reduction you received at age 62 permanent? Since you did receive a few checks, your benefit was reduced for those months. However, for all the months in which the benefit was stopped, there is no reduction. In other words, the benefit is automatically recomputed at age 66, and increased for the months in which you did not receive a check. As an example, at age 66 your benefit now might be $2,300 per month, not including cost-of-living adjustments.