Once you have reached your FULL RETIREMENT AGE (FRA) which you have, you can work and earn as much as you want and your full benefit amount is NOT reduced.
In fact, if you continue to work, you and you’re employer will still be paying payroll taxes so it could be that your benefit will get bigger annually once those earnings are booked by the Social Security Administration.
Once you have gone over your FRA and haven’t filed for benefits, your benefits will grow at a rate of about 8% a years between FRA and age 70; these credits are known as DELAYED RETIREMENT CREDITS (DRC). At 70 years old your benefits stop earning anything so don’t wait any longer than 70 years old to begin getting them.
You can, of course, get your full benefits sooner than 70 - At 68 1/2 the only thing that you will be losing is a bit of those delayed retirement credits - like about 12% ( 8% + 4% )
There are sone states that tax or don’t tax Social Security benefits - you will have to check on what your state does.
There is a Federal tax on some of your benefit amount if your total income goes over a certain amount. There is a worksheet that goes with your Federal income tax calculations to see if any of your benefits are taxable. This tax is NOT an income tax, it is an additional Social Security tax to help the finances of the SS program. Perhaps think of it as paying tax on the employers part of SS which is compensation for you but never taxed while working - not by you and not by the employer.
You most definitely can begin your benefits -
Have you signed up for Medicare already?
It's Always Something . . . . Roseanna Roseannadanna