social security pension

[WilliamS541265]

if someone worked for approximately 50 years and made about 50k per year each and every single year, how big would their social security pension be if they started working at 20 and retired at 70? each year when they began working they made about 50k per year working as a bricklayer. when they retired at 70, what would be their monthly pension from social security???? they never married or had kids. what might be an approximate figure here???? can someone please help me. how could we determine this? im all ears you guys. anyone willing to help me here. rsvp.

[Travis55Chevy]

ok got the answer from SS max benefit if entering the system at age 70      most you can receive is 3770 dollars a month.  2861     is the mark until your boost comes in this is 2019 rates  nice

[WilliamS541265]

but i got a different number.  6462 is the monthly benefit and not 3700 like youre giving me, why is that?  why would that be the case then?  rsvp.  

[Travis55Chevy]

The way I understand this is SS has a top scale which is 2850 and the bonus of 3700. they have to seal the top or you would get guys like Gates  Trump other billionaires from crashing the system. SS is suppose to be a retirement suppliment not to make a person rich. SS has a calculator on its website that allows you to see what your benefit could be. Or if you have the time and patience call them and talk with an advisor they will give you a total. They have all the facts and figures at their disposal Be advised that you could spend 45 mins to an hour on hold.'

[Travis55Chevy]

According to SS the payout for 2019 caps at 2861.00

[GailL1]

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@Travis55Chevy wrote:

According to SS the payout for 2019 caps at 2861.00

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That is true if you retire at full retirement age and paid payroll contributions to the max ( up to the income cap for 35 years ) during your working career.

However IF a person waits until 70 to begin benefits, they get what is called a delayed retirement credit for every year  past their full retirement age until 70 years old.  That will punch the maximum benefit higher.

[fffred]

This can be calculated in any one of a number of "on-line" calculators, either at the Social Security website or at other sites (maybe even AARP has one).

The best calculator is that published by the Social Security Administration and is run on your own computer. However, it can be a bit tricky to learn how to use and run. This is the "Anypia32" software.

I ran the scenario you outlined, working 50 years and making $50,000 every one of those years. I set the program (Anypia32) to have this person born in 1948, worked 50 years from 1968 through 2017, inclusive, earning $50,000 each one of those years. Of course, this is not a very realistic example as wages would likely have gone up with inflation. Even someone who "topped out" in their pay grade at $50,000 their first year of work would likely see some increases along the way.

So the benefit for this person at age 70 retirement would be $3,255 per month (single)

But, y'know, this is not the "maximum" case. There is a ceiling each year above which earnings are not subjected to payroll SS tax. For this guy in our example, his $50,000 would have been way above the ceiling for a number of years at the beginning. Then inflation would have caught up and he would be below the ceiling. Consequently, he will not get the maximum SS benefit.

Someone who did earn at least the ceiling amount every year (for the 35 highest years considered by the SS) their benefit would be $3,698

(Disclaimer:  I am not a SS expert, they will be along shortly. I ran using Anypia32 version 2019.1. The guy was born in 1948 (January 31), started working in 1968 at age 20, worked 50 years (through 2017), then retired and collected benefits at age 70 in 2018. I spent about 20 minutes working on this, maybe 30, so I don't have this especially refined so the results may be somewhat coarse.)

[GailL1]

@fffred 

Yea, the contribution base amount didn't get to $ 50,000 til around 1990 - here is the chart.

https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/cbb.html

Good try -

I don't mind helping people with specific questions but this poster seems to be just about pie in the sky from the other post they are adding to different boards. 

A lot of work - explaining / calculating  - for what might just be a whim.

Guess we can point him in the right direction, at least on Social Security

Here ya go @WilliamS541265 - put pencil to pad, grab a calculator and figure til your heart is content -

Social Security: Your Retirement Benefit - How it is Figured

Just remember, there is a bonus added once you reach your Full Retirement Age but you don't start drawing til 70 - it is called a delayed retirement credit.

[fffred]

What with the bend points and everything (the 35 years of top adjusted earnings) it would be interesting to change the OP's example so that the 35 years of $50K were earned as the first 35 years of the 50 years, and then as the final 35 years.

I have my suspicions on the result, but I have been wrong too many times on guessin' that I'd need to do some cipherin'    ;- )

ETA:  hmm, this is 'complexified' by how the SS annual ceiling increased over time. This is an interesting problem!

[nctarheel]

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@WilliamS541265 wrote:

if someone worked for approximately 50 years and made about 50k per year each and every single year, how big would their social security pension be if they started working at 20 and retired at 70? each year when they began working they made about 50k per year working as a bricklayer. when they retired at 70, what would be their monthly pension from social security???? they never married or had kids. what might be an approximate figure here???? can someone please help me. how could we determine this? im all ears you guys. anyone willing to help me here. rsvp.

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Go to the Social Security web site. They have a an estimation worksheet where you can input the figures you have given above and it will give you an estimate of what the SS pension would be.