The primary insurance amount (PIA) of your Social Security retirement benefit is the amount you would receive if you were to wait until you reached full retirement age (FRA).
According to Brian Schiess, a certified financial planner with Modera Wealth Management in Westwood, that age is currently between the ages of 65 and 67, depending on your year of birth.
He explained that the amount of primary insurance you need is determined by taking the 35 years of your career with the highest earnings into account.
According to Schiess, if you file for Social Security benefits and have only 30 years of work history, your primary insurance amount will include five years with $0 of earnings.
It’s possible that your benefits could be increased if you continue to work after receiving Social Security benefits, as the Social Security Administration reviews your earnings from work every year.
Also Read: Schedule of Social Security Benefits in 2022: Important Dates to Be Aware Of
Additional years of earnings, for example, maybe taken into account, effectively replacing those years for which you had no work history, as he explained.
If you have 35 years of work experience prior to applying for Social Security benefits, you may be able to replace lower-earning years from earlier in your career with higher-earning ones if you continue to work, he said. Higher current benefit calculations may also result from this.
Your annual wages reported to the Social Security Administration are automatically recalculated, he explained. Benefit increases are paid in December of the following year.” A benefit increase from your 2021 income, for example, would be applied retroactively to your January 2022 benefits in December 2022.”