Not necessarily. Your benefit will not fall — you are due a certain benefit based on your work up until now. Quitting work before you're old enough to claim benefits won't reduce that amount when you do claim it. But if you stop work now, your benefit won't get any larger either. Social Security benefits are based on your highest 35 years of earnings. If you have fewer than 35 years, the nonwork years will be counted as zeroes in the calculations. If you continue to work, you'll reduce those zero years and drive your benefit up. If you already have 35 years of earnings, your benefit may or may not be affected by a decision to stop working now. Here's why: Any future work years that turn out to be among your top 35 earning years will displace lower years in Social Security's calculations, driving up your benefit. But if your future earnings aren't higher than your current top 35, then Social Security will stick with its old calculations and your benefit will remain the same.
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