At 12:01 a.m. on New Year’s Eve 2008, the first of an onslaught of Boomers gained the legal right to start drawing Social Security benefits. Experts indicate that as many as 50% of the age-62 Boomers will start early withdrawal of benefits during 2008.
But, few Boomers realize that drawing these benefits early results in a permanent loss of at least 20% of benefits.
Delaying withdrawal by replacing the monthly benefit with income from a business enterprise can be easily done.
With a typical monthly Social Security benefit of $1,040, any of the Boomers who start receiving Social Security benefits before age 67 stand to lose more than $49,000 in income over a twenty year retirement.
This is an unnecessary loss of income for many people, considering the numerous ways to generate income through entrepreneurial activity that’s equal to or in excess of the typical monthly Social Security benefit.
Some examples include:
1. Consulting – At a typical consulting rate of $150 per hour, it takes only 7 billable hours per month to equal the average Social Security benefit.
2. Publishing – It’s not uncommon to sell a 150-page workbook online for $39 per copy. Self-publishing costs run as low as $6 per unit, leaving $33 profit per unit. To equal the $1040 Social Security only requires selling 32 copies per month.
3. Personal Service – Professional Organizers routinely spend at least eight hours of billable time on a job. At a commonly found hourly rate of $45, this equals $360 per full-day job. To equal the $1040 monthly Social Security benefit only requires completing 3 full days of work in a month.
Many 50+ Boomer entrepreneurs want to run a part-time business that permits freedom and flexibility in their schedules to accomodate leisure-time activities.
As you can see from the examples above, you can generate an attractive monthly income, more than sufficient to substitute for your Social Security benefit, with just a few hours of labor.
