How does a retirement plan affect Social Security when you retire?

Question: How does a retirement plan affect Social Security when you retire?

Answer:

Retirement plans such as 401K, 403B, 457, and IRAs will not affect the amount of Social Security benefits you receive. The reason is this money is considered non-work income by Social Security.

Pensions are a little different. If you receive a pension from an employer who does not pay Social Security taxes that pension can affect the amount of your Social Security benefit. An example of this type of employer would be a government agency or an employer who is in another country.

I have listed two links here to SSA online publications where you can find more information:

Retirement Benefits is the online version of SSA publication 05-10035. It contains information for persons who will be retiring in the near future and needing to set up their Social Security Benefits.

The Windfall Elimination Provision is the online version of SSA publication 05-10045. It explains the Windfall Elimination Provision. This provision covers the types of pensions I explained above that could affect the amount of your Social Security benefits.