Few retirement decisions carry as much long-term weight as when and how to claim Social Security benefits. The timing of your claim can impact your lifetime benefits by hundreds of thousands of dollars, making this one of the most consequential financial choices you will make.
For University of Maine System faculty and staff, there is good news: your university employment and retirement plan doesn’t reduce your Social Security benefits. Unlike some public employees in other state systems, University of Maine System employees pay into Social Security through FICA taxes throughout their careers. Your TIAA 403(b) retirement plan works alongside Social Security, not instead of it. Note: if you worked for a different university or in a different state at some point, this may impact you.
This guide addresses the most common Social Security questions we hear from university faculty and staff approaching retirement. Understanding these strategies can help you make confident decisions about your benefits and potentially add tens of thousands of dollars to your lifetime retirement income.
Social Security Basics: Laying the Foundation
How Do I Qualify for Social Security Benefits?
To qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, you need 40 credits of work history, which translates to roughly 10 years of covered employment. Most university faculty and staff easily meet this threshold through their university careers, and any prior employment where you paid Social Security taxes also counts toward your total.
How Are Benefits Calculated?
The Social Security Administration calculates your benefit based on your highest 35 years of earnings. If you have fewer than 35 years of covered work, zeros are averaged in for the missing years, which can significantly reduce your benefit amount. This calculation produces your Primary Insurance Amount, or PIA, which is the monthly benefit you would receive if you claim at your Full Retirement Age.
When Can I Claim My Social Security Benefits?
You get to choose when you start taking your Social Security benefits. You can claim as early as age 62, though doing so permanently reduces your monthly benefit by around 30 percent. Alternatively, you can wait until your Full Retirement Age, or FRA. For those born in 1960 or later, FRA is 67, and claiming at this age means you receive your full calculated monthly benefit. If you have enough savings or other income to cover your expenses, you can also delay claiming until age 70. For each year you wait past your FRA, you receive delayed retirement credits that increase your benefit by about 8 percent.
Social Security FAQ: The Answers You’ve Been Looking For
Does My University of Maine System Retirement Plan Affect My Social Security?
Your University of Maine System employment does not reduce your Social Security benefits. Unlike employees in some state retirement systems who do not pay Social Security taxes, university faculty and staff always contribute to Social Security through FICA payroll taxes. Your TIAA 403(b) retirement plan is a supplemental benefit that runs parallel to Social Security, not a replacement for it.
This means most university employees receive full Social Security benefits based on their complete earnings history. You do not face the reductions that historically affected some public employees under rules like the Windfall Elimination Provision.
Recent Legislative Changes
In January 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law, repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset. These provisions had previously reduced Social Security benefits for certain public employees who received pensions from work not covered by Social Security. While this change primarily benefits those in non-Social Security-covered positions, it removes potential complications for households in which one spouse worked in covered employment, and the other did not.
Should I Claim at 62, Full Retirement Age, or Wait Until 70?
This is the most common question we hear, and the answer is (unfortunately): it depends. If you claim early, you receive smaller payments over a longer period, while waiting means larger payments over a shorter period. There are a few things to take into consideration when trying to decide when to claim your benefit:
- Life expectancy. Having bigger benefit payments later in retirement might sound great, but it won’t matter if you and/or your spouse aren’t around to take advantage of them. Taking a look at life expectancy (family history, health, etc.) can help act as a bit of a guide to ensure you have an incredible retirement.
- Current savings. If you aren’t certain you have enough financial cushion to cover expenses early in your retirement, it may make sense to take your Social Security benefit early (or at Full Retirement Age) as opposed to delaying to free up cash flow.
- Academic-specific considerations. If you’re considering phased retirement, you may be able to reduce your workload while also delaying Social Security claims. This would allow your benefit to grow and make the leap to retirement a little bit smoother. The same is true if you choose to do consulting work before fully retiring, which would give you an alternate income source to glide through partial retirement.
How Do Spousal Benefits Work?
Spousal benefits can significantly boost your household’s retirement income, particularly when one partner earned substantially more than the other. A currently-married spouse may be eligible to receive up to 50 percent of their partner's Primary Insurance Amount (though they cannot receive this benefit until the higher-earning spouse has filed for their own benefits).
If you are divorced but were married for at least 10 years, you may be eligible for benefits based on your former spouse's earnings record. This does not affect your former spouse's benefits or those of their current spouse.
If you are a widow or widower, survivor benefits also deserve careful consideration. When one spouse passes away, the surviving spouse can receive the higher of their own benefit or the deceased spouse's benefit, but not both. For this reason, if the higher-earning spouse delays their claim, it can serve as a form of longevity insurance for the surviving partner.
Can I Work and Collect Social Security?
Yes, though the rules differ depending on your age. If you’re younger than your FRA, and you earn more than the yearly earnings limit, your Social Security benefits are temporarily reduced. In 2025, you can earn up to $23,400 before this reduction kicks in. For every $2 you earn above that amount, $1 is withheld from your benefits.
What About Taxes?
Many retirees are surprised to learn that Social Security benefits can be taxable. Depending on your combined income, up to 85 percent of your benefits may be subject to federal income tax. Combined income includes your adjusted gross income, nontaxable interest, and half of your Social Security benefits.
Strategic coordination of retirement account withdrawals with Social Security benefits can help manage your tax burden. For example, drawing down traditional IRA or 403(b) funds in years before claiming Social Security may help reduce Required Minimum Distributions later, potentially keeping you in a lower tax bracket and reducing the taxation of your benefits.
Higher income in retirement can also affect your Medicare premiums through the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA. If your modified adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds, you will pay higher premiums for Medicare Parts B and D. Thoughtful income planning can help minimize these surcharges, which is one of the many ways we partner with our Provision Wealth Planning clients to maximize their retirement income across multiple buckets - including Social Security.
Action Steps
Your best first-step is to request your personal Social Security statement, which shows your earnings history, and estimated benefits at different claiming ages. You can access this through your my Social Security account. Creating this account also allows you to verify that your earnings have been reported correctly throughout your career (an added bonus!). You can check this account at any time during your career. Still, we typically recommend you take a more serious look at your earnings statement and estimated benefits between 1-5 years before you want to retire or start phased retirement. This gives you time to run projections, coordinate with your spouse if applicable, and integrate your decision into your broader retirement plan.
Making Your Decision
Social Security is a complex, deeply personal decision. What works for one person may not be best for another, even if their circumstances appear similar on the surface. The right claiming strategy, customized to your unique situation, can make a meaningful difference in your retirement cash flow and lifestyle. At Provision, we partner with our clients to map out all of the pros and cons of Social Security timing. We’ll help you model scenarios, whether you want to take your benefit at 62 or 70, and determine what makes the most sense for your unique situation and goals.
If you would like to explore how Social Security fits into your overall retirement plan, we are here to help. Schedule a consultation to discuss your specific situation!
