Working in the US

[fluffyballs]

My wife is itching to start working after being holed up with the baby for quite some time. We were thinking about her going back to get an associates degree or some sort of certificate like IT. And then literally the next day her friend who works at a Chinese restaurant calls to tell her that her restaurant is looking to hire someone - apparently she averages close to $25/hour (!) per week with cash tips, scheduling is flexible (weekend-only work possible for example), and the clientele is generally easy to work with, mostly college students.

 

At this point we're thinking she can just work part-time for 40 quarters so she's eligible for some social security and medicare, and then call it a day. My salary more than covers our living expenses, so whatever she makes we'd basically throw at our mortgage. Also my wife will turn 40 this year, so whatever further education she decides to pursue, well, there's not a ton of time for a large ROI.

 

I know there have been a few job threads over the years here, but I'm curious how you all have handled this issue.

[Randy W]

My wife is itching to start working after being holed up with the baby for quite some time. We were thinking about her going back to get an associates degree or some sort of certificate like IT. And then literally the next day her friend who works at a Chinese restaurant calls to tell her that her restaurant is looking to hire someone - apparently she averages close to $25/hour (!) per week with cash tips, scheduling is flexible (weekend-only work possible for example), and the clientele is generally easy to work with, mostly college students.

 

At this point we're thinking she can just work part-time for 40 quarters so she's eligible for some social security and medicare, and then call it a day. My salary more than covers our living expenses, so whatever she makes we'd basically throw at our mortgage. Also my wife will turn 40 this year, so whatever further education she decides to pursue, well, there's not a ton of time for a large ROI.

 

I know there have been a few job threads over the years here, but I'm curious how you all have handled this issue.

 

 

Don't forget that she is eligible for YOUR (spousal) Social Security. She can (instead of her own SS) choose to draw half the amount you do once she reaches HER retirement age - and then the full amount (survivor's benefits) after you croak. As long as she's lived with you (her husband) in the U.S. for at least five years, she'd be able to continue drawing that amount even after moving back to China. This is independent of whether she works or not, and NOT dependent on the 40 quarters.

Edited May 18, 2019 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

We lived about 5 miles away from Houston's Chinatown, so Jiaying found it very easy to work there while we were in Houston.

[fluffyballs]

 

My wife is itching to start working after being holed up with the baby for quite some time. We were thinking about her going back to get an associates degree or some sort of certificate like IT. And then literally the next day her friend who works at a Chinese restaurant calls to tell her that her restaurant is looking to hire someone - apparently she averages close to $25/hour (!) per week with cash tips, scheduling is flexible (weekend-only work possible for example), and the clientele is generally easy to work with, mostly college students.

 

At this point we're thinking she can just work part-time for 40 quarters so she's eligible for some social security and medicare, and then call it a day. My salary more than covers our living expenses, so whatever she makes we'd basically throw at our mortgage. Also my wife will turn 40 this year, so whatever further education she decides to pursue, well, there's not a ton of time for a large ROI.

 

I know there have been a few job threads over the years here, but I'm curious how you all have handled this issue.

 

Don't forget that she is eligible for YOUR (spousal) Social Security. She can (instead of her own SS) choose to draw half the amount you do once she reaches HER retirement age - and then the full amount (survivor's benefits) after you croak. As long as she's lived with you (her husband) in the U.S. for at least five years, she'd be able to continue drawing that amount even after moving back to China. This is independent of whether she works or not, and NOT dependent on the 40 quarters.

Thanks Randy. Do I already need to be drawing my social security so that she can get half of mine? My wife is older than me, so she will eligible to draw several years before me. Edited May 18, 2019 by fluffyballs (see edit history)

[Randy W]

 

 

My wife is itching to start working after being holed up with the baby for quite some time. We were thinking about her going back to get an associates degree or some sort of certificate like IT. And then literally the next day her friend who works at a Chinese restaurant calls to tell her that her restaurant is looking to hire someone - apparently she averages close to $25/hour (!) per week with cash tips, scheduling is flexible (weekend-only work possible for example), and the clientele is generally easy to work with, mostly college students.

 

At this point we're thinking she can just work part-time for 40 quarters so she's eligible for some social security and medicare, and then call it a day. My salary more than covers our living expenses, so whatever she makes we'd basically throw at our mortgage. Also my wife will turn 40 this year, so whatever further education she decides to pursue, well, there's not a ton of time for a large ROI.

 

I know there have been a few job threads over the years here, but I'm curious how you all have handled this issue.

 

Don't forget that she is eligible for YOUR (spousal) Social Security. She can (instead of her own SS) choose to draw half the amount you do once she reaches HER retirement age - and then the full amount (survivor's benefits) after you croak. As long as she's lived with you (her husband) in the U.S. for at least five years, she'd be able to continue drawing that amount even after moving back to China. This is independent of whether she works or not, and NOT dependent on the 40 quarters.

Thanks Randy. Do I already need to be drawing my social security so that she can get half of mine? My wife is older than me, so she will eligible to draw several years before me.

 

 

 

The SS regulations are all in plain English, which makes it impossible to really find something which addresses your particular circumstances. Best thing to do is to find a benefit calculator or retirement planner which allows you to input your exact circumstances.

 

I've added a few tags to this topic, which link back to older topics which have links to the calculators.

 

But if you're still working when she reaches retirement age, it might be better to just hold off on that so that she can get a higher monthly check. Find a benefit calculator and try several different scenarios.

[fluffyballs]

 

 

 

My wife is itching to start working after being holed up with the baby for quite some time. We were thinking about her going back to get an associates degree or some sort of certificate like IT. And then literally the next day her friend who works at a Chinese restaurant calls to tell her that her restaurant is looking to hire someone - apparently she averages close to $25/hour (!) per week with cash tips, scheduling is flexible (weekend-only work possible for example), and the clientele is generally easy to work with, mostly college students.

 

At this point we're thinking she can just work part-time for 40 quarters so she's eligible for some social security and medicare, and then call it a day. My salary more than covers our living expenses, so whatever she makes we'd basically throw at our mortgage. Also my wife will turn 40 this year, so whatever further education she decides to pursue, well, there's not a ton of time for a large ROI.

 

I know there have been a few job threads over the years here, but I'm curious how you all have handled this issue.

 

Don't forget that she is eligible for YOUR (spousal) Social Security. She can (instead of her own SS) choose to draw half the amount you do once she reaches HER retirement age - and then the full amount (survivor's benefits) after you croak. As long as she's lived with you (her husband) in the U.S. for at least five years, she'd be able to continue drawing that amount even after moving back to China. This is independent of whether she works or not, and NOT dependent on the 40 quarters.

Thanks Randy. Do I already need to be drawing my social security so that she can get half of mine? My wife is older than me, so she will eligible to draw several years before me.

 

 

 

The SS regulations are all in plain English, which makes it impossible to really find something which addresses your particular circumstances. Best thing to do is to find a benefit calculator or retirement planner which allows you to input your exact circumstances.

 

I've added a few tags to this topic, which link back to older topics which have links to the calculators.

 

But if you're still working when she reaches retirement age, it might be better to just hold off on that so that she can get a higher monthly check. Find a benefit calculator and try several different scenarios.

 

 

Thanks again Randy for the input. I did quite a bit of research on this topic today. I'm in my early 30s so, of course, who knows what SS will look like 30+ years from now. Since my benefit will be higher than my wife's, she can start drawing whatever benefit she's eligible for as early as 62, and then draw half of mine once I file for retirement (assuming half of my benefit is greater than 100% of her benefit). That's several years of additional SS we'd get before I become eligible, and guarantees she's eligible for premium-free medicare part A (another issue with me being younger....)