These days, many people are working long past what used to be considered “retirement age.” Some do it out of financial necessity, while others have no interest in giving up a job they enjoy and are still able to do.
Some of these older workers are still doing physically demanding work. However, their years of experience and training can actually make them less likely to suffer a serious injury than their younger colleagues. Of course, any number of things can go wrong with equipment and other workers that can cause even the most safety-conscious person to suffer an injury on the job.
How do Social Security retirement benefits affect your workers’ comp.?
What happens if that injury causes you to rethink your decision not to retire? You’re old enough to start collecting Social Security retirement benefits. However, you’re still getting workers’ comp. benefits for your injury to cover medical care and lost wages. So what happens to your workers’ comp benefits if you retire?
Under Pennsylvania law, if you begin taking Social Security retirement benefits, you’ll still be able to receive the workers’ compensation benefits that cover your medical treatment for your injury. However, your workers’ comp. wage-replacement coverage will be lower if you start taking Social Security retirement benefits. If you can no longer work again because of your injury, that’s a different matter.
It’s essential that you informer your workers’ comp. provider about your Social Security benefits as well as any other retirement benefits you might start receiving. If you don’t, you could be accused of trying to defraud them.
Everyone’s situation is somewhat different depending on their age and severity of injury. It’s a good idea to run the numbers with a financial professional in addition to getting legal guidance to determine the best way to navigate these two forms of benefits.
