# Retirement and driving uber



## Italianrick (Oct 20, 2017)

Hello I am new to this forum but not new driving for uber. I have a question . im 61 and will be 62 in January. Im going to retire from my regular job and drive for uber full time. A after doing some research about social security and self employment i found a regulation that basically says i can't work more then 45 hours a month if self employed. This will really hurt me. I need to drive full time to pay for my health insurance. As being an uber driver we are considered independent contractors therefor we self employed. Question is any other person out there retired and driving full time if so are we exempt from this regulation or are we considered self employed in this bracket? Thanks for any feed back


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## MadTownUberD (Mar 11, 2017)

I'm far from retirement but I would say do NOT quit ANY job to drive for Uber. It's totally unpredictable/unreliable and even if you earn good money now, there's no guarantee that will hold in six months or a year when everybody else in your city starts driving too.


As far as whether an IC counts towards hours worked per month...I have no idea, ask your accountant.

My advice would be to keep at your full time job, even if it's miserable/stressful, and retire later. Drive Uber on the side (early mornings, evenings, weekends) and put ALL Uber earnings into a separate bank account. Use that bank account to buy ALL your gas and pay for ALL your maintenance on the vehicle. IF you have any money left over in that account after a year or two of driving Uber on the side, you can save it and use it to help ease the blow when you eventually retire.


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## Italianrick (Oct 20, 2017)

Thanks for advice. I did not close the door on my regular. I still left the possibility of working 20 hrs a week with them. So maybe I'll split the difference.


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## unPat (Jul 20, 2016)

There is no money in sanford/lake mary. If you want decent money you will have to come down to Orlando. Then you could end up in St. Cloud, clermont or back to sanford. You can start from SFB but if you want to get home at certain time you will be looking at 30+dead miles everyday. 
If you are lucky when the airport is busy you can get sanford to Disney and back but only on busy months. 
if you try to stay in sanford you will end up in deltona/debary and it’s very slow but the rate is better than orlando. 
It will be a constant grind, and might not be suitable for your age. Most areas in sanford are very sketchy .


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## Italianrick (Oct 20, 2017)

You are exactly right about lake mary and samford. I have found on Friday night from 6 pm to 1100 pm only make about 50 dollors all day sat from noon to about 11 i make around 110. When i have been downtown orlando as a result of a drop off its better not alot of down time. I have been to Kissimmee not st cloud. Cleremont i did not do as well. I don't mind the grind of it I'm a young 61. I really do appreciate the advice. I dont do OIA to many of us there. I like disney but have not been there alot. So bottom line i found from Altamonte springs to disney to be good for me. I have almost doubled there from what i make in lake Mary and sanford. Although when Oktoberfest fest was here it was really good. Again I appreciate the input


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## unPat (Jul 20, 2016)

Download arrowcast and track the flights on sfb. Use destination filter for Uber to celebration and when you are in around 192 use the DF for sfb. It will work maybe on fridays saturdays. Don’t waste your time in the OIA lot. It’s a waste of time for $10. Use destination filter at the right time and right places.


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## SOLA-RAH (Dec 31, 2014)

Italianrick said:


> Hello I am new to this forum but not new driving for uber. I have a question . im 61 and will be 62 in January. Im going to retire from my regular job and drive for uber full time. A after doing some research about social security and self employment i found a regulation that basically says i can't work more then 45 hours a month if self employed. This will really hurt me. I need to drive full time to pay for my health insurance. As being an uber driver we are considered independent contractors therefor we self employed. Question is any other person out there retired and driving full time if so are we exempt from this regulation or are we considered self employed in this bracket? Thanks for any feed back


Some real advice for you: Delay claiming your Social Security as long as possible. Every year you wait past 62 increases your benefit amount by about 8%/yr each and every year all the way up until age 70 (even with zero add'l earned income). 8%/yr is pretty good money nowadays...I have a pitiful, little savings account currently drawing 0.15%/yr. If you're in reasonably good health today and think you have a decent shot to make it past 80+, it really pays to wait.

https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking.html

If you're drawing SS prior to Full Retirement Age there is no hourly max limit on how much you can work, but there is an income limit (currently $16,920/yr). If you earn more than this, you'll have to pay a portion of your SS earnings back. Once you're at FRA there's no limit on earnings. Lastly, do your research on how your income would affect (increase or decrease) a possible subsidy for your healthcare insurance.


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## rickasmith98 (Sep 26, 2016)

If you're just driving Uber to pay for your healthcare insurance, you'd be OK unless the premiums are more than the $16,920 per year. Make sure you don't earn more than that with Uber. And I am assuming the income limit on SS is gross...Or does the $16,920 limit mean after deducting business expenses? If so, means you can earn even more cash from Uber if your market has the volume. 

Found this on Social Security website:
What income counts…and when do we count it? If you work for someone else, only your wages count toward Social Security’s earnings limits. If you’re self-employed, we count only your net earnings from self-employment. For the earnings limits, we don’t count income such as other government benefits, investment earnings, interest, pensions, annuities, and capital gains. We do count an employee’s contribution to a pension or retirement plan, however, if the contribution amount is included in the employee’s gross wages.

Another example:
These examples show how the rules would affect you: Let’s say that you file for Social Security benefits at age 62 in January 2017 and your payment will be $600 per month ($7,200 for the year). During 2017, you plan to work and earn $22,000 ($5,080 above the $16,920 limit). We would withhold $2,540 of your Social Security benefits ($1 for every $2 you earn over the limit). To do this, we would withhold all benefit payments from January 2017 through May 2017. Beginning in June 2017, you would receive your $600 benefit and this amount would be paid to you each month for the remainder of the year. In 2018, we would pay you the additional $460 we withheld in May 2017.


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## Italianrick (Oct 20, 2017)

Thanks all. There is a mandate with ss and self employment. So if we r independent contractors there is no limit to hrs but earnings th eff e is i think its 17040 for 2018. Again thanks for input


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## Italianrick (Oct 20, 2017)

Unfortunately waiting for full retirement is not an option i wish it was. My job is very physical. I already had major shoulder surgery. I have 4 herniated disks in my neck and upper back waiting for possible surgery to repair. So i physically cannot perform that job but i did leave the door open with them for partime driving for them. Driving does not effect my back or neck.


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## PTUber (Sep 16, 2015)

The only advice I can give you is, with this topic don't get advice from us! Go talk to a professional financial planner or at least a CPA. Someone who understands the rules of SS and retirement. I'm sure there are even free non-profit organizations that can help you.


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## SOLA-RAH (Dec 31, 2014)

Italianrick said:


> Unfortunately waiting for full retirement is not an option i wish it was. My job is very physical. I already had major shoulder surgery. I have 4 herniated disks in my neck and upper back waiting for possible surgery to repair. So i physically cannot perform that job but i did leave the door open with them for partime driving for them. Driving does not effect my back or neck.


In a situation like this claim your SS ASAP, you've earned it. (Sidenote: look into first claiming SSDI instead because it's possible you'd qualify now.) That $17,040 max limit for earnings in 2018 is correct and it's your NET earnings, not the gross. Realistically you could gross $3,000/month on uber and your expenses (standard mileage deduction + everything else) will easily bring your net for the month to $1,400 or less. I'd have to imagine at this income you'd qualify for some type of ACA subsidy as well (for the time being). You're in a good spot to still have some options, best of luck to you.


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

Don't retire unless you can truly retire.....

Doing uber full time would be the opposite of retiring unless you work at a highly physical job...


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## expoolman (Oct 7, 2015)

If you qualify for disability you would receive your full retirement benefits plus early medicare


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Italianrick said:


> Hello I am new to this forum but not new driving for uber. I have a question . im 61 and will be 62 in January. Im going to retire from my regular job and drive for uber full time. A after doing some research about social security and self employment i found a regulation that basically says i can't work more then 45 hours a month if self employed. This will really hurt me. I need to drive full time to pay for my health insurance. As being an uber driver we are considered independent contractors therefor we self employed. Question is any other person out there retired and driving full time if so are we exempt from this regulation or are we considered self employed in this bracket? Thanks for any feed back


I started when I was 63 driving for Uber full time and I am on Social Security. Here's what you do log your miles and when you do your taxes take the IRS standard mileage deduction which last year was $0.54 a mile--that will reduce your income so low that they won't take any money out of your Social Security. When You Reach 66 it's a moot point they don't take anything out of your Social Security at that point. By the way I don't deduct for trip miles I deduct for all miles driven you're allowed to record distance to the pick up including the trip miles



steveK2016 said:


> Don't retire unless you can truly retire.....
> 
> Doing uber full time would be the opposite of retiring unless you work at a highly physical job...


My Philosophy is this : you could die tomorrow-- take any money you can right now , who knows what tomorrow will bring.


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## Italianrick (Oct 20, 2017)

Great advice Oscar. Thanks. Steve k i totally agree


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## EMP40 (Jan 29, 2017)

Make sure to log every mile from the moment you leave home to back in your driveway. Also track any other related trips and expenses "related". It is possible the write-off/expenses may be worth more than the fares.


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## Graham Godfrey (Jun 27, 2018)

Page 5 of this SSA publication states! "How Work Affects Your Benefits" Unfortunately I still cannot post links here so search for publication 05-10069.

"Also, if you’re self-employed, we consider how much work you do in your business to determine whether you’re retired. One way is by looking at the amount of time that you spend working. In general, if you work more than 45 hours a month in self-employment, you’re not retired; if you work less than 15 hours a month, you’re retired. If you work between 15 and 45 hours a month, you won’t be considered retired if it’s in a job that requires a lot of skill, or you’re managing a sizable business."

Comments anyone?


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