Q. Is a person at full retirement age collecting Social Security benefits allowed to continue to work and make an unlimited amount of money without jeopardizing his Social Security benefits? - RTS

A. You could be in luck, but you have to be very careful about how you calculate your "full retirement age" or you could be in trouble.

Your normal full retirement age is between 65 and 67 years old, depending on when you were born, said Margaret OMeara, a Red Bank-based certified financial planner.

To see your precise full retirement age, check your Social Security benefits statement (if you got one), look online at ssa.gov or call Social Security at (800) 772-1213.

"Loss of benefits can occur in the year in which the individual reaches normal retirement age, however, once a beneficiary is older than full retirement age, he or she will not lose benefits," OMeara said.

But thats when taxation of benefits becomes a concern. More on that in a moment.

If you plan to receive benefits prior to your full retirement age and you do plan to work, make sure you review your specific situation as the rules governing loss of benefits are complex and the penalties may be more onerous than you think, she said.

If you are younger than full retirement age, there is a limit to how much you can earn and still receive full Social Security benefits, said Alan Meckler, a certified financial planner with Cornerstone Financial Group in Succasunna.

If you are younger than full retirement age during all of 2012, $1 would be deducted from your benefits for each $2 you earned above $14,640, he said.

OMeara said if your income plus half of your Social Security benefits exceed $25,000 for an individual or $32,000 for married couples filing jointly, 50 percent of your Social Security income will be included in your gross income. If your income plus half of your Social Security benefits are $34,000 as an individual or $44,000 as a married couple, 85 percent of your Social Security income will be included in gross income, she said.

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Biz brain: social security benefits after retirement possible for ongoing worker?