When should you start taking Social Security benefits?
The answer depends on a few factors:
- Whether you plan to work between age 62 and your full retirement age
- Your life expectancy
- Your marital status
- Your desire to protect your purchasing power should you live longer than you might expect
What age is best to start taking social security?
There are many factors that can influence the best time for you:
- Are you married or single?
- What is the age difference between you and spouse, if married.
- What is the income difference between you and your spouse, if married.
- Do you have children age 18 or younger?
- Are you widowed?
- Are you still working or fully retired?
How to decide when to start receiving Social Security benefits?
Social ... Security earnings and an estimate of retirement benefits Visit the Social Security website and use one of their online benefit calculators to work out your retirement estimate based on your earnings record Wait until you decide to start ...
When to begin receiving Social Security benefits?
This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune. Americans typically can start claiming their benefits as early as 62, and most of them do so by 63, though their monthly checks can be up to 30% less than if they waited until full retirement age.
Is it better to take Social Security at 62 or 67?
The short answer is yes. Retirees who begin collecting Social Security at 62 instead of at the full retirement age (67 for those born in 1960 or later) can expect their monthly benefits to be 30% lower. So, delaying claiming until 67 will result in a larger monthly check.
What is full retirement age for Social Security?
The full retirement age is 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1954. The full retirement age increases gradually if you were born from 1955 to 1960, until it reaches 67. For anyone born 1960 or later, full retirement benefits are payable at age 67.
Can I collect my Social Security at age 55?
So can you retire at 55 and collect Social Security? The answer, unfortunately, is no. The earliest age to begin drawing Social Security retirement benefits is 62.
What are the rules for collecting Social Security at age 62?
You can receive Social Security benefits based on your earnings record if you are age 62 or older, or disabled or blind and have enough work credits. Family members who qualify for benefits on your work record do not need work credits.
What is the best age to retire?
When asked when they plan to retire, most people say between 65 and 67. But according to a Gallup survey the average age that people actually retire is 61.
Can I draw Social Security at 62 and still work full time?
Can You Collect Social Security at 62 and Still Work? You can collect Social Security retirement benefits at age 62 and still work. If you earn over a certain amount, however, your benefits will be temporarily reduced until you reach full retirement age.
Can I retire at 57 and collect Social Security?
Can I Take Social Security at 57? The short answer is no, you're not eligible to receive Social Security retirement benefits at age 57. The earliest you can begin taking Social Security for retirement is age 62. So if you plan to retire at 57 you'll be waiting at least five years before you can claim those benefits.
Can I cash out my Social Security early?
Early retirement You can get Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, we'll reduce your benefit if you retire before your full retirement age. For example, if you turn age 62 in 2022, your benefit would be about 30% lower than it would be at your full retirement age of 67.
What happens to my Social Security if I retire at 55?
In the case of early retirement, a benefit is reduced 5/9 of one percent for each month before normal retirement age, up to 36 months. If the number of months exceeds 36, then the benefit is further reduced 5/12 of one percent per month.
What is the average Social Security benefit at age 62 in 2021?
At age 62: $2,364. At age 65: $2,993. At age 66: $3,240. At age 70: $4,194.
What is the maximum Social Security benefit at age 62?
$2,364The maximum benefit depends on the age you retire. For example, if you retire at full retirement age in 2022, your maximum benefit would be $3,345. However, if you retire at age 62 in 2022, your maximum benefit would be $2,364.
Can I get Medicare at age 62?
The typical age requirement for Medicare is 65, unless you qualify because you have a disability. 2. If you retire before 65, you may be eligible for Social Security benefits starting at age 62, but you are not eligible for Medicare.
What does it mean to delay retirement benefits?
If you are the higher earner, delaying starting your retirement benefit means higher monthly benefits for the rest of your life and higher survivor protection for your spouse, if you die first.
Is it important to decide when to start receiving Social Security?
Choosing when to start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits is an important decision that affects your monthly benefit amount for the rest of your life. Your monthly retirement benefit will be higher if you delay claiming it.
How long do you have to wait to get Medicare if you are 65?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) also cautions that even if you delay receiving Social Security benefits until after age 65, you might still need to apply for Medicare benefits within three months of turning 65 to avoid paying higher premiums for life for Medicare Part B and Part D.
How much is a month of benefits at 62?
If, for example, you’d get $1,500 a month starting at age 62 or $2,000 a month starting at age 66, you will have received roughly the same amount in total benefits by age 77 or so. At that point the higher monthly benefits you’d get as a result of waiting will begin to pay off.
How much extra insurance do you get at 70?
If you wait until you’re 70 to start claiming benefits, you’ll get an extra 8% per year , or, in total, 132% of your primary insurance amount ($2,640 per month in the example above) for the rest of your life.
How much is my unemployment check at 62?
In other words, you’ll get 25% less per month, and your check will be $1,500. 1 .
Can a spouse get Social Security if they don't work?
Spouses who don’t qualify for their own Social Security. Spouses who didn’t work at a paid job or didn’t earn enough credits to qualify for Social Security on their own are eligible to receive benefits starting at age 62 based on their spouse’s record.
Do marginal tax rates affect Social Security?
At today’s marginal tax rates, they may not have much of an impact on most people. Still, tax rates and income thresholds can change, so it’s worth remembering that you will lose less of your Social Security to taxes if you are in a lower marginal tax bracket when you begin to collect.
Is Social Security taxable?
Your Social Security benefits may be partially taxable if your combined income exceeds certain thresholds. Regardless of how much you make, the first 15% of your benefits are not taxed. 10
What is the earliest age you can collect Social Security?
Earliest Normal Social Security Eligibility Age: 62. Even though you can begin receiving benefits as early as 62, that doesn't mean you should start taking them at that age. This is primarily because you will receive reduced benefits. 4 If you want a larger amount of guaranteed income later in retirement, then waiting to begin benefits ...
What is the full retirement age?
Full Retirement Age: Age 65–67 Depending on Date of Birth. Your full retirement age is determined by your day and year of birth, and it is the age in which you get your full amount of Social Security benefits. For every year you delay taking your benefits from full retirement age up until you turn 70, your benefit amount will increase by almost 8% ...
What happens if you don't reach full retirement age?
If you have not reached your full retirement age, and you are still working and earn more than the earnings limit, your benefits will be reduced. 3 Once you reach full retirement age, no more reductions will apply, regardless of how much you work and earn. Those working will want to consider waiting until their full retirement age ...
Retirement Age Calculator
Find out your full retirement age, which is when you become eligible for unreduced Social Security retirement benefits. The year and month you reach full retirement age depends on the year you were born.
Why Did the Full Retirement Age Change?
Full retirement age, also called "normal retirement age," was 65 for many years. In 1983, Congress passed a law to gradually raise the age because people are living longer and are generally healthier in older age.
You Can Receive Benefits Before Your Full Retirement Age
You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but the benefit amount will be lower than your full retirement benefit amount.
Working While Receiving Benefits
You may work after you start receiving benefits, which could mean a higher benefit for you in the future. We may withhold some of your benefits if you earn more than the yearly earnings limit. Sometimes people who retire in mid-year already have earned more than the annual earnings limit. However:
What is the maximum amount you can earn before retirement in 2021?
If you will reach full retirement age in 2021, the limit on your earnings for the months before full retirement age is $50,520. Starting with the month you reach full retirement age, you can get your benefits with no limit on your earnings.
What is the maximum amount you can earn in 2021?
For 2021 that limit is $18,960. In the year you reach full retirement age, we deduct $1 in benefits for every $3 you earn above a different limit, but we only count earnings before the month you reach your full retirement age. If you will reach full retirement age in 2021, the limit on your earnings for the months before full retirement age is ...
Can you report a change in earnings after retirement?
If you need to report a change in your earnings after you begin receiving benefits: If you receive benefits and are under full retirement age and you think your earnings will be different than what you originally told us, let us know right away. You cannot report a change of earnings online.
