The earliest you can start receiving Social Security benefits is age 62. But the earlier you elect to receive your benefits, the smaller your monthly checks will be (losing as much as 30%). To receive full benefits, you will have to avoid collecting Social Security until you reach your full (or normal) retirement age.
The earliest you can start collecting retirement benefits is age 62. You can apply once you reach 61 years and 9 months of age. However, Social Security reduces your payment if you start collecting before your full retirement age, or FRA.
The earliest a person can start receiving Social Security retirement benefits will remain age 62. Social Security benefits are reduced for each month a person receives benefits before full retirement age.
You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, you are entitled to full benefits when you reach your full retirement age. If you delay taking your benefits from your full retirement age up to age 70, your benefit amount will increase.
You must earn at least 40 Social Security credits to qualify for Social Security benefits.
DEFINITION: The special minimum benefit is a special minimum primary insurance amount ( PIA ) enacted in 1972 to provide adequate benefits to long-term low earners. The first full special minimum PIA in 1973 was $170 per month. Beginning in 1979, its value has increased with price growth and is $886 per month in 2020.
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.
If You Stop Work Before You Start Receiving Benefits
Years with no earnings reduces your retirement benefit amount. Even if you have 35 years of earnings when you stopped working, some of those years may be low-earning years.
Anyone born in 1929 or later needs 10 years of work (40 credits) to be eligible for retirement benefits.
While it's true that the last 3 years you work may affect your Social Security benefit amount when you claim, those years alone are not what determine your benefit dollar amount. Rather, your benefit is determined using a formula, which includes the highest earning 35 years of your lifetime working career.
Earn 40 credits to become fully insured
In 2022, the amount needed to earn one credit is $1,510. You can work all year to earn four credits ($6,040), or you can earn enough for all four in a much shorter length of time. If you earn four credits a year, then you will earn 40 credits after 10 years of work.
“Retire at 45 with $500,000” and the 4% Rule
The “four percent rule”—a widely accepted financial rule of thumb—states that your savings should last through 30 years of retirement if you withdraw 4% of your nest egg during the first year of retirement and then adjust each year thereafter for inflation.
Once again, by age 45, you should have at least 8X your annual expenses saved. If you do, you should be well on your way to a comfortable regular retirement around age 60. If you want to retire earlier, then you obviously have to save more or spend less.
“Continuing to work for as long as possible will absolutely give you more choices and financial freedom in retirement,” Duran explains. “Working for a longer period of time not only gives you more savings and builds your safety net, but it also provides health benefits which you don't have to pay for personally.”
How can I retire with no money? Secure a Pension. A pension is a company-sponsored retirement plan that provides a guaranteed monthly income. Pension plans are often given to teachers, police and fire workers, federal and state employees, and military personnel.
But if you can supplement your retirement income with other savings or sources of income, then $6,000 a month could be a good starting point for a comfortable retirement.
At age 30, some financial professionals suggest accumulating the equivalent of your current annual income. By age 40, you should have accumulated three times your current income for retirement. By retirement age, it should be 10-12 times your income at that time to be reasonably confident that you'll have enough funds.
You can get Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time. However, if you are younger than full retirement age and make more than the yearly earnings limit, we will reduce your benefit. Starting with the month you reach full retirement age, we will not reduce your benefits no matter how much you earn.
The 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. If you retire at age 70 in 2022, your maximum benefit would be $4,194.
For example, if you worked a total of 20 years, the SSA would add up your income from all 20 years you worked (adjusting for inflation) and then factor in 15 years of zero pay.
The only people who can legally collect benefits without paying into Social Security are family members of workers who have done so. Nonworking spouses, ex-spouses, offspring or parents may be eligible for spousal, survivor or children's benefits based on the qualifying worker's earnings record.