Assuming your tax-advantaged retirement savings aren't invested as aggressively as they may have been during your earlier years, you're probably better off spending down savings while letting your Social Security benefit continue to grow.
In fact, using a 401(k) first and putting off claiming Social Security means that the benefit payments will be higher. Plus, unlike 401(k)s and most other retirement accounts, Social Security can't run out.
If you have high-interest debt, claiming Social Security early can help you pay the debt down. Depending on the interest rate you're paying, the 8% yearly boost to your benefits that you receive for each year you wait past full retirement age might not be worth the increased monthly benefit.
If you claim early and invest, the new break-even age depends on the rate of return. Consider a person whose benefit at full retirement age would be $2,200 and is adjusted 2.8% annually for inflation. If that beneficiary takes reduced benefits at 62 and invests at a 4% rate of return, the break-even age is 81.
Age 62 (Early Retirement)
And, for some retirees, this is the best choice. If you have few other sources of income, for example, and Social Security will put food on the table, then you might have little choice than to claim early. Others choose age 62 because they want to get checks for as long as possible.
Probably the biggest indicator that it's really ok to retire early is that your debts are paid off, or they're very close to it. Debt-free living, financial freedom, or whichever way you choose to refer it, means you've fulfilled all or most of your obligations, and you'll be under much less strain in the years ahead.
However once you are at full retirement age (between 65 and 67 years old, depending on your year of birth) your Social Security payments can no longer be withheld if, when combined with your other forms of income, they exceed the maximum threshold.
According to the SSA's 2021 Annual Statistical Supplement, the monthly benefit amount for retired workers claiming benefits at age 62 earning the average wage was $1,480 per month for the worker alone. The benefit amount for workers with spouses claiming benefits was $2,170 at age 62.
How much you can expect to get from Social Security if you make $75,000 a year. The first monthly Social Security check was cashed in 1940 for a grand total of about $23. Fast forward to 2019, and the average retired worker gets almost $1,500 a month from Social Security.
So, if you have a part-time job that pays $25,000 a year — $5,440 over the limit — Social Security will deduct $2,720 in benefits. Suppose you will reach full retirement age in 2022.
You can get Social Security retirement or survivors benefits and work at the same time. But, if you're younger than full retirement age, and earn more than certain amounts, your benefits will be reduced.
The advantage of taking retirement benefits early is that you start to collect the money that you've been paying over to the government monthly since you started working. The downside to that, however, is that it causes a permanent reduction in your Social Security retirement benefit.
SSA limits the value of resources you own to no more than $2,000. The resource limit for a couple is only slightly more at $3,000. Resources are any assets that can be converted into cash, including bank accounts.
Stretch your retirement savings
Waiting until age 70 to start entitles you the maximum benefit. And the gap is massive: Start at 62 and your benefit will be around 76% less than if you wait until age 70 to start. There is no risk-free investment out there that hands you a guaranteed 76% return over eight years.
Assuming your tax-advantaged retirement savings aren't invested as aggressively as they may have been during your earlier years, you're probably better off spending down savings while letting your Social Security benefit continue to grow.
After you become 59 ½ years old, you can take your money out without needing to pay an early withdrawal penalty. You can choose a traditional or a Roth 401(k) plan. Traditional 401(k)s offer tax-deferred savings, but you'll still have to pay taxes when you take the money out.
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.
A: Your Social Security payment is based on your best 35 years of work. And, whether we like it or not, if you don't have 35 years of work, the Social Security Administration (SSA) still uses 35 years and posts zeros for the missing years, says Andy Landis, author of Social Security: The Inside Story, 2016 Edition.
That adds up to $2,096.48 as a monthly benefit if you retire at full retirement age. Put another way, Social Security will replace about 42% of your past $60,000 salary. That's a lot better than the roughly 26% figure for those making $120,000 per year.
For example, the AARP calculator estimates that a person born on Jan. 1, 1960, who has averaged a $50,000 annual income would get a monthly benefit of $1,338 if they file for Social Security at 62, $1,911 at full retirement age (in this case, 67), or $2,370 at 70.
If you make $120,000, here's your calculated monthly benefit
According to the Social Security benefit formula in the previous section, this would produce an initial monthly benefit of $2,920 at full retirement age.
Based on our calculation of a $2,790 Social Security benefit, this means that someone who averages a $100,000 salary throughout their career can expect Social Security to provide $33,480 in annual income if they claim at full retirement age.
between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50 percent of your benefits. more than $34,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits may be taxable.