There are advantages and disadvantages to taking your benefit before your full retirement age. The advantage is that you collect benefits for a longer period of time. The disadvantage is your benefit will be reduced. Each person's situation is different.
Depending on what someone's retirement age is, the decision to collect Social Security early could result in a monthly reduction of about 20 to 30 percent of what they would have gotten if they waited until full retirement age.
Assuming your full retirement age is 67, if you file for those retirement benefits at 62, you'll receive around 70% of your full retirement age benefit amount. If you file for disability and are awarded those benefits, the amount that you would receive would be 100% of your full retirement age benefit, even at 62.
The biggest risk of claiming early
The earlier you file for Social Security, the less you'll receive each month. But it could end up being more costly than many people think. By claiming at age 62, your benefit will be reduced by up to 30%.
He claims that doing so will give you a greater return than you would get by waiting until a later age to apply for Social Security, which means you get a bigger monthly check. “It usually makes sense to take it early if you're going to … invest every bit of it,” Ramsey said in a 2019 podcast that aired on YouTube.
Based on data from the SSA's Office of the Actuary, nearly 566,000 aged 62 retired-worker beneficiaries were receiving $1,274.87 as of Dec. 2022. Meanwhile, the average Social Security check for the 2.27 million retired workers at age 66 is $1,719.85.
Age 62. Age 62 is the earliest possible age you can sign up for Social Security retirement benefits. According to the SSA data, 22.9% of men chose this age to start to collect compared with 24.5% of women.
According to a recent paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, 19% of survey participants said they regretted taking Social Security too soon. Among the other top regrets the retirees had were not having saved enough, not purchasing long-term care insurance, and not working longer.
The maximum benefit depends on the age you retire. For example, if you retire at full retirement age in 2024, your maximum benefit would be $3,822. However, if you retire at age 62 in 2024, your maximum benefit would be $2,710. If you retire at age 70 in 2024, your maximum benefit would be $4,873.
One example is the $1,000/month rule. Created by Wes Moss, a Certified Financial Planner, this strategy helps individuals visualize how much savings they should have in retirement. According to Moss, you should plan to have $240,000 saved for every $1,000 of disposable income in retirement.
No waiting period is required if you were previously entitled to disability benefits or to a period of disability under § 404.320 any time within 5 years of the month you again became disabled.
Waiting to claim your Social Security benefit will result in a higher benefit. For every year you delay your claim past your FRA, you get an 8% increase in your benefit. That could be at least a 24% higher monthly benefit if you delay claiming until age 70.
You can receive Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, we'll reduce your benefit if you start receiving benefits before your full retirement age. For example, if you turn age 62 in 2024, your benefit would be about 30% lower than it would be at your full retirement age of 67.
Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.
Pros of retiring early include health benefits, opportunities to travel, or starting a new career or business venture. Cons of retiring early include the strain on savings, due to increased expenses and smaller Social Security benefits, and a depressing effect on mental health.
While you may have heard at some point that Social Security is no longer taxable after 70 or some other age, this isn't the case. In reality, Social Security is taxed at any age if your income exceeds a certain level.
If you are married and you and your spouse have worked and earned enough credits individually, you will each get your own Social Security benefit.
Whether you can make this switch is determined by whether your spouse is already receiving benefits. If your spouse is not receiving any retirement benefits yet, then you could technically take your regular Social Security benefit as early as age 62.
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.
If you choose to receive benefits before you reach full retirement age, your monthly benefits will be reduced. You can work and still get retirement and survivors benefits. If you're younger than your full retirement age, there are limits on how much you can earn without affecting your benefit amount.
About 40% of people who get Social Security must pay federal income taxes on their benefits. This usually happens if you have other substantial income in addition to your benefits.
Many senior adults struggle with conditions like heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes. Retiring in your early 60s will allow you to focus more on your health and lower your risk of developing these conditions. Retiring at the early age of 62 is also beneficial to those who already have serious health concerns.
The average age of retirement in the U.S. is 61, according to Gallup. That hasn't changed much over the past two decades. Since 2002, the average retirement age has ranged from 59 to 62. Going back further, the average retirement age was 57 in 1991, 58 in 1992, and 57 again in 1993.
The above chart shows that U.S. residents 35 and under have an average of $30,170 in retirement savings; those 35 to 44 have an average $131,950; those 45 to 54 have an average $254,720; those 55 to 64 have an average $408,420; those 65 to 74 have an average $426,070; and those over 70 have an average $357,920.