You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits as early as
You may be eligible to collect Social Security as early as 62, but waiting until age 70 yields greater benefits for most people.
Benefits in 2024 reflect subsequent automatic benefit increases (if any). The table shows Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME)—an amount that summarizes a person's earnings—and the corresponding monthly benefit amounts. Retirement at age 70 produces the highest ratio of retirement benefit to AIME.
The earliest age at which most people can take Social Security retirement benefits is typically 62, but those payments are normally reduced because people usually aren't entitled to 100% of their benefits until 67. People who wait until 70 to retire can receive 124% of their benefits.
Filing for Social Security at age 62 could also end up making sense financially if you're worried you won't end up living a very long life. While you'll shrink your benefits on a monthly basis, by getting to collect that money sooner, you might end up with a higher amount of lifetime benefits.
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.
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.
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.
Beneficiaries are currently searching for information on How Do I Receive the $16728 Social Security Bonus? Retirees can't actually receive any kind of “bonus.” Your lifetime earnings are the basis for a calculation that the Social Security Administration (SSA) uses to calculate how much benefits you will receive.
The 1983 overhaul of Social Security gradually raised the age to 67, which it reached in 2022 for those born in 1960 or later — effectively cutting benefits by 13 percent as compared to benefits if the retirement age had remained at 65.
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.
However, you must have worked and paid Social Security taxes in five of the last 10 years. That is why it is important to get a hold of your affairs at a young age to make sure there are no nasty surprises later in life.
In the proposals presented to the Commission, the use of retirement bonds--and annuities based on bond accumulations- would also replace the entire benefit structure of Social Security for the future.
"If you live to be older than the break-even age for having waited, you will have lost out on the higher payout you would have received by waiting. However, you simply cannot predict how long you will live, so we advise taking Social Security as soon as you stop working."
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 benefits. Starting with the month you reach full retirement age, we will not reduce your benefits no matter how much you earn.
These are examples of the benefits that survivors may receive: Surviving spouse, full retirement age or older — 100% of the deceased worker's benefit amount. Surviving spouse, age 60 — through full retirement age — 71½ to 99% of the deceased worker's basic amount.
California. In America's most populous state, some 4.3 million retirees who collect Social Security can expect to receive an average $1,496.13 per month from the program in 2020, or $17,953.56 over the course of the year. California is another state where benefits are below average for the U.S.
But there's a third option: Delay benefits until age 70. In doing so, you can get a Social Security bonus in the form of a higher benefit amount. The bonus is worth roughly 8% more for each year you delay benefits past full retirement age.
Generally, if Social Security benefits were your only income, your benefits are not taxable and you probably do not need to file a federal income tax return.
You would not be required to file a tax return. But you might want to file a return, because even though you are not required to pay taxes on your Social Security, you may be able to get a refund of any money withheld from your paycheck for taxes.
You must pay taxes on up to 85% of your Social Security benefits if you file a: Federal tax return as an “individual” and your “combined income” exceeds $25,000. Joint return, and you and your spouse have “combined income” of more than $32,000.
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.
No, you can't collect two benefits at the same time
As of June 2023, about 67 million Americans receive a social security benefit each month. Of those, 5.8 million are survivors of deceased workers, accounting for 11.5% of the payments. But don't count on receiving a double payment if your spouse passes before you.
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.