Consistently Earn a High Salary
In recent years, you need to earn a six-figure salary to get a top Social Security payment. The maximum wage taxable by Social Security is $147,000 in 2022. However, the exact amount changes each year and has increased over time. It was $137,700 in 2020 and $106,800 in 2010.
Consider the Average Social Security Payment
The average Social Security benefit is $1,657 per month in January 2022. The maximum possible Social Security benefit for someone who retires at full retirement age is $3,345 in 2022.
At age 62: $2,364. At age 65: $2,993. At age 66: $3,240. At age 70: $4,194.
The maximum disability you can receive in 2021 is $3,148 per month. However, the average recipient will likely receive an amount of around $1,277 per month. That might not be financially adequate for you, especially considering the income limits in place.
You can begin collecting your Social Security benefits as early as age 62, but you'll get smaller monthly payments for the rest of your life if you do. Even so, claiming benefits early can be a sensible choice for people in certain circumstances.
Those who make $40,000 pay taxes on all of their income into the Social Security system. It takes more than three times that amount to max out your Social Security payroll taxes. The current tax rate is 6.2%, so you can expect to see $2,480 go directly from your paycheck toward Social Security.
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.
Workers who earn $60,000 per year pay payroll taxes on all of their income because the wage base limit on Social Security taxes is almost twice that amount. Therefore, you'll pay 6.2% of your salary, or $3,720.
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.
If you start collecting your benefits at age 65 you could receive approximately $33,773 per year or $2,814 per month. This is 44.7% of your final year's income of $75,629. This is only an estimate. Actual benefits depend on work history and the complete compensation rules used by Social Security.
Social Security benefits are based on your lifetime earnings. Your actual earnings are adjusted or “indexed” to account for changes in average wages since the year the earnings were received. Then Social Security calculates your average indexed monthly earnings during the 35 years in which you earned the most.
The first is that a Social Security benefit is an earned benefit. ... To even be eligible for retirement benefits, you generally need 10 years (40 quarters) of gainful employment. In 2017, you need to earn at least $1,300 in a quarter for it to count as a credit.
If you earned $20,000 for half a career, then your average monthly earnings will be $833. In this case, your Social Security payment will be a full 90% of that amount, or almost $750 per month, if you retire at full retirement age.
Even if you've never had a job, you may still be eligible for Social Security benefits when you retire or become disabled. Social Security benefits are based on the amount of income you earned during your working life.
Reason #1: Retire Early if You Want to Stay Healthier Longer
But not all work is good for you; sometimes it's detrimental to your health. Retiring at 62 from a backbreaking job or one with a disproportionately high level of stress can help you retain, or regain, your good health and keep it longer.
Some of you have to pay federal income taxes on your Social Security benefits. ... 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.
According to the 2021 annual report of the Social Security Board of Trustees, the surplus in the trust funds that disburse retirement, disability and other Social Security benefits will be depleted by 2034. That's one year earlier than the trustees projected in their 2020 report.
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're making $100,000 per year right now, congratulations! You're roughly tripling the Social Security Administration's estimated 2019 median annual earnings of $34,248, and doubling the average individual yearly earnings of $51,916 — a figure that's skewed higher by a handful of super-earners.
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. ... Once you turn 62, you could claim Social Security retirement benefits but your earnings from consulting work could affect how much you collect.
A surviving spouse can collect 100 percent of the late spouse's benefit if the survivor has reached full retirement age, but the amount will be lower if the deceased spouse claimed benefits before he or she reached full retirement age.
So how much income do you need? With that in mind, you should expect to need about 80% of your pre-retirement income to cover your cost of living in retirement. In other words, if you make $100,000 now, you'll need about $80,000 per year (in today's dollars) after you retire, according to this principle.
If you were born in 1960 your full retirement age is 67
You can start your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but the benefit amount you receive will be less than your full retirement benefit amount.