Taking Social Security early reduces your benefits, but you'll also receive monthly payments for a longer period of time. On the other hand, taking Social Security later results in fewer checks during your lifetime, but delaying means each check will be larger.
If you haven't made plans to delay claiming your Social Security at that point, chances are you will just go ahead and start at 62. It takes planning to be able to delay starting to collect your benefit. Maybe working a bit longer, at least part-time.
At around age 78 and 8 months, you reach the break-even point, when your cumulative benefits from claiming at 67 surpass those you'd get by taking retirement at 62.
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.
A worker can choose to retire as early as age 62, but doing so may result in a reduction of as much as 30 percent. Starting to receive benefits after normal retirement age may result in larger benefits. With delayed retirement credits, a person can receive his or her largest benefit by retiring at age 70.
Taking your Social Security benefit well before 70 — and investing it — carries risk. The strategy worked for many retirees during the past 15 years, when markets rose. But there's no guarantee the next decade or two will produce average or above-average returns.
How much does the average 62-year-old get from Social Security? The average Social Security benefit overall was $1,905.31 per month in 2023. But it's larger today thanks to cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). Benefits increased 3.2% in 2024, which would raise the average benefit to $1,966.28.
Many financial advisers agree with Altig, Kotlikoff, and Ye (2022) that “the vast majority of American workers should delay taking their retirement benefits until 70.” Similarly, Fried (2019) writes that “scholarly research has unequivocally found that having the highest earner in a household wait until age 70 to claim ...
If your spouse dies, do you get both Social Security benefits? You cannot claim your deceased spouse's benefits in addition to your own retirement benefits. Social Security only will pay one—survivor or retirement. If you qualify for both survivor and retirement benefits, you will receive whichever amount is higher.
The $1,000 per month rule is designed to help you estimate the amount of savings required to generate a steady monthly income during retirement. According to this rule, for every $240,000 you save, you can withdraw $1,000 per month if you stick to a 5% annual withdrawal rate.
While everyone's path is different, strong evidence suggests that your early 60s is the best time to retire. Many believe that 62 is the perfect age to 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.
Those facing financial emergencies, such as a layoff or debt, may benefit from accessing Social Security early. If you retire early and need extra income, Social Security benefits can provide supplemental funds to support your new lifestyle, hobbies or retirement activities.
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.
You can start your retirement benefit at any point from age 62 up until age 70. Your benefit will be higher the longer you delay your start date. This adjustment is usually permanent. It sets the base for the benefits you'll get for the rest of your life.
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. When your spouse files for their benefit later you could switch to spousal benefits.
If you become disabled before your full retirement age, you might qualify for Social Security disability benefits. You must have worked and paid Social Security taxes in five of the last 10 years.
Exactly how much in earnings do you need to get a $3,000 benefit? Well, you just need to have averaged about 70% of the taxable maximum. In our example case, that means that your earnings in 1983 were about $22,000 and increased every year to where they ended at about $100,000 at age 62.
Each survivor benefit can be up to 100% of your benefit. The amount may be reduced if the women start benefits before their own full retirement age, but they don't have to share — the amount isn't reduced because you've had more than one spouse.
If you've worked and paid Social Security taxes for 10 years or more, you'll get a monthly benefit based on that work.