Citizens of the United States can apply for retirement when they reach the minimum age of 62. Social Security provides this benefit to everyone, regardless of whether or not they have worked. The difference between a good retirement benefit and a bad benefit is in the years worked and the wages contributed.
For that reason, a person who has worked for 35 years with a good salary will have a good benefit. On the other hand, Social Security will not give a great retirement benefit to a person who has not worked all that time.
In this sense, we must be careful with some variants when claiming our benefit. Below we will look at three variations that may cause the SSA to give us a better benefit. Pay attention to these facts to squeeze the most out of your Social Security benefit.
Tips to Consider Before Social Security Retirement
You can follow these tips or directly apply for your Social Security without thinking about them. It all depends on your personal situation, although it is advisable to think about these conditions before applying for retirement:
Will applying for retirement now reduce your Social Security?
The year in which you apply for your retirement benefit is one of the most important things. If you ask for your retirement at age 62, you will lose a lot of money. Usually you will only receive 70% of your final benefit. For that reason it is better to apply for retirement at 67, this way you will get a full benefit and every month you will receive more money.
Can you afford to delay Social Security?
This question is really important. If you can afford to delay Social Security for a few years, you’ll appreciate it. If instead of claiming your retirement benefit at age 67, you claim it when you turn 70, you’ll have extra money every month that you can spend on whatever you want. So, if you can delay your retirement, do it.
Will you stop working or keep working?
Another key aspect of applying for your Social Security is whether you will continue working or stop working altogether. If you are no longer working, you should have no problems. But if you continue working, you should know that there is a limit to how much money you can earn. If you earn more than the established limit, you will end up seeing a reduction in your retirement benefit.
With these three questions in mind, it will be easier for you to know if you are ready to apply for retirement or not. If not, try to manage your money well and think about whether your future situation will be good if you apply for Social Security.