The minimum age to apply for retirement in the United States is 62. After that age, any citizen who has worked a minimum of 10 years can apply for a Social Security check. This is true for age-based retirement, of course, since there are other types of retirements.
If we are thinking about what year we want to apply for retirement, it is possible that 70 years of age has appeared in our minds. Retiring at that age may be tempting because the check goes up a lot, but at the same time it may not be a good idea.
Here are three reasons why waiting until age 70 to apply for retirement is not the best thing to do:
- Health gets worse. When we reach 70 we will be in worse health, so we won’t enjoy retirement as much.
- Our check may not be as big. Even if we wait until age 70, without a good pension plan the check won’t be very big.
- Life expectancy. We don’t know the total life expectancy of every citizen. For that reason, sometimes it may be too late and we may not enjoy retirement.
Even so, the final decision is entirely individual. Every citizen has the right to choose when to apply for retirement. Remember, though, that the Social Security benefit check depends a lot on the age at which we apply for it.
If we apply for a check at age 62, the amount is reduced by 30%. As we approach the age of 67, we have less reduction in the retirement pension. Finally, applying at age 70 means you can reach the maximum amount of $4,555.