Retirement is a very important time for any United States citizen. The decision to apply for Social Security earlier or later is vital for some Americans. Depending on the age of retirement, the check may be higher or lower. Regardless of this, there are other important elements when deciding if we are ready for retirement.
In this case, we find that retirement may not be something for us if we do not meet certain requirements. Not just any citizen can say that he or she is ready to apply for Social Security. The decision to stop working and start collecting this benefit is no joke. No one should take lightly when to apply for Social Security.
It’s not just retirement age that is important to having a good golden years. In addition to that, there are other variables that can make our years collecting Social Security better or worse. Are you ready to start collecting your Social Security retirement benefit every month?
REQUIREMENTS TO DETERMINE IF WE ARE READY FOR RETIREMENT
Social Security checks depend on several factors. If we don’t maximize these factors, our benefit will be too small. Similarly, there are other elements that can determine whether or not we are ready to collect retirement.
Let’s take a look at several of these factors so you can find out whether or not applying for Social Security now and stopping working is for you:
35 YEARS WORKED
Before applying for Social Security retirement we must have worked 35 years. The reason is because if we work less than this, the Social Security check will be too small. In addition, it is also important to have a good salary during those years worked.
RETIREMENT AGE
We must choose our retirement age wisely. The requirement to get a good monthly Social Security check is to wait until age 67. However, from the age of 62 we can already apply for our monthly payment.
Even so, if we wait until age 70 we could receive a monthly check of $4,555. In that case, we must take into account everything related to our health if we really want to wait until that age.
DEBTS AND SAVINGS
Debts are a very important element when deciding on retirement. If we do not pay our debts before applying for Social Security, we could have many financial problems.
Similarly, during our working years we should save as much as possible. An average Social Security check is about $1,800. This means that the payment is much less than a worker’s salary.
Therefore, if we have savings and no debt our retirement will be more comfortable and much easier. In short, we should take all of this into account when deciding whether or not to collect Social Security.