There are three fundamental elements for all United States residents and retirement users that directly shape the Social Security check. These three elements are key if we want to maximize the monthly payment. If we don’t watch out for these three items, our Social Security benefit could be insufficient in the future.
Therefore, it is a good idea to watch out for all aspects surrounding the Social Security retirement benefit. Two of these aspects are directly dependent on years worked. These two aspects are the years worked and the salary during those years. The higher the salary, the higher the benefit in the future. The same is true for the years spent working.
The other element is the retirement age. Applying for Social Security at age 62 is not the same as applying for Social Security at age 70. There is a huge difference between these two retirement ages. And that’s why we have to watch out on this point. In this point, it is useful to say that disability users have different conditions about retirement age.
If we retire too early, it is possible that our monthly payment will be too small. We should never forget that maximizing Social Security should be a priority. At what age do you want to retire?
Retirement age and its impact on your Social Security check
Each retirement age has its advantages and disadvantages in Social Security. The most common ages are 62, 65, 67 and 70. But that doesn’t mean you have to be one of those ages to claim Social Security. As of age 62, we can retire whenever we want, as long as we have contributed 10 years of work.
This is how retirement affects the different ages:
- 62 years of age. If we apply for retirement at this age we will obtain an Early Retirement Age. This means that we will have 30% less of the check contributed.
- 65 years of age. While it is true that we will not have 30% less of the final check, we will not have 100%, but something less. It depends on each personal situation.
- 67 of age. Asking for Social Security retirement at this age means getting 100% of the money contributed. This is called Full Retirement Age.
- 70 of age. The Late Retirement Age means that each year worked after the age of 67 increases the monthly check a little. In the end we can reach a payment of $4,555 every month.
The final decision depends on each person, but it is true that some ages are more advantageous than others. It is possible that age 67 is the best age to retire. This is because it is not too high an age and it provides us with 100% of the money we have contributed.
Remember that in order to get a good check, not only the retirement age has an influence. In addition to that, we must work a minimum of 35 years and have a good salary during that time.