One of the key moments in the life of a United States citizen is applying for Social Security retirement. This point is a before and after in life, that is why it is so important. After this moment, the retiree will have more free time. But the amount of money available every month is limited. And that amount depends on some factors during the years worked. Therefore, applying to Social Security for Full Retirement Age (FRA) has its pros and cons.
It doesn’t matter if you still have time left to apply for this retirement benefit from Social Security or not. The important thing is that you have as much information as possible to be able to make a good final decision. After you know what the advantages and disadvantages of applying for retirement at age 67 are, you will be able to decide what you prefer to do with your future.
Advantages of applying for the Social Security FRA
There are several advantages of the Social Security FRA, but let’s highlight the most important ones:
- You will enjoy more money: applying for the FRA means having 100% of the benefit money belonging to you. Therefore, you will not have any cuts of any kind in your retirement benefit. You will be able to live better every month and have a good financial compensation.
- More time to save: If you have been working until age 67, you will have had more time to save. Therefore, you will have much greater purchasing power than if you apply for Social Security at age 62.
- Medicare: You will have direct access to Medicare. This happens in most cases, but is usually the case. To find out what benefits you have with Medicare, it is best to check with Social Security at one of their offices.
As you can see, the advantages are many and, above all, very good financially. This is the main reason why you should delay Social Security. If you think you will need more money on a monthly basis, this is the best option. But there are disvadvantages as well, so watch out and do not rely only in the good part. You have to keep in mind both sides of this question.
Disadvantages of applying for the SSA FRA
We’ve already seen the advantages, so now let’s move on to look at the downsides. Despite having more money every month, it may not be worth waiting until age 67. Let’s look at those disadvantages of late Social Security:
- You’ll start resting later: This means you’ll have less time off to enjoy your retirement. Sometimes it’s better to retire with less money and have more time to enjoy those SSA payments.
- Your health will be worse: If you retire at age 67 it is quite possible that your health will be worse than it was at age 62. Therefore, it may not be a good idea to do this. It all depends on the individual, of course, as you could also be in good health at that age.
- You’ll have less time to travel: If you retire at 67, Social Security will start paying you your big monthly check without any problems. But keep in mind that because it is so late in life, you will have less time to enjoy that money for travel and other activities.
Now that you know the pros and cons of filing for retirement at age 67, you can decide. There is also the possibility of weighing the pros and cons of retiring at age 62, which means Early Retirement Age. The final decision is yours alone, so choose what works best for you.