If you were born in the United States between 1943 and 1954, your retirement age is 66. At that age, you can retire and receive Social Security benefits. This means that if you begin receiving Social Security benefits at age 66, you will receive 100 percent of your monthly benefit. This is not the case if you retire before that age.
Of course, if you prefer, you can delay your retirement a few years and collect a higher percentage. In the case of reaching the maximum age, that is, age 70, you will get a bonus of 132 percent. Once you have obtained this bonus, it will not go up again. This is the maximum that can be collected by Social Security.
Advantages of waiting until age 70 to receive Social Security benefits
For each year you continue to work after retirement age (66), the percentage will be increased. The Social Security benefit will be higher, but not always.
Here’s how the table looks:
| If you start receiving benefits at age | Multiply your Total Retirement Benefit by |
|---|---|
| 66 | 100% |
| 66 + 1 month | 100,7% |
| 66 + 2 months | 101,3% |
| 66 + 3 months | 102,0% |
| 66 + 4 months | 102,7% |
| 66 + 5 months | 103,3% |
| 66 + 6 months | 104,0% |
| 66 + 7 months | 104,7% |
| 66 + 8 months | 105,3% |
| 66 + 9 months | 106,0% |
| 66 + 10 months | 106,7% |
| 66 + 11 months | 107,3% |
| 67 | 108,0% |
| 67 + 1 mes | 108,7% |
| 67 + 2 months | 109,3% |
| 67 + 3 months | 110,0% |
| 67 + 4 months | 110,7% |
| 67 + 5 months | 111,3% |
| 67 + 6 months | 112,0% |
| 67 + 7 months | 112,7% |
| 67 + 8 months | 113,3% |
| 67 + 9 months | 114,0% |
| 67 + 10 months | 114,7% |
| 67 + 11 months | 115,3% |
| 68 | 116,0% |
| 68 + 1 month | 116,7% |
| 68 + 2 months | 117,3% |
| 68 + 3 months | 118,0% |
| 68 + 4 months | 118,7% |
| 68 + 5 months | 119,3% |
| 68 + 6 months | 120,0% |
| 68 + 7 months | 120,7% |
| 68 + 8 months | 121,3% |
| 68 + 9 months | 122,0% |
| 68 + 10 months | 122,7% |
| 68 + 11 months | 123,3% |
| 69 | 124,0% |
| 69 + 1 month | 124,7% |
| 69 + 2 months | 125,3% |
| 69 + 3 months | 126,0% |
| 69 + 4 months | 126,7% |
| 69 + 5 months | 127,3% |
| 69 + 6 months | 128,0% |
| 69 + 7 months | 128,7% |
| 69 + 8 months | 129,3% |
| 69 + 9 months | 130,0% |
| 69 + 10 months | 130,7% |
| 69 + 11 months | 131,3% |
| 70 | 132,0% |
Working after age 70
In the event you continue to work past age 70 in the United States, your monthly benefit will stop increasing even if you continue to delay receiving benefits. This means that you will reach the monthly limit of money you can receive from Social Security.
If you decide to delay retirement, keep in mind that it will be advisable to enroll in Medicare starting at age 65. This will guarantee private health insurance that will protect you from any type of incident at any time.