The debate among United States citizens about when it is best to claim Social Security retirement benefits goes on forever. For many people, it is better to claim this benefit early. For others, it is better to claim it later. You have the final decision, but you need to know all the information so you don’t make mistakes. If you do not know when it is better to apply for Social Security, the first thing you need to know is what are the advantages of applying earlier or later.
For this reason, we are going to show you these advantages and disadvantages. In addition, there is always the possibility of working longer to increase that Social Security. There are also ways to improve Social Security retirement benefits. All the benefit we can get is good to get a bigger check at the end of our retirement.
Ages for claiming Social Security
There are mainly three ages to claim Social Security retirement. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. Here you can learn all about them to help you decide which is the best option for you.
Early retirement at age 62
This is the earliest retirement. This retirement modality is one of the most requested, but it needs external benefit to be enjoyed well.
Pros: The biggest advantage of requesting early retirement in Social Security is that you will enjoy much more time off. It can be requested as early as age 62, although you can delay it for a while so that the amount of the monthly check increases. In addition to this, this can be a good option if we have a pension plan or some extra income.
Cons: You will not receive 100% of the money you are entitled to. If you retire at age 62 the money you will receive from Social Security will be, more or less, 80% of the total. This may not be enough with inflation and the COLA going up. If you do not have a pension plan or extra income, it is best not to take this option.
Full retirement age at 67
The well-known FRA is the best option in every way, but let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of this Social Security option.
Pros: With this option you can receive 100% of the money that belongs to you. Thanks to this option, Social Security will pay you a monthly check with an amount higher than an early retirement. It depends a lot on how much you deserve, but COLA and inflation may not be an issue.
Cons: You will start collecting later, so you won’t enjoy as many years of your Social Security retirement benefit. That’s primarily the biggest disadvantage of delaying to age 67 the retirement age.
Delaying retirement until 70
Going beyond age 70 doesn’t make any sense, so this is the limit to start collecting retirement.
Pros: You will be able to earn more money month by month in your retirement time. The increase will be proportional to the salary of the job. Social Security will start paying you significantly more money on a monthly basis at age 70. Increasing your working time beyond age 70 does not make sense, as it will not increase your benefit any further.
Cons: It may be too late for many people to start collecting at this age. This means you will work more years, so you will start collecting much later, which means you will have less time to enjoy.