Within the United States pension system, waiting until age 67 to claim a Social Security check is the goal for many seniors. This is because if we file for retirement before age 67, our Social Security check will see a reduction. Having a Full Retirement Age at 67 means collecting 100% of the money we have contributed.
For that reason, most seniors set this goal. However, it is not possible for all U.S. citizens to reach that age before applying for Social Security. This is mainly due to health problems, although this does not have to be the case. There are many reasons why we can apply for retirement pension payments before reaching Full Retirement Age at 67.
Even if we are 66 years old and very close to reaching Full Retirement Age, applying for cheque early can be a great relief. Especially if we are that age, we can be almost certain that our Social Security check will be good enough for our entire retirement. Thinking about applying for your retirement benefit now?
Why apply for Social Security at 66?
If we are in a situation where we can’t wait any longer to start collecting Social Security, we should listen to ourselves. Reaching age 66 while working can be tough for many people. And that’s why it’s common to see people apply for cheque at that age, which is so close to Full Retirement Age, considering that they will receive less money monthly.
We can apply for retirement at age 66 for a number of reasons:
- We are tired of working. The work already bores us too much and we want to rest, so we need to apply for retirement at 66.
- We have money saved. Putting money aside should be a priority while we work. If we have enough savings, we won’t need to wait until age 67 to apply for Social Security.
- We have a good Social Security check. If we reach age 66 having worked 35 years at a high salary, our retirement benefit will be good. Therefore, we won’t need to wait until 67 to start collecting the benefit.
In short, having a Social Security check is important, but so is having good health to enjoy it. So if you think you’ve worked enough at age 66, you should start thinking about applying for retirement.
How to get the maximum pension?
In order to reach the maximum Social Security pension, it is necessary to apply for retirement at age 70. This is the only way for the monthly check to reach $4,558, which is the limit in 2023.
In addition to this, we should have worked a minimum of 35 years with a high salary, as we mentioned above. By controlling these 3 variants we can reach the maximum benefit or, at least, be close to it.