The time to apply for retirement is very important for all United States citizens. After applying for Social Security comes rest. In addition to rest, there also comes times of enjoyment, relaxation and, of course, travel. But it’s hard to know exactly when is the ideal time to apply for retirement. Fortunately, the Social Security Administration offers several options. All are valid, of course, but Full Retirement Age (FRA) may be the safest of all.
The final decision depends on the individual situation. But let’s take a look at the reasons why FRA may be the safest option for claiming Social Security. Remember that, at a minimum, you have to wait until age 67 to apply to the SSA for this benefit. If your plans are otherwise, you can apply earlier, although you won’t get as high a benefit as with the FRA.
Reasons why Social Security’s FRA is the most secure
When we talk about applying for the FRA, we are talking about having to wait until age 67 to do so. At this point, Social Security provides a higher benefit than if we apply earlier. This is the most important point to consider the FRA the safest option. By receiving a higher amount of money, you will be able to do more things and live much more relaxed and calm.
In addition to this, getting to the FRA without first applying for Social Security also has another extra advantage, and that is that you will have more time to make some savings. By adding the savings to the SSA retirement benefit, on a monthly basis we can have a good amount of money that can pay for all expenses. For these reasons, the FRA is the safest way to retire. Financially, you won’t have any problems.
When can we apply for the FRA?
As we have already mentioned, the FRA can be applied for at age 67. But it is very important that you have worked for at least 35 years of your life. The final benefit is calculated based on the number of years you have contributed. If you have worked less than 35 years, each year not worked adds $0 to that benefit. This can lower your Social Security a lot, unfortunately.
If you don’t want to wait until the FRA, there is also the Early Retirement Age (ERA) option at age 62. But this option will grant us only about 70% of the benefit. Thus, every month we will lose a good amount of money from Social Security. This option is less secure, although you will start collecting your payments much earlier.
