The United States retirement system is organized by the Social Security Administration. Within this administration we find certain rules and requirements to start collecting the pension, either for retirement or disability. Within the disability pensions there is a great variety due to the nature of this condition. But if we look at the part of retirement by age, things change. The rules established to apply for retirement by age are easier to understand.
For starters, you have to be at least 62 years old to apply. Not only that, but there is also a minimum number of years worked to start collecting this pension. All workers must earn a salary for at least 10 years to apply for the age pension. This means that Social Security taxes must be levied for that period of time before starting to collect a pension. If you do not have that minimum number of years worked and that age, a pension is out of the question.
In spite of this, being 62 years old does not mean starting to collect the Social Security retirement benefit. This part is optional. However, the part of the minimum worked is not optional, but mandatory. When we reach the age of 62 we can decide to continue working or simply not work anymore and collect the pension. Or we can also choose to stop working and not collect Social Security. If we hold out until the age of 65, this will have an advantage. Do you know what it is?
The advantage of claiming Social Security at age 65
Of all the kinds of advantages of collecting Social Security, being able to combine it with Medicare is one of the best. Medicare services are not available until age 65, so it is a good idea to wait until then to start your retirement pension.
Otherwise, if we apply for the benefit at age 62 we will have several years of retirement in which the medical helps will not be free. This should be taken into account when planning for retirement. In addition, it is also important to remember that applying for retirement at age 62 means having a smaller monthly check.
Therefore, reaching the age of 65 without applying for retirement will not only give us a monthly bonus in our Social Security check, but we will also add the money saved in medical expenses. In this sense, although Medicare is relatively free we must consider that it has a premium part in part B, which is a payment. But we can cancel this part if we consider that we will not need it.