How to Choose the Age You Start Receiving Social Security Income

No matter your age, it’s never too early to start thinking about and planning for your retirement. Whether you’re planning for your retirement or helping your parents, this article will give you some information to help you decide when is the best time to retire.

Many factors will affect when a person retires. These include income, health, the type of retirement that person hopes to have, and much more.

You should know that Social Security replaces part of the income you received before retirement, based on 35 of your highest-earning work years. You might earn only 40% of the income you were making during those years. Therefore, you should consider saving for your retirement as well.

To help you think about the factors leading up to retirement, here are some things you should be thinking about at each age:

Age 16-49

As you begin working and developing your career, you should consider saving for your retirement. The more you earn, the more you should be putting away.

You should think about possible costly health problems that could arise in your retirement, whether you will want to travel, and what type of lifestyle you hope to maintain.

Once you reach your thirties or forties, you will want to start saving for your retirement in the form of a 401(k) or another plan.

Age 50-61

Once you reach 50, you can begin making bigger contributions to 401(k)s or a different retirement plan. It’s best to continue working during this time and save as much for retirement as you can. You should be earning enough that your social security check will be sizeable in retirement, too.

Age 62-64

Once you are 62, you could start receiving Social Security, but it might be wise to postpone this. This is the case for many reasons:

• Every year you postpone receiving social security, from 62-70, your benefits will increase.
• Your income will affect how much you receive if you are still working.
• The longer you work, the more you can put away for retirement.
• You cannot receive Medicare benefits until you are 65.

However, if you want to receive your benefits for a longer time, you may choose to start receiving them at 62. Keep in mind that the average life expectancy is between 84-87 years old, a factor you should consider in terms of how long you want to enjoy retirement.

Age 65

Once you are 65, you can apply for Medicare. If you decide to wait to apply for Medicare, Part B and D (medical insurance and drug coverage) may cost more.

However, you will likely have to purchase additional coverage through Medigap, meaning this may not turn out to be a cheaper option than sticking with the health insurance provided by your employer.

Learn about the benefits you currently have and weigh those against Medicare. Remember that you can always opt to receive Medicare before you have officially retired and can still delay receiving Social Security benefits.

Age 66-67

This is the time you reach full retirement age. If you retired now, you could receive full social security benefits. Yet, for some of the above-mentioned reasons, you may be better off waiting to retire until you are 70. You also may want to wait until 70 if you want to take full advantage of delayed retirement credits. These credits can increase your benefits by a small percentage.

Age 70

At this age, you’ll receive the biggest Social Security benefits, up to 77% more than if you had started at 62. If you are still enjoying your job and good health, you might not want to retire just yet, but there’s no reason to delay receiving social security at this point, as delays will not increase the amount you receive.

How Much You Can Expect in SS Benefits

If you’re interested to know how much you would receive in Social Security benefits, use this Retirement Calculator.

Do you need help applying for or estimating your Social Security income? We’d love to help! We would also be happy to talk with you about when might be the best time for you to start receiving your benefits.

Contact Lowery Law Group at info@lowerylegal.com or call (843) 991-0733. There is no fee for a free consultation regarding your claim. Lowery Law Group is experienced in handling cases in South Carolina as well as Georgia.