When it comes to full retirement age and receiving Social Security Income, beneficiaries choose what age to collect retirement income. This decision requires research because it directly impacts SSI income.
Beneficiaries have three choices for collecting retirement benefits:
- Decide to receive early
- Collect at full retirement age
- Delay retirement to increase the monthly amount
Your top 35 years of earnings determine the Social Security Income amount. Beneficiaries can increase retirement benefit potential after 65 years old.
Those with a birthday on January 1st have a benefit calculation from the prior year. If your birthday is on the 1st of the month, social security determines your benefit as if it was in the previous month.
What is Full Retirement Age
Full retirement age is the age at which a beneficiary is entitled to receive the total allowance of Social Security benefits provided each month. The birth year determines Social Security’s full retirement age because people are living longer and therefore collecting more during retirement.
Although the full retirement age has been 65 years old, the change is taking place in increments over twenty-two years. Also, 67 is the retirement age for those born after 1959. For beneficiaries born in 1937 and before, healthy retirement is 65. However, those born in 1938 or later need to know that age is going to increase until it reaches 67 slowly.
Retire early
Early retirement begins at age 62. You can choose to retire early and receive a fraction of your full monthly benefit. However, the reduction is based on a fraction of a percent for each full month before you reach full retirement age.
Full Retirement Age 1954
Beneficiaries born between the years 1943 and 1954 will reach the average retirement age at 66. Although, retiring at 66 will allow you to claim 100% of your SSI benefit. If you retire at age 62, you’ll receive 75% of the benefit amount.
Full Retirement Age 1952
Those born between the years 1943 and 1954 will reach full retirement age at 66. Retiring at 66 will allow you to claim 100% of your Social Security Income benefit. Retiring at age 62, you’ll receive 75% of the benefit amount.
Full Retirement Age 1953
The full retirement age is 66 for those born between the years 1943 and 1954. By retiring at 66, you’ll be able to claim 100% of your retirement benefit. However, by taking early retirement at age 62, you’ll receive 75% of your benefit amount.
Full Retirement Age 1956
The full retirement age for beneficiaries born in 1956 will be 66 years and four months. Although, waiting until this age will allow you to claim 100% of your SSI benefit. Claiming early retirement at 62 will get 73.3% of the monthly amount. Then, retiring at 65 gets a 91.1% monthly benefit.
Full Retirement Age 1955
The full retirement age for claimants born in 1955 is 66 years and two months. At this age, you’re eligible for 100% of your monthly retirement benefit. Early retirement at age 62 would be a reduction in benefits. Yielding a monthly amount of 74.2% Retiring at age 65 will get a 92.2% monthly benefit.
Full retirement age 1957
Beneficiaries born in 1957 complete retirement at 66 years and six months. Meaning SSI pays 100% of the benefit amount if you retire at this age. Retiring at 62 will get 72.5% of the monthly benefit, and age 65 will earn 90% of the monthly benefit amount.
Full retirement age 1959
Beneficiaries born in 1959 reach complete retirement at 66 years and ten months. It’s at this time you can retire and expect to receive 100% of your monthly benefit. Early retirement at age 62 will receive 70.8% of the monthly benefit, and age 65 will get 87.8%.
Full retirement age 1951
Those born between the years 1943 and 1954 will reach complete retirement at 66. Retiring at 66 will allow you to claim 100% of your SSI benefit. You’ll receive 75% of your benefit amount if you retire at age 62.
Full retirement age 1958
Claimants born in 1958 reach the average retirement age at 66 years and eight months and can expect to receive 100% of the monthly benefit. Early retirement at age 62 will get 71.7% of the monthly amount, and age 65 will get 88.9% of the monthly benefit amount.
Delayed Retirement
On the flip side, you can choose to delay retirement. If you do, you might be able to increase your monthly benefit through “delayed retirement credits.” The increase stops accumulating at age 70.
If you decide to delay retirement past age 65, be sure to check with a licensed insurance agent regarding your Medicare enrollment. You don’t want to miss the enrollment period and incur a penalty as some penalties stay with you forever.
While some people work in their old age for fun, others desire to extend their working years because of other factors, including financial obligations.
As they near their retirement, they realize that they have fallen short of their goals, and hence the need for financial adjustments.
This article explores various factors behind the rising retirement age among Americans for the last thirty or so years.
Average Retirement Age is on the Rise
The average retirement age is 62, but that seems to be increasing every year.
Educational Improvement
Education keeps evolving every time. Due to factors such as improvement in technology and improved research methods that lead to discoveries. They say necessity is the mother of invention. So, the need for innovative ideas to cope with the dynamic nature of life could also be a factor.
As a result of these factors, the level of education among Americans has been on the increase over time. In the last thirty years, there has been a significant rise in the level of education.
The people with higher levels of education work more because they have a lot to contribute to the labor sector. Many seniors are becoming entrepreneurs, starting their own businesses.
Pension Type
The new plan removes the built-in incentives from the previous one, discouraging workers from early retirement. Richard Thaler is the renowned economist and Nobel Prize winner behind this plan. According to recent statistics, most workers under the new plan delay their retirement by one or two years.
Improved Life Expectancy
For the last couple of decades, the life expectancy of Americans has increased. The increase is from various factors, including enhanced technology in the medical sector and improved health insurance coverage.
These factors contribute to good health, which is essential for long service in the labor sector.
The Need to Retain Employer’s Health Coverage
Health care costs have increased significantly over the years. A significant percentage of people’s income goes to medical expenses.
Because being employed guarantees workers an employer’s health coverage, most people prolong their employment until they qualify for Medicare.
Medicare requires its beneficiaries to attain age 65, which is why many Americans stretch their working years to this age.
Changes in Social Security
The evolution of social security has made delayed retirement more admirable than early retirement. The earnings test has been liberalized to encourage people to extend their working years.
Typically, the retirement credit is delayed up to age 70, despite workers attaining the full retirement age. Because most people want to start getting their retirement benefits immediately after retirement, they choose to work for a few more years.
Job Nature
Over the years, the United States has witnessed a gradual shift from labor jobs to knowledge-based jobs. These knowledge-based jobs are worker-friendly because they require less energy; meaning, people can still do them effectively and efficiently in old age.
Joint Planning
In families where both spouses work, one spouse may want to delay retirement so the couple can begin getting their retirement benefits simultaneously. Because wives are a few years younger than their husbands in most cases, the latter may want to delay until full retirement age.
For instance, if a man qualifies for a social security fund one year ahead of his wife, he may want to prolong his stay in employment. He would delay retirement so that they begin benefiting from social security at the same time.
Lack of Proper Planning
Lack of sufficient planning and saving could be the reason for delayed retirement. Some people reach their retirement age only to realize that they have not saved enough to take care of themselves in their post-retirement years.
As a result, they resort to staying in employment a little longer in the hope that they may add something to the small saving they have. Some look for other, less demanding jobs after retirement to supplement their income after retirement.
The cost of living is rising each day, hence the need for adjustment. Planning retirement is crucial because you may have limited options to address financial problems.
What’s the best option
For most people, collecting full retirement benefits is ideal. As a society, we’re healthier and living longer. Beneficiaries want to enjoy their retirement years playing golf, taking up a hobby, or starting a new business venture.
You’ll have to decide which option best suits your needs because retirement might last longer than you think. The Social Security Administration suggests that you consider your current health and your family’s health.
There is a life expectancy planner available, but it boils down to making the best guess. Take into account if you opt for early retirement and a lesser monthly payout.
A surviving spouse will have to take the lower amount if claiming on your record. Bite the bullet and make the best decision for you.
