Retirement means something different to everyone. For many it's a getting a well-earned rest after decades of hard work. Unfortunately, your well-earned rest may come a little later in life than you initially hoped for as the age to claim full Social Security Benefits continues to rise.
As it stands in 2022 per the SSA.gov:
If you were born in 1937 or earlier, your full retirement benefits kick in at 65.
If you were born from 1943 to 1954, your full benefits apply at 66.
If you were born between 1955 and 1959, your full benefits apply at 66 plus 2 additional months for each year up to 1959.
If you were born in 1960 or later, your full benefits can be claimed at age 67.
If you were born in between those years, reference the IRS website.
The good news is you can still retire early and claim some benefits starting at 62, no matter what year you were born. However, if you claim benefits beginning at age 62, you will miss out on receiving the full benefits you’ve worked for. In fact, you’ll see a 30% decrease in benefits over your lifetime. And that adds up to a whole lot over the course of your retirement years.
Wondering what you’ll get when you retire? The IRS has a calculator to tell you what kind of benefits you’ll get based on how long you wait to claim your benefits.
The most important thing to know is that you need to carefully determine the best age to claim your Social Security benefits, depending on your birth year, current financial situation, and how long you expect to be able to work. Even delaying by a few months can significantly impact how much you’ll receive from Social Security in your retirement. Having a backup plan in case the age to claim your benefits is raised further isn’t a bad idea either.
If you need help figuring out when you should claim your benefits, we're here to help. Give us a call, and we’ll walk through your options together.
If you have further questions about financial impacts do not hesitate to email us at office@staltfinancial.com or call 248-733-4344.
Stalt Financial does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Stalt Financial's web site or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility therefore. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.