You receive 100 percent of your retirement benefit if
you claim at full retirement age — 66 or 67 for most individuals, depending on when you were born.
Not exact matches
As AARP explains, the older spouse
claims retirement benefits
at full retirement age and immediately suspends them.
Can you afford to «retire early» and
claim benefits
at age 62, should you wait until your
full retirement age, or can you wait until
age 70 in order to receive the largest possible monthly benefit?
For example, my
full retirement age is 67 and if I
claim at age 62, the earliest
age at which I can file for Social Security benefits, my benefit will be equivalent to 70 % of my
full retirement age benefit.
Her late spouse's PIA is $ 1,473 in today's dollars and he
claimed his benefit
at his
full retirement age.
However, if my
full retirement age were 66 instead, and I
claimed at age 62 or 70, then my benefit would be the equivalent of 75 % and 132 % of my
full retirement age benefit, respectively.
I plan on taking Social Security
at 66, because that will be
full retirement age for me, and my wife will receive 50 % of my benefit when I
claim it (the max she can get).
For example, if your benefit
at the current
full retirement age of 66 is $ 1,000 but you opt to
claim at 62, it would be reduced to $ 750.
Pundits spend a good deal of time advising Americans about the best
age to
claim Social Security —
at age 62,
at full retirement age,
at age 70 and the like.
The maximum benefit for those retiring
at age 70 in 2017 is $ 3,538 — almost $ 900 more than the maximum benefit for someone
claiming benefits
at the
full retirement age.
Married couples have even more opportunities for increasing the amount they'll collect over their joint lifetime by engaging in various
claiming strategies, such as the older spouse filing and suspending his or her benefit
at full retirement age so the younger spouse can collect spousal benefits while the older spouse's benefit continues to grow.
Each person's Social Security benefit will depend on a number of factors, including earnings history and the
age at which they
claim benefits, but the maximum Social Security benefit for a person retiring
at full retirement age in 2018 (between
age 65 and
age 67, depending on birth date) is $ 2,788 a month — or about $ 33,400 a year.2 To create a personalized estimate for Social Security benefits, use the Social Security Administration's
Retirement Estimator.
In short, you'll take the standard 25 % haircut for
claiming your benefit
at 62 vs. your
full retirement age of 66.
Someone with a
full retirement age of 66 could earn four years of credits before
claiming at age 70, and would potentially receive a benefit equivalent to 132 % of the
full benefit amount.
If you were born between 1943 and 1954 and hence your
full Social Security
retirement age is 66, your benefit will be reduced by 25 % if you
claim benefits
at age 62, 20 % if you
claim at 63, 13.3 %
at 64 and 6.7 %
at 65.
For instance, if your
full retirement age is 66,
at which point you would be eligible for $ 1,000 a month, you could receive $ 750 if you
claim at 62 or $ 1,320 if you
claim at 70 — a difference of 76 %.
But if you wait until
full retirement age, you can restrict your
claim to spousal benefits, receiving half of your spouse's benefit amount, and switch to your own larger benefit
at 70.
Claiming at age 70 means you'll receive a 32 % boost above your full retirement age amount, which gets you a 76 % increase in monthly income compared to claimin
Claiming at age 70 means you'll receive a 32 % boost above your
full retirement age amount, which gets you a 76 % increase in monthly income compared to
claimingclaiming at 62.
If you
claiming Social Security
at the earliest
age of 62, you will receive a permanet 25 % cut in
retirement benefits, compared to
full benefits you'd receive
at age 66.
If you and your spouse are both
at full retirement age when you file, you can
claim a spousal benefit equal to 50 percent of your spouse's benefit.
«Gradually updating the
full retirement age at which workers can
claim benefits.»
Based on this information and your actual earnings history as maintained by the Social Security Administration, the
Retirement Estimator generates an estimate of the amount you would receive if you were to retire
at age 62 (the earliest date you can receive benefits), the amount if you waited until
full retirement age (which currently ranges from 65 to 67, based on year of birth), and the larger benefit you would receive if you continued working until
age 70 before
claiming retirement benefits.
Can you afford to «retire early» and
claim benefits
at age 62, should you wait until your
full retirement age, or can you wait until
age 70 in order to receive the largest possible monthly benefit?
GAO Report: Challenges For Those
Claiming Social Security Benefits Early This report of the U.S. Government Accountability Office looks
at the circumstances of people who file for Social Security benefits early to understand why they do so even though taking benefits before
full retirement age reduces monthly payments.
Signing up before you reach
full retirement age will allow you to receive your benefits as early as
age 62, however, to get the
full payout you are entitled to you'll need to wait to
claim your benefits
at your
full retirement age.
Claiming Social Security
at age 62 reduces benefits by as much as 30 percent versus waiting until the
full retirement age of 67.