27 Oct How You Could Potentially Cut Your Benefits Without Knowing
Social Security benefits are no joke, and when the time comes and you file for it there are many parts of the process where you need to be fully aware to not drastically harm your monthly benefits. Depending on the age of when you finally decided to file for your Social Security benefits, you may want to rethink your decision considering the following information.
Depending on your FRA or full retirement age, this is when most Americans decide it is the correct time to file for their Social Security benefits. What most Americans do not know is that they can delay their claim till age 70. Although most are filing at age 66 and 67, delaying your claim till age 70 is the key to increase your monthly compensation. Doing so will result in a permanent increase.
Some however take the early route to filing and claim their benefits at age 62, which is the earliest you can do so. In doing so, this can result in having your total benefits cut by nearly 30%. The minimum ages you should consider filing are 66 & 67, it just depends on what your Full Retirement Age is which depends on when you were born.
It is completely understandable that some Americans are eager to claim their benefits. Some people may need these retirement benefits to be able to pay for their daily expenses and activities they perform every day. If you find a way that you can manage to delay your claim and still be able to support yourself then we recommend doing so.
Remember, the more you wait the larger your benefit payments can become. Aim to claim your Social Security benefits at your full retirement age, if you then can wait till age 70 then you are maximizing your benefits to their full potential.
Knowing how your work years affect the amount of monthly benefits you will be receiving is also incredibly important. If you want to set yourself up to obtain as much of these retirement benefits as possible, you will have to be working for a full 35 years to do so. The way this works is the Social Security Administration takes the average income of the highest income years you have had during your years of work.
Majority of Americans also do not know about all the social security benefits they can be receiving or eligible for. These include survivor benefits, disability benefits, retirement benefits, and Supplemental Security Income.