Retirement in the United States is one of the most important moments for citizens. Receiving a monthly payment from Social Security is undoubtedly a great help financially, but the time in life when we start to receive this payment can vary greatly. If we choose to start receiving the payment at 62, 65 or 67, we may get a higher or lower payment.
But it is not only the payment that we should take into account when choosing our retirement age. At the end of the day, life is not just about the money we have each month, although it is true that it is necessary to have enough budget to be able to live comfortably and without financial problems.
The usual age for retirement is 62, 65 or 67, although it is true that we can even delay it a little longer until 70. Any of these ages can be a good option for retirees looking to collect a nice Social Security check, but it all depends on how we organize our finances.
Best age to apply for Social Security
Each age for applying for Social Security has its advantages and disadvantages, so we must know all of them and decide which is the best option for us. In addition to all this, we must also bear in mind that there is payment for disability, but that is another totally different benefit.
Thus, the ages of 62, 65 and 67 for applying for Social Security have the following advantages and disadvantages:
- Retiring at 62. Applying for retirement at 62 means enjoying every available year to the full. This is the minimum age for applying for a benefit, so we will have the payment as soon as we are eligible. However, the biggest disadvantage of applying for payment at this age is that we will be penalized. We will lose 30% of our quoted check. So, if we have a benefit of $2,000 when we apply for Social Security at 62, we will only get $1,400 per month. The main advantage is that we will have more time to enjoy retirement.
- Retiring at 65. This age can be a good choice, since it does not penalize us as much and we continue to enjoy our retirement for a long time. If we bear in mind that the closer we are to 67, the higher our check will be, 65 is a good option. We won’t have 100% of our check contributed to, but we’ll be close.
- Retiring at 67. The biggest advantage of retiring at this age is that we will have 100% of the check contributed to Social Security. The main disadvantage is that it may be too late for some citizens who have been working for a long time and are already tired. In this case, we may have a good check during our golden years, but it may be too late to enjoy it to the full.
To all this we must add that if we apply for payment at the age of 70 we will get the maximum payment of $5,180. This is only the case if we have maximized all aspects of Social Security. In this sense, the final decision is up to each of the beneficiaries, but it is true that it is important to know the advantages and disadvantages in order to choose our best option in the end.