Retirement age is a key element in planning for our golden years. If we file for Social Security at age 62, which is the minimum age to retire by age, we will lose about 30% of our monthly check. This translates into only $700 a month for every $1,000 we have contributed.
But the truth is that there is a way to get a 100% check by applying for retirement even before reaching that age. However, this possibility is not available to all citizens and Social Security studies each case individually. So if you are thinking of applying for retirement before reaching 62 years of age, you should check the conditions.
If we are on the list of citizens eligible to apply for 100% of the Social Security check before 62, we should apply as soon as possible. Also, it is also good to keep in mind that the retirement check is not the only check the SSA pays every month, so even without getting a 100% payment we could get a good benefit with additional checks.
How to get 100% Social Security before 62?
The only way for a United States citizen to get a check for 100% of the money they have contributed from Social Security before age 62 is to apply for a Disability payment. But it is true that these types of payments are not available to all Americans.
So, before applying for a Social Security Disability check, there are several things to look at:
- It is mandatory to meet certain requirements to apply for Disability check.
- It is mandatory to present all necessary and official documentation when applying for this check.
- Not all citizens can reach the maximum check of $3,822 per month from Social Security Disability.
So once we apply for this benefit we should keep in mind that it is possible to apply for the payment and we would not get less than 100% of the money contributed. This does not imply that we will get the maximum check, but it does indicate that we will get all the Social Security money we have contributed.
Remember that to get a big Social Security check we must control for retirement age, as well as years worked and salary during those years. If we maximize these three aspects we will get the biggest possible check from retirement.