In any city in the United States, U.S. citizens can apply for their Social Security retirement check if they meet certain requirements. If we are within those requirements, we will be able to get the payment. If not, we will have to wait until it is available.
Thus, collecting a Social Security check is not for every American. This is essential and really important: without meeting the minimum requirements, we will not be able to get a Social Security retirement check in the future.
Social Security benefits are not the same for all Americans. It is true that the Administration has rules, but then there are individual elements that can shape these benefits. And if we do not pay attention to all these individual elements, we may not have access to a retirement check.
Retirement age in the United States
Not only do we find that there is a minimum age for United States citizens. In addition to that, there is an age at which we will have early retirement and, on the other hand, we have a late retirement age that will bring benefits to the monthly checks.
In this sense, we must control three different retirement ages:
- 62 years of age. At this age we can request Social Security checks with a penalty with respect to the full age. This is the minimum age to apply for retirement, unless we have a disability, which makes the rules change.
- 67 years of age. Retiring at this age means getting 100% of the monthly benefit. All the money we have contributed during our working years will have an impact on our final check.
- 70 years of age. This retirement age is the backward age. Thanks to it, we will get extra money every month, reaching figures impossible to reach in other retirement payments.
The minimum age to apply for retirement, in this sense, is 62 years old. But to that we must add that it is mandatory to have worked for 10 years, since if we do not have 40 work credits it is not possible to apply for Social Security payments.
In the case of having a disability, these rules change, since we find that the payment does not depend on age, but on other factors. To find out in detail if you have access to a retirement check, it is best to consult the Social Security Administration.