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When Should I Take Social Security? (Part 1)

I read the following from Charles Schwab (schwab.com). There’s a lot of information so I’ve decided to break it up into 3 parts. This first part is general information about social security and the rules that govern it. The next installment will be about factors you should consider when determining what age to take your benefits. The last section will be extra things to consider and the bottom line.

When it comes to Social Security, you’ve got three alternatives:

• Take it early
• Wait until your normal retirement age
• Wait even longer

You can still elect to take benefits early at age 62, or wait as late as age 70. Before you consider whether it makes sense to take Social Security benefits earlier or later, let’s take a look at some of the rules.

What’s the “normal” retirement age?
Normal retirement age (abbreviated as NRA, but sometimes called full retirement age) is when you’re eligible to receive full Social Security benefits. The normal retirement age used to be 65 for everyone.

However, under current law, 2002 was the last year anyone age 65 could receive full benefits. If you were born in 1938 or later, your normal retirement age is some point after age 65—all the way up to age 67 for those born after 1959.

When can you get your full Social Security benefit?

You’ll get a penalty for starting too early … 
If you choose to start receiving your Social Security check before your normal retirement age, your benefit is reduced by five-ninths of 1% for each month before that age, up to 36 months. If you start more than 36 months before your normal retirement age, the benefit is further reduced by five-twelfths of 1% per month.

For example, if your normal retirement age is 66 and you elect to start benefits at age 62, there are 48 months of reduced benefits. The reduction for the first 36 months is five-ninths of 36%, or 20%. The reduction for the remaining 12 months is five-twelfths of 12%, or 5%. So, in this example, the total benefit reduction is 25%.

… and you’ll get credit for delaying 
If you delay retirement until after your normal retirement age (prior to age 70), you typically get a credit. For example, say you were born in 1944. Your normal retirement age is 66, but you intend to take your benefits at age 68.

By waiting the extra two years, you get a credit of 8% per year, which means your benefit is 16% higher than the amount you would have received at age 66.

If waiting seems hard to do, you’re not alone. Even though most people would probably be better off delaying benefits,  more than two-thirds of eligible workers take early Social Security.

To be continued…