Retirement is something people always look forward to. It makes up for all the time you spent working your 9 to 5 and only getting time with your family on the weekend.
Although a lot of people used to believe that retirement is as simple as quitting your job, 80% of the Baby Boomer generation currently believe that they will be compelled to work after retirement. A whopping 45% of Baby Boomers have no retirement savings, yet a mere 29% of large corporations guaranteed health benefits to their retirees in 2020.
With those sobering statistics in mind, I thought today I’d go over the basics of “Old Faithful,” Social Security benefits.
Social Security benefits require great care because a lot of options get presented to you. So in addition to having all of your financial books together, the first thing you’ll need to figure out is your full retirement age.
- 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1954.
- Between 66 and 67 if you were born from 1955 to 1960.
- 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
Everyone can start receiving Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, you are entitled to more (“full benefits”) if you don’t start collecting until your full retirement age. If you delay taking your benefits even more (until age 70), your benefit amount will increase even more.
Social Security benefits all depend on our record/transcript with them. This is the part where it’s imperative to get an expert: Depending on whether you are married, single, disabled, or divorced, you can use someone else’s record as a basis for your benefits. It’s complicated, but the IRS has a flowchart you can visit here.
At JHA we’re not only good hand-holders but also great bookkeepers. We have experience in helping people choose how to proceed with their Social Security paperwork and decision-making. We also have experience helping with Medicaid spend-downs — and anything else that requires an eagle eye on your behalf.
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