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The one thing you might want to do is call SS and ask what your benefits will be once you get close to 62.. The sheet they send you is not the amount you will receive necessarily. I have a friend who was going to retire and found out that what they said she would get on that paper was much higher than what she would collect if she decided to leave now at 62.
I get more collecting my late husband's SS than I would if I collected mine at age 62, even though the paper said otherwise.
hi, I will turn 62 in Jan of 2008, I am thinking to wait til 64 or 65?
I get this print out in Oct each year. I am so confused. I am single,
therefore it is all up to me. 62 or 64 or 66?
The one thing you might want to do is call SS and ask what your benefits will be once you get close to 62.. The sheet they send you is not the amount you will receive necessarily. I have a friend who was going to retire and found out that what they said she would get on that paper was much higher than what she would collect if she decided to leave now at 62.
I get more collecting my late husband's SS than I would if I collected mine at age 62, even though the paper said otherwise.
Good point. We should all get this verified before retiring, if possible!! I am not sure how I will do that, since I plan to retire at 62 but not claim social security until 66. Maybe I can get it verified anyway before I quit at 62, if I go in and talk to somebody.
Social security has a very convoluted way of figuring retirement benefits. If you have your statement (with the years worked and how much), and if you are unusually comfortable and capable with math, the method used is available at Your Retirement Benefit: How It Is Figured (2007) but I would only use it to try to duplicate what you see on your statement. It's too easy to make an error! If you can duplicate what you see on your statement, then you can then change your projected earnings and play with it a little. Be sure to read and understand the assumptions on the statement, too. They could really mess up some peoples' estimates if they were interpreted differently by SS than by the retiree.
Most people would do much better using their online calculators or printed statement than by trying to compute their social security themselves. It really IS that complicated. Probably that is why Social Security makes their computational methods so difficult to find.
I am 62, but have to wait until I'm 66 to draw s/s because just the s/s and 401k is not enough for me to live on (I am sole support). If I wait until 66, and have to continue working (which sadly may be the case), then I can earn any amount and my s/s benefits will not be reduced. If I start collecting s/s before 66, they will only allow me to earn 12k; and anything over that amount, they reduce my benefits. If I had a second income, I would not hesitate to start getting my fair share now. But, for me, no can do. That's okay though, it will all work out.
My husband is 65 and just started collecting full SS benefits. I am only 52 so I assume I will outlive him. If/when I am widowed, will I be able to collect his full benefit or only part of it?
Also, when I am old enough to collect my own, will I be able to collect my own in addition to his or will I have to choose between the two benefits? Something I read recently led me to believe that I will have to choose.
Not trying to be greedy, haha, just want to know the facts.
You can find out a lot of information here Social Security Online It's the social security site.
You can also make an appointment at a SS office and go ask questions.
Having just filed for widows SS you will receive 71.5 of your husbands total, which you can start to collect at age 60, provided you do not remarry before age 60, if you remarry before 60 you get nothing of his SS. But would collect on your new husband. As for collecting your own, you would
have the choice of which is higher.......if amount of husbands is higher you can collect 1/2 of his amount, while he is living. If your amount is higher than you can take that, but not both. Sorry....
Last edited by Songbird42; 07-05-2007 at 05:25 PM..
Reason: forgot to add extra information
I am 62, but have to wait until I'm 66 to draw s/s because just the s/s and 401k is not enough for me to live on (I am sole support). If I wait until 66, and have to continue working (which sadly may be the case), then I can earn any amount and my s/s benefits will not be reduced. If I start collecting s/s before 66, they will only allow me to earn 12k; and anything over that amount, they reduce my benefits. If I had a second income, I would not hesitate to start getting my fair share now. But, for me, no can do. That's okay though, it will all work out.
I think now if you are 65 and work you can get S.S. and they will not take any money away from you. People are living lots longer, and either work
because they need to or just to be out of the house.
I think now if you are 65 and work you can get S.S. and they will not take any money away from you. People are living lots longer, and either work
because they need to or just to be out of the house.
I was born in 1945; therefore 66 is my full retirement age - - also meaning I have to wait until 66 to be able to collect s/s and earn over 12k without my benefits being reduced.
Early retirement sounds great. But with the life expectancy rates going up, if you are healthy, there is a very good chance that you are going to have 20 to 30 years in retirement.
Work as long as you can. It will make that SS monthy check much larger as it is figured on an average of what you have earned. Also, your yearly increases will be more since they are figured on a % of your check.
But the main thing is, unless you have lots of money to last you for those 20 or so years, sitting around the house or finding something to do is unbeliveably boring. It's nice to dream about traveling, but you may find that it isnt as much fun as you thought it would be.
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Must Wait for 66
