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Over one-quarter of Social Security recipients thought they'd receive more in benefits in retirement than they do, and on average, future retirees estimate that what they'll collect in retirement is about 30% higher than what they'll actually pocket, according to Nationwide. Here's how much Social Security is paying the average American in 2019 and how to give your benefit a boost if it's lower.
This chart is what I found most interesting...
I didn't know I was that far ahead of the pack at $3,000/month but to get it I had to wait until 70 to collect benefits. The good part was between what I get and my wife receives we can retire comfortably on social security alone.
Why would I even care what the average check is for straw people ? You see these headline all the time , like the average check is 1650 a month ...personally I have no reason to care ..all that matters is what ours is ..
The fact people want to take it at 62 is their choice ... they had other options to increase the amount , for whatever reasons they didn’t take those options ....we get about 40k but my wife had a very weak earning record of her own
The problem is most people dont know how the system works and dont keep their eye on the ball, or prize, as it were. This article and others repeat this info every year. I've always reviewed our SS account and estimates as well as all our other retirement funds and they will be what we've expected, no surprises.
The problem is most people don't know how the system works and don't keep their eye on the ball, or prize, as it were. This article and others repeat this info every year. I've always reviewed our SS account and estimates as well as all our other retirement funds and they will be what we've expected, no surprises.
I agree- nearly half of Americans 55 and over have nothing saved for retirement (sorry, don't remember the source but I read it a couple of days ago and it's consistent with what I've read before). If someone's retirement plan is "I'll work till I'm 65 and then I can get SS", they need to know the amount is likely to be pretty poor. I spent a lot of time on a Widow/Widowers Board after DH died and it was sad to see the number of (mostly) women who had to move after losing their spouse because SS was the only household income and it just dropped by 1/3. They couldn't afford to stay where they were. If this message is repetitive for us, maybe it's new info for some people.
I'm getting $2,000/month (gross of Medicare premiums) on DH's record and will get $3,500 on my own record if I wait till age 70 (I'm currently 66).
Don’t forget the numbers are skewed downward too ..many get a WEP REDUCTION so they get a small ss check and and a nice pension instead... others only get spousal with no work history of their-own so they drag down the average check for those who do have a record .
In the end who cares what some average is ....even that average means different purchasing power in different locations
It's easy enough to check what your actual SS payment will be. The lack of knowledge lies directly at the feet of those who don't take advantage of obtaining the facts around their benefit.
Think about the person who has 2 or 3 ex spouses who collect off their record for their ss and survivor benefit ...should than not be counted as additional check amounts for the provider of those ex spouse’s income too ?
It really should and that would certainly drive up those numbers , so you can see these numbers get watered down for all these reasons
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