Social Security retirement benefits

Social Security retirement benefits play a big role in financing retirement for the majority of recipients, so deciding when to collect is an important decision point for many. You can typically begin collecting your Social Security retirement benefit any time between the ages of 62 and 70. However, the later you claim, the higher your monthly benefit.

Ages 62, 66–67, and 70

Under current regulations, if you begin collecting your benefit at age 62, which more than two-thirds of workers do, you will receive a reduced benefit compared to the benefit you will receive if you delay collecting it. If you wait until what the Social Security Administration considers your full retirement age (FRA), which ranges from age 66 to 67 depending on the year you were born, you’ll receive approximately 33 percent more each month than you would by claiming at age 62.

If you claim your benefit at age 70, you’ll receive approximately 75 percent more each month than you would by claiming at age 62, reports the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Perhaps that is why, in the October 2013 brief “Social Security’s Real Retirement Age Is 70,” the research center recommended thinking of 70 as the real retirement age and encouraged those who can afford to wait until age 70 to collect their Social Security benefit to do so.

The research center also recommended working as long as possible to delay claiming your Social Security retirement benefit and add earning years to the benefit calculation. Your monthly benefit is based on the age at which you begin collecting and your highest 35 years of earnings on which you have paid Social Security payroll tax.

If, at age 62, you have not yet worked for 35 years, you can only increase your monthly benefit by continuing to work, thus replacing the non-wage-earning years in the calculation with wage-earning years, and delaying receipt of your benefit. If you collect your benefit before full retirement age while continuing to work, and earn over $15,720 in 2015, some of your benefits will be withheld. However, withheld benefits are not lost but rolled forward to increase your Social Security benefit after you reach full retirement age.

Getting your statement

If you haven’t signed up to view it online, the Social Security Administration sends your statement in the mail every five years, usually around your birthday. You can also visit the Social Security Administration website (ssa.gov), register and access the same information. Take your information to your next meeting with your professional financial advisor and discuss how your projected monthly benefit fits into your retirement plan.