Disability & Retirement
A secure, comfortable retirement is every worker's dream. And now because we're living longer, healthier lives, we can expect to spend more time in retirement than our parents and grandparents did. Achieving the dream of a secure, comfortable retirement is much easier when you plan your finances. Planning your Social Security retirement benefits under current law points out things you may want to consider as you prepare for the future.
If you are:
Looking for information, you can:
Find your retirement age,
Use the benefit calculators to test out different retirement ages or future earnings
amounts,
Learn about Social Security programs,
Find out what happens if you work after you retire, and
Learn how certain types of earnings and pensions can affect your benefits.
Already near retirement age, you can:
Discover your retirement options,
Get information about how members of your family may qualify for benefits,
Find instructions on how to apply for benefits and what supporting documents you'll
need to furnish, and Apply for retirement benefits.
As a general rule, early or late retirement will give you about the same total Social Security benefits over your lifetime. If you retire early, the monthly benefit amounts will be smaller to take into account the longer period you will receive them. If you retire late, you will get benefits for a shorter period of time but the monthly amounts will be larger to make up for the months when you did not receive anything. There are advantages and disadvantages to taking your benefit before your full retirement age. The advantage is that you collect benefits for a longer period of time. The disadvantage is your benefit is permanently reduced (unless you are disabled!!).
Each person's situation is different, so remember that, if you delay your benefits until after full retirement age, you may be eligible for delayed retirement credits that would increase your monthly benefit; keep in mind that there are other things to consider when making the correct decision about your retirement benefits, check out the Break Even Age calculator to find out whether early retirement is better for you. Note to disabled:Contact Us to discuss your situation before you retire. You may be eligible for full benefits and still retire early.
