age to receive social security benefits
* Age 70 = $1,320. At age 62, your benefit amount is about 25 percent lower than your full benefit at age 66. If you delay receiving your Social Security until age 70, the monthly amount is 32 percent more than you would get at full retirement age. From 62 to 70, that comes to a monthly increase of $570 or $6,840 a year. You can elect to receive your benefit anytime from 62, the earliest age at which you can begin to collect benefits, to age 70, but there's a certain age when you're entitled to full or unreduced retirement benefits. That would be your full retirement age (FRA), or what some also call your normal retirement age. If you have not worked or do not have enough Social Security credits to qualify for your own Social Security benefits, you may be able to receive spouse’s benefits. Any age and caring for a child entitled to receive benefits on your spouse’s record who is younger than age 16 or disabled. Mary Ann qualifies for a retirement benefit of $250 and a spouse’s benefit of $400. At her full retirement age, she will receive her own $250 retirement benefit, and we will add $150 from her spouse’s benefit, for a total of $400. Keep in mind that you may have options to increase your benefit amounts. Social Security’s retirement age is 70. The simple fact is that monthly benefits are highest at age 70 and are reduced actuarially for each year they are claimed before age 70. This is a relatively new development, which may explain why Social Security’s retirement age is the best-kept secret in town. Calculate the best retirement age to claim your Social Security benefits. En español | Let the Social Security Calculator help you figure out how much retirement income you’ll receive at different claiming ages so you can determine when you should claim Social Security. Before 1972, maximum monthly Social Security benefits were paid at 65, and monthly benefits were not increased for claiming later. In 1972, Congress introduced a Delayed Retirement Credit, which increased benefits by 1% of the full retirement age benefit for each year of delay. But it can be a costly move. If you start taking Social Security at age 62, rather than waiting until your full retirement age (FRA), you can expect up to a 25% reduction in monthly benefits. Remember FRA is no longer age 65. It now ranges from 66 to 67, depending on the month and year in which you were born. If you have not worked or do not have enough Social Security credits to qualify for your own Social Security benefits, you may be able to receive spouse’s benefits. To qualify for spouse’s benefits, you must be: At least 62 years of age; or. So, a person born in 1960 or later whose benefit was $1,000 per month at FRA could receive $1,240 per month if they wait until age 70 to claim their Social Security benefit. By contrast, that same person would receive just $700 if they claimed Social Security at age 62.
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