ANDERSON, Ind. —
Social Security is as American as baseball and apple pie. Not everyone likes baseball games or apples, but almost every American who reaches retirement age will receive Social Security retirement benefits. In fact, 96 percent of Americans are covered by Social Security.
If you are ready to retire in the near future, this article is for you. We’d like to share a few important items about Social Security retirement benefits and how to apply for them.
When you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn “credits” toward Social Security benefits. You need 40 credits (10 years of work) to qualify for retirement benefits.
The amount of your benefit, however, is determined by how long you work and how much you earn. Higher lifetime earnings result in higher benefits. If you did not work or had low earnings in some years, your benefit amount may be lower than if you had worked or earned more.
Also, your age when you retire makes a difference in your benefit amount. Full retirement age (the age at which full retirement benefits are payable) has been gradually rising from age 65 to age 67. Full retirement age is 66 for people born in 1943 to 1954. You can retire as early as age 62, but if benefits start before you reach your full retirement age, your monthly payment is reduced. Find out what your full retirement age is by referring to the convenient chart in our publication, Retirement Benefits, at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10035.html.
Just as you can choose an early retirement and get a reduced payment, you also can choose to delay retirement beyond your full retirement age to take advantage of a larger payment. Your benefit will increase automatically by a certain percentage from the time you reach your full retirement age until you start receiving your benefits or until you reach age 70.
The decision of when to retire is an individual one and depends on a number of personal factors. To help you weigh the factors, we suggest you read our online fact sheet, When To Start Receiving Retirement Benefits, available at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10147.html.
You may want to consider your options by using our Retirement Estimator to get instant, personalized estimates of future benefits. You can plug in different retirement ages and scenarios to help you make a more informed retirement decision. Try it out at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.
When you decide to retire, the easiest and most convenient way to do it is right from the comfort of your home or office computer. Go to www.socialsecurity.gov where you can apply for retirement benefits in as little as 15 minutes. In most cases, there are no forms to sign or documents to send; once you submit your electronic application, that’s it!
If you prefer to do business in Spanish, then our Spanish language website is the place for you. Visit www.segurosocial.gov or you can call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY, 1-800-325-0778) or visit the Social Security office nearest you.
Either way you choose to apply, be sure to have your bank account information handy so we can set up your payments to be deposited directly into your account.
John Williams is Social Security public affairs specialist for east central Indiana. His column appears every other Monday on the Business page.
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