Confused about Social Security retirement timing at 56 - early benefits vs. waiting to increase my average

Welcome to retirement planning! Yes, your current higher earnings will likely help your eventual benefit. Social Security calculates your benefit based on your highest 35 years of earnings (adjusted for inflation). If you're earning more now than in previous years, each additional high-earning year will replace a lower-earning year in that calculation, potentially increasing your benefit. To answer your other questions: - Yes, if you claim at 62, your payment amount will be permanently reduced (about 30% less than your full retirement age benefit). - Personal savings don't affect your Social Security benefits at all! That's your money. - Waiting until your Full Retirement Age (probably 67 for you) would give you significantly more - and waiting until 70 gives you the maximum possible benefit (about 8% more per year you delay after FRA). Take some time to create a my Social Security account on ssa.gov if you haven't already. It will show your earnings history and projected benefits at different claiming ages.

hi there! i claimed at 62 and kinda regret it now. locked in at a lower amount when i could really use the extra $$ now that everything's so expensive. my sister waited til 67 and gets almost $600 more than me every month! just something to think about

I was in almost your exact situation 5 years ago. I was making about $92K at age 58, which was way more than my earlier years. I worked until 63.5 and it definitely boosted my benefit amount by continuing to work those high-earning years. One thing nobody's mentioned - your personal savings won't affect your Social Security amount, BUT if you have significant other income in retirement (like from a 401k or traditional IRA), some of your Social Security benefits might become taxable. Up to 85% of your SS benefits can be subject to income tax if your combined income is high enough. Also, if you're married, there are additional strategies to consider regarding when each spouse should claim. The higher earner often should delay as long as possible, especially if there's a significant age or earnings difference.

Not sure if anyone mentioned this yet, but you need to understand your "replacement rate" when making this decision. At 62, you get about 70% of your Full Retirement Age (FRA) benefit. At your FRA (probably 67), you get 100%. If you wait until 70, you get 124% of your FRA benefit. This difference is PERMANENT and SUBSTANTIAL. For example, if your FRA benefit would be $2,000/month, at 62 you'd get about $1,400/month. If you wait until 70, you'd get about $2,480/month. That's over $1,000 difference every month for the rest of your life! The breakeven point (where waiting starts to pay off) is usually around age 80-82. If you think you'll live past that, waiting is usually better financially speaking.

my husband started taking SS at 62 but he kept working part time. they kept taking away some of his benefits becuz of the earnings limit. nobody told us about that! just be careful if u plan to work while collecting before your FRA

do u have a pension? if u do u might get hit with WEP or GPO which can reduce ur ss benefit. happened to my buddy who worked for the state for 15 yrs

Everyone acts like waiting until 70 is always better, but that's NONSENSE! If you need the money at 62, take it! Life is short and UNPREDICTABLE. My brother waited to file and then died at 68 - got NOTHING after paying in his whole life! Plus the government keeps moving the goalposts - who knows if they'll change the rules again before you hit FRA? Take what you can get when you can get it!

Thank you all for the advice! This has given me a lot to think about. I'm definitely going to create that my Social Security account to see my actual numbers. Since I'm making good money right now and don't absolutely need to retire at 62, it sounds like waiting might be the better option for me. I think I need to do more research about how my taxes will work in retirement too. And I'll check out that Claimyr service to talk directly with SSA - I've tried calling before and it's impossible to get through! Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences!