Apparently, only about 10% of pre-retirees in America plan to wait until they turn 70 to claim their Social Security benefits, according to the 2023 Schroders US Retirement Survey. You might think that’s no big deal, but according to a 2019 report from the folks at United Income, 57% of retirees surveyed would have received the most lifetime Social Security benefits if they had waited until age 70 before taking started it.
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When you claim your benefits, increasing or decreasing your benefit checks makes a big difference. The table below shows how much of your full benefit you will receive depending on when you claim it and your full retirement age.
|
Age at which you start collecting benefits |
Percentage of full benefits received (FRA of 66) |
Percentage of full benefits received (FRA of 67) |
|---|---|---|
|
62 |
75% |
70% |
|
63 |
80% |
75% |
|
64 |
86.7% |
80% |
|
65 |
93.3% |
86.7% |
|
66 |
100% |
93.3% |
|
67 |
108% |
100% |
|
68 |
116% |
108% |
|
69 |
124% |
116% |
|
70 |
132% |
124% |
Source: Social Security Administration.
For more context, let’s visualize some dollar amounts.
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The average monthly Social Security benefit as of October was $1,924, or $23,088 per year.
-
At the end of 2023, the average monthly retirement benefit for 66-year-olds was $1,740, or $20,880 for the year.
-
The average monthly benefit for 62-year-old recipients was $1,380, or $16,560 for the year. 62 years is the earliest age at which you can claim your pension benefit.
-
The average monthly benefit for 70-year-old recipients was $2,022, or $24,264 for the year. There is no point in waiting to make a claim over 70 as no additional deferred pension credits will accrue.
You can get a much clearer idea of how much You can expect by creating a my Social Security account on the Social Security Administration (SSA) website. This way you can see the latest estimates of your future benefits, and how they vary depending on when you choose to start collecting them.
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