Social Security: To retire or not to retire, that is the question
One of my favorite old sayings is one that I’m sure you know too: “The devil is in the details.”
Isn’t it always so? Whether it’s working on a home improvement project or on your financial plans, it’s nailing down the details that can be frustrating.
Take retirement. Most folks reach a point where they know they want to retire: the kids are gone, the mortgage is paid down (if not off) and they no longer look forward to the 9 to 5 life. If they’re lucky and they’ve put a little money aside, they may decide the time is near for taking the gold-plated watch from the folks at the office and spending afternoons on the golf course or in the garden.
But then there’s those nagging details: should I retire this year, next year, or the year after that? Will I have enough money coming in? And what about health care?
Well, the Social Security Administration is always happy to help people work through those issues. For example, most folks know that they can retire as early as age 62 and take a reduction in their monthly retirement benefit payments of 20 or more percent. And they know they can wait until their full retirement age and get unreduced benefits. But they don’t always know what is the right choice?
We explain the right choice is whatever is right for them. We show how much their benefits would be reduced and remind them that the reduction is permanent. But we also point out that if they choose to retire early, they’ll be getting benefits over a longer period of time. A person whose health is not good may decide that the early benefits are best for them.
Our experts tell us that during the last 20 years or so, most folks chose to retire sometime between 63 and 64. But every choice is a personal one, and a different one.
A person who is unsure about the decision to quit work may decide to wait.
Some folks don’t have hobbies, or other retirement plans, and might be all but lost without work. And we always point out that at full retirement age, they can get their benefits and still work.
How about those other questions about how much money you’ll have? And health benefits? Social Security has a great calculator on our Website – www.ssa.gov/planners – that helps people work through what they’ll be getting from Social Security, and we connect to another site that helps calculate pension and savings income.
As to health benefits, if workers can’t carry their employer’s health insurance into retirement, then we always point out that Medicare doesn’t usually kick in until age 65.
That means they should make other plans for health coverage until they become eligible for Medicare.
So here’s the bottom line for anyone even thinking about retirement: Give us a call, or visit our office or Website. Social Security representatives want to be sure that people know as much as possible about the details when it’s time to make one of life’s big decisions.