We all know that the earliest you can start collecting your Social Security benefits is when you attain the age of 62. The latest is when you reach 70 years of age. When you start collecting your retirement benefits is however up to you. You should also keep in mind that the age in which you choose to collect your benefits will have an impact on the sum you obtain in benefits. Below are 5 tips on when to begin collecting Social Security benefits;
Know And Understand Your Benefits
The greatest mistake you’ll ever make is choosing to collect benefits you know nothing about. It’s important that you fully understand your benefits to help you avoid future complications. You can start by using the Social Security retirement calculators. This helps you get a better idea of the benefit you’d receive before, at your retirement age and after your FRA. Most importantly, you should understand that the earlier you retire, the less Social Security you’ll get each month. This factor should be thought carefully about before going ahead and claiming benefits. Remember there’s no turning back on this once you claim for these benefits.
Cautiously Think About Your Sources Of Income And Your Disbursements
Your source of income is important and will greatly affect your claims. Consider checking your savings, investment plans, pensions, IRAs and other essential financial statements. Come up with appropriate calculations regarding the sum of money you’ll need. It’s advisable that you look at several months of statements to help keep track of how your expenditure was.This helps you keep tab and decide if its important for you to continue working.
Be Pragmatic About Your Life Expectancy
This should be a major factor when making plans for Social Security and retirement as well. Life expectancy should be something to be thought about carefully because you might exceed the duration planned for your finances. You need to consider all factors affecting health to help you determine your benefits claims.
Think About Your Spouse’s Well Being
You might die first before your spouse and that will determine how much he/she will get for the rest of their life. You need to consider their financial resources and life anticipation If you find out that he/she has more lifespan chances, you should come up with other finance capabilities beyond Social Security to support their long life. Also keep their health a priority to avoid spending too much money in future which was not planned for.
Talk It Out If Need Be
It’s good for couples to discuss this topic together. You May find that in most marriages, one person makes the final financial decisions and this might end up bringing about chaos. You can also talk about it with your financial planner. They will help you comprehend better how Social Security benefits expenditure will fit in.
