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If you’re ready to retire in
the near future, this article is for you. We’d like to share with
you 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.
If you were born in 1929 or later, you need 40 credits (10 years of
work) to qualify for retirement benefits.
To qualify for retirement
benefits, 10 years is the minimum. However, the amount of your
benefit is determined by how long you work and how much you earn.
Higher lifetime earnings result in higher benefits. If there were
some years when you did not work or had low earnings, your benefit
amount may be lower than if you had worked steadily or earned more.
Also, your age when you
retire makes a difference in your benefit amount. The full
retirement age (the age at which full retirement benefits are
payable) has been gradually rising from age 65 to age 67. 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.
It’s in the second section.
Just as you can choose an
early retirement and get a reduced payment, you also can choose to
keep working 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.
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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!
In addition to using our
award-winning website, 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.
To learn more, please read
our publication, Retirement Benefits, at
www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10035.html.
By Judith Bartels
Social Security District
Manager in Springfield, IL
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