Claiming the benefits of social security well ahead of schedule has resulted in the seniors not regretting their decisions. Though the benefits get calculated based upon one’s history of personal earnings, still the age at which people look to file for them can very well be the driving force as to how much amount he or she actually receives on a monthly basis. In case people wait to garner the benefits till their Full Retirement Age (FRA), as they are determined by the Social Security Administration, then people would get the full monthly payment, which their work history entitles them to. Now, filing well ahead of their Full Retirement Age can see people facing a cut down on their monthly benefits for the rest of their lifetime.
The amount of reduction would mainly depend upon how early one file. Ones, who are the recipients, they are allowed to start claiming the benefits at the age of 62 years, which in itself is at least four to five years ahead of the Full Retirement Age, depending upon one’s year of birth.
Fresh data from the Journal of Aging Studies comes up with the revelation that claiming benefits earlier than the FRA, tend to work out really well for the seniors, whoever takes that route. Through a survey, conducted recently upon older Americans, it was found out that near about 45% had filed for their Social Security at the age of 62 years, whereas 65% of the Americans had claimed their benefits before attaining their Full Retirement Age. Still, quite a large chunk of people, who happened to take the benefits of Social Security, early in their lives, did not have to regret their choice, even after contemplating about the financial benefits that they could receive by waiting for a longer duration to file.
Even though claiming the benefits out of Social Security well ahead of schedule happen to have the major drawback wherein people might lose out on their monthly income, there are certain circumstances under which this step does make sense. In the study conducted above, issues regarding cash flow along with longevity were the major factors that had forced people to file early.
