| Age to Receive Full Social Security Benefits |
Year of Birth |
Full Retirement Age |
1937 or earlier
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943-1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960 and later |
65
65 and 2 months
65 and 4 months
65 and 6 months
65 and 8 months
65 and 10 months
66
66 and 2 months
66 and 4 months
66 and 6 months
66 and 8 months
66 and 10 months
67 |
| (Source:
SSA web site http://www.ssa.gov) |
|
|
Millions of people may be miscalculating the age at which
they can hope to retire comfortably. Are you one of them?
Consider this: 96% of current working Americans will not be
eligible for full Social Security benefits on their 65th birthday. Yet only 16% of workers
realize this. This was one result of the 1999 Retirement Confidence Survey released in
June by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Traditionally, 65 has been the age at which people can
retire and receive "full" Social Security benefits. But because of increased
life expectancies, the Social Security Administration decided back in 1983 to gradually
increase that age. Since this will only begin happening in 2003, for people born in 1938
or later, no one seems to have paid much attention until now.
For older workers, it will be a question of a few months.
But for those born in 1960 or later, full retirement age will be 67. (Early retirement
with reduced monthly payments will still be possible from age 62 onward, as will late
retirement, at 70, with increased monthly payments.)
This matters, because when you plan for retirement you need
to know how much income to factor in from Social Security. The check from Uncle Sam is
likely not going to be your only source of retirement income, but it will be a portion of
it. If you count on receiving full Social Security benefits at age 65, but are really only
eligible at 67, your calculations will be out of whack. You may actually have to work a
year or two longer than you thought to have your desired income. (Of course, under current
laws, you are still eligible to begin withdrawing money from your 401(k) or IRA without
penalty at age 59 ý.)
The Social Security Administration (SSA) realizes that the
change hasn't been communicated very well to the general public. , click here for a sneak peek at the Social
Security statements
That's why they're planning to mail out "Personal
Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statements" to everyone over age 25, beginning in
October of this year. Look for yours in your mailbox three months before your birthday
month. (People with January birthdays will receive the first set.)
This statement will tell you at what age you will be able
to retire with full Social Security benefits, and what those benefits should be. It will
also list what your monthly Social Security income would be if you retired early (at 62)
or late (at 70).
As a test, the SSA began mailing out versions of this
statement in 1995, to people 60 and older, and is currently mailing them to people over
45. They have been streamlined based on user feedback, and you'll be receiving a new one
even if you already received one of the "test" variety.
If you've already done your calculations for retirement,
receiving this statement will help you fine-tune them. If you haven't done them yet, it
will be a great starting point!
 Return to Article
|
