What is the full retirement age for social security?

If born from 1943 to 1954, the full retirement age is 66 years old. The full retirement age goes up to 67 if you were born from 1955 to 1960. If born on January 1st of any year, refer to the previous year.

Why is Retirement Planning Important?

One of the main outcomes of retirement planning is a more stress free life. As a rule, retirement is an age where one wants to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor of their lifespan. Having money work for you instead of working for the money is therefore important.

What are the four basic steps of retirement planning?

There are four steps you could think about when planning for your retirement. Calculate your expenses, don't ignore debt, save money for retirement and protect your savings.

What are the 3 types of retirement?

There are different types of retirement that are emerging. n•tTraditional Retirement: You hit retirement age and stop working. This type requires you to save and invest from early on while using Social Security benefits as gravy.n•tSemi-Retirement: You may scale down hours to enjoy more time off or work in some form that keeps some income coming in. This also extends your retirement savings.n•tTemporary Retirement: You may take a mini break from working before going back to a career or rejoining the workforce. This will require a complex financial plan as you may be withdrawing rather than adding to your savings. n

How do you qualify for retirement benefits (Social Security)?

When you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn “credits” toward Social Security benefits. The number of credits you need to get retirement benefits depends on when you were born. If you were born in 1929 or later, you need 40 credits (10 years of work). If you stop working before you have enough qualifying credits, the credits remain on your SS record. So, if you return to work, you could add more credits. But unless you have the required number, the government won’t pay any benefits.

Social Security Strategies

determine an optimal filing strategy for you.

Why is Social Security important?

When and how you collect your Social Security benefits is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make in retirement. There’s a good chance that what worked for your neighbor, probably isn’t the best solution for you.

The goal when analyzing different strategies is to provide you with the highest cumulative benefits over your lifetime.

We don’t know how long you will live but we can make assumptions regarding your life expectancy. After which, you’ll want to consider a few questions:

Can you afford to delay your benefits past your full retirement age?

If married, how might spousal benefit strategies affect your own election?

How will your election strategy affect your tax situation?

Will delaying benefits cause too much stress on your current income needs?

At Summit Financial Partners, we’ll ask questions the Social Security Administration can’t advise you on. After which, we will educate you on the different Social Security strategies that may suit your situation.

Social Security Strategies

determine an optimal filing strategy for you.

Why is Social Security important?

The goal when analyzing different strategies is to provide you with the highest cumulative benefits over your lifetime.

Got questions? Contact us today.