Women's Institute For A Secure Retirement

August 15th marked the 73rd anniversary of Social Security. Though certainly not a recognized national holiday, it is a cause for celebration. Social Security is by far the nation’s most successful social program, helping millions avoid poverty in old age and providing necessary benefits for a range of others in the workforce, including disabled workers and their surviving spouses and children. It provides an essential economic safety net for women—without Social Security, more than half of elderly women would be in poverty. And it is a critical program for minority older persons, with 1 in 3 older African Americans and 2 in 5 older Hispanics currently relying on Social Security as their only source of income.

One way to celebrate 73 years of social security is by learning more about your current Social Security status. The following questions can help you stay informed on how much Social Security you may collect, when you can collect and how certain factors may impact your overall Social Security benefit. For more information on Social Security, visit the Social Security section of WISER’s website.

1. Have you earned a worker benefit?
Yes, if you’ve worked 10 years (unless you are disabled).

2. Do you know how much your benefit will be?
The Social Security Administration will be mailing a statement to everyone (age 25 and older) three months before your birth month. If you haven’t gotten yours, send for a free estimate by calling 800-772-1213.

You can calculate it on your own by using the Social Security Administration’s Retirement Planner on their Web site at www.socialsecurity.gov/planners.

3. Do you know the earliest age you can collect a retirement benefit?
Age 62 (unless you are widowed).

4. Do you know what happens to your benefit if you retire early?
If you start your benefits early, your benefits are reduced permanently. Your benefit is reduced about one-half of one percent for each month you start your Social Security before your full retirement age. For example, if your full retirement age is 65 and 10 months and you sign up for Social Security when you are 62, you would only get 75.8 percent of your full benefit. (Source: Social Security Administration, www.ssa.gov.)

NOTE: The reduction will be greater in future years as the full retirement age increases.

5. Do you know when widows can start to collect a survivor’s benefit?
Age 60 (unless you are disabled or have children under the age of 16).

This entry was posted on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Social Security, Social Security Checklist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.