3 Reasons You May Not Get as Much Money From Social Security as Expected
Millions of seniors get the bulk of their retirement income from Social Security. Chances are, those benefits will serve as an important source of income for you as well -- but if you're operating under the assumption that you'll get a certain benefit, winding up with a much lower one could really hurt you. Here are just a few reasons why your Social Security income may end up being less robust than anticipated.
You're entitled to your full monthly Social Security benefit (as based on your earnings history) once you reach full retirement age, or FRA. FRA varies based on when you were born. If your year of birth is 1960 or later, your FRA will be 67. If you were born earlier, it'll be 66 -- or 66 and a specific number of months.
You're allowed to sign up for Social Security as early as age 62, but if you go that route, your benefits will be slashed on a permanent basis by anywhere from 25% to 30%. In fact, for each month you file before FRA, you'll face a reduction in benefits. To avoid that, commit your FRA to memory and wait until you reach it to sign up. You can even delay your filing past FRA and boost your benefits by 8% a year up until age 70.
Source Fool.com
