3 Signs You're About to Botch Your Social Security Filing
Your Social Security benefits are based on your lifetime earnings, and the age you claim them at will dictate the amount. If you file at full retirement age (FRA), you'll get the exact monthly benefit you're eligible for based on your earnings history. FRA is either 66, 67, or somewhere in between.
You can also claim as early as age 62, but for each month you file before FRA, your monthly benefit is reduced. On the flipside, you can delay benefits past FRA, boosting them by 8% a year until you turn 70.
You get a lot of choices on the Social Security front. That's good in theory; it means you can file at a time that works best for you. But it's dangerous in practice, because if you're not careful, you could claim benefits at the wrong age and hurt your financial prospects for life. Here are three signs that you're about to make a very bad decision in signing up for benefits.
Source Fool.com
