Claiming Social Security Retirement Checks at 70: Not a Good Idea, Experts Say

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Even though Social Security retirement benefits become available at the age of 62, experts recommend waiting until you’re 70 is not a good choice. Circumstances, such as health difficulties, may require you to file sooner. Furthermore, you may not live long enough to make up for the lost time.

Majority of Americans Do Not Save Enough for Retirement.

Many folks cannot afford to wait to enroll in Social Security. Consider that most Americans do not have enough money set aside for retirement. Some people base their Social Security decisions on their longevity and family history. If you have a low life expectancy, you might be able to justify claiming Social Security early.

According to Dan Houston, CEO of Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa,  the most severe difficulty for most people is that they under-save for retirement. Many people can improve their financial circumstances by working in retirement, but you may find yourself retiring sooner than expected. 

They can continue to work in retirement, but 50 percent of Americans retire earlier than intended for three reasons. The first reason is that they are ill, the second is that their spouse is sick, and the third is that their services are no longer required. So they put them out of business. As a result, continuing to work after retirement is not always an option, according to Houston, US News wrote

It is not realistic 

According to journalnow.com, if you intend on waiting until you’re 70 to start receiving benefits, you should be aware that this strategy may not work out. Many people aspire to work later in life, yet circumstances beyond their control frequently prevent them from doing so. Working till you’re 70 may not be possible if you have health difficulties that prevent you from continuing your employment or if you become a caretaker for a family member with medical troubles. If there aren’t many possibilities accessible for people your age, losing a job later in life may make it tough to stay in the workforce.

You might imagine that if you wait until you’re 70 to claim your Social Security benefits, you’ll be among the seniors who will be financially better off due to delaying your checks. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. You will have missed eight years of available payments but were not claimed. The extra money in the checks you start getting at 70 must make up for all the money you missed in the preceding years if you want to end up with a higher lifetime Social Security income. After that, even after you’ve broken even, you’ll have to keep collecting increased monthly checks for at least a while.

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