JustCare

Tag: Retirement

  • What will your Social Security benefits be when you retire?

    What will your Social Security benefits be when you retire?

    What will your Social Security benefit be when you retire? Knowing how much you will receive from Social Security can help with your retirement planning. Two-thirds of Americans rely on Social Security for most of their income in retirement, and one third rely on it for virtually all (90 percent or more) of their retirement income.

    The Social Security Administration cannot tell you exactly what you will get.  But, it has a calculator that will provide you an estimate. What you receive depends on the average of your top 35 earnings years, as well as on the age at which you choose to claim Social Security.

    You can sign up to get benefits before the full retirement age (age 66 today, i.e. for those born between 1943 and 1954, and rising to age 67 for those born in 1960 or later). But your benefit will be reduced by around 6 percent for each year you retire prior to your full retirement age — up to a 25 percent reduction if you retire at age 62, the earliest possible age you can claim benefits. If you wait until after your full retirement age to claim benefits, your benefit is increased by 8 percent per year — up to a 24 percent increase if you wait till age 70.

    Your benefits will be protected against inflation by cost-of-living increases. And, of course, if Congress changes the Social Security Act, that could affect your benefits as well.  In January 2015, the average estimated monthly benefit for a retired worker was just over $1300 and just over $2100 for a retired couple.

    To qualify for benefits, you need at least 40 credits of earnings, i.e. 10 years of either working four quarters or paying enough into Social Security during the year to satisfy the four-quarters requirement. To understand how credits are calculated, click here. Or, you might qualify based on the earnings record of a current or divorced spouse (if the marriage lasted 10 years or longer).

    Click here to use the Social Security Administration’s Retirement Estimator; SSA also provides calculators to estimate survivors or disability benefits. And the AARP has a calculator to help you decide when to sign up for benefits.

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  • More Americans planning to work past age 65

    More Americans planning to work past age 65

    More Americans are planning to delay retirement and work longer.  A 2014 CBS news poll shows that a little more than half of Americans who have not yet retired say they plan to retire by the time they are 65.  In 2005, more than two-thirds (67 percent) planned to retire by age 65.

    Equally noteworthy, three times as many people today expect to retire in their seventies (22 percent) than expected to do so in 2005 (8 percent), according to the poll.  Yet, of retirees polled, 79 percent say they retired by the age of 65.  Only seven percent say they were over 70 when they retired.

    Health care costs are not among the most serious financial concerns of Americans not yet retired.  Only 8 percent of them have current or future medical costs as their biggest financial worry.  The poll does not capture whether Medicare and the Affordable Care Act help allay their fears.

    Most working Americans have as their biggest financial concern paying bills (25 percent) and, after that, saving for retirement (24 percent)

    Many Americans do not realize that Social Security is virtually certain to be there for them. It cannot go broke. However, more than six out of 10 Americans not yet retired do not believe that Social Security will have the benefits they expect.

    Much like the Pentagon, unless Congress decides to end the program, Social Security will continue.  In fact, so long as working people pay into Social Security, those funds are available to supplement the Social Security Trust Fund.

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  • New AARP Polls Reveal High Anxiety Among Boomers About Retirement Security

    New AARP Polls Reveal High Anxiety Among Boomers About Retirement Security

    New AARP polls in Arkansas, Iowa and North Carolina show high anxiety about retirement security among Americans 50 and older.  According to AARP, boomers and older adults are looking for candidates in the November election to address health and financial security issues.

    Older Democrats and Republicans alike feel anxiety about their inability to cover health and financial needs in retirement, including paying for their own or a spouse’s care that Medicare does not pay for.

    Of Iowans polled, 78 percent said that they opposed candidates who support cuts to Social Security to reduce the deficit, and 73 percent want Medicare to reduce drug costs.  Poll results were similar in Arkansas and North Carolina, where respectively 74 and 76 percent said they opposed candidates who support cuts to Social Security to reduce the deficit.

    Click here to take action to protect and expand Social Security!