Social Security has developed a new calculator that will estimate your benefits. If you would like to see what YOUR benefits would be (assuming Social Security is still around!) you can visit the Social Security website.
The Social Security Retirement Estimator produces estimates that are based on your actual Social Security earnings record, but remember that retirement estimates are just that, estimates. The actual numbers will vary from the actual benefit you may receive in the future since:
- Your Social Security earnings record is constantly being updated
- The calculators use different parameters and assumptions
- Your actual future Social Security benefit will be adjusted for inflation
Here are MY estimated Social Security benefits:
At my current earnings rate, if I stop working and start receiving Social Security benefits…
At age 62, my monthly Social Security benefit will be about…$1,547.00.
At full retirement age (67 Years and 00 Month(s) for me), my monthly benefit will be about…$2,318.00.
At age 70, my monthly Social Security benefit will be about…$2,931.00.
So what does this mean? It means that if I save enough money to retire at 62 (assuming all is spent and disregarding inflation), the crossover point for me is at age 76 vs. retiring at 67. If I waited until 70 the crossover points are 78 vs retiring at 62 and 80 vs retiring at 67.
In other words, if I started receiving Social Security benefits at age 67 instead of 62, it would be about 15 years before it caught up with me. If I waited until 70, it would be 19 years compared to retiring at 62 and 11 years compared to retiring at 67.
Receiving my Social Security benefits 5 to 8 years sooner takes a while to catch up!
So what do I plan to do? Nothing. I’m 20 years away from being 62 and who knows what changes will be made to keep the Social Security system solvent?
Recommendation: Play with the calculator, but unless you’re very near to retirement, don’t sweat it. If you ARE nearing retirement, don’t rely on the Social Security website to make your decisions. Seek professional financial help as soon as possible.
Care to share your Social Security benefits?
[tags]Social Security, Social Security benefits,Social Security calculator, new Social Security calculator, retiring, retire, retirement, benefits, 62, 65, 67, 70[/tags]
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I have no idea what my social security benefits should be (based on the calculator). I am planning on doing retirement without those funds. If they are there, I hope they are a bonus, and that I don’t need them to survive.