3 Reasons It's Smart to Take Social Security Benefits at 62
Pop quiz! At what age do most people start collecting their Social Security benefits? You might assume that it's 65, as that has long been the age at which retirees could collect their full benefits. (Note that for most folks today, the full retirement age has been upped to 66 or 67.) The answer, though, is 62 -- the earliest age at which Social Security retirement benefits are available.
Why 62? Well, in many cases, people end up not having a choice regarding when they retire. According to the 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey, 48% of retirees left the workplace sooner than they had planned to -- with 41% of them doing so because of health problems or disability, 26% citing company downsizings or closures, and 14% having to care for a spouse or other family member. Of course, plenty of retirees retired early because they wanted to -- that was their plan.
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Source: Fool.com
