If You Claim Social Security Early in These Scenarios, You Could End Up Cash-Strapped for Life

You may not realize how heavily you'll rely on Social Security until you kick off retirement and see how much money it actually costs. That's why it's important to secure a nice, robust monthly benefit for your senior years.

Now your monthly benefit is calculated based on your personal earnings history during your 35 highest-paid years of wages. From there, you're entitled to that benefit once you reach full retirement age (FRA), which is either 66, 67, or somewhere in between, depending on the year you were born. But you're allowed to sign up for Social Security as early as age 62. For each month you claim benefits early, however, they're reduced on a permanent basis, and that's where the danger lies. Though filing for benefits ahead of FRA gets you your money sooner, collecting a lower monthly payment could really hurt you, especially in these scenarios.

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Source Fool.com