4 Questions to Ask Yourself as You Plan for Retirement
Reading Time: 3 MinutesLast Updated: November 3, 2023
Deciding when to start receiving your retirement benefits from Social Security is a decision that only you can make, and you should make that decision with as much information as possible. There are a lot of important questions to answer.
Should you claim benefits earlier and get a smaller monthly payment for more years? Or should you wait and get a bigger monthly amount over a shorter period?
There are no right or wrong answers, but we encourage you to consider these four important questions as you plan for your financially secure retirement:
How much money will I need to live comfortably in retirement?
Anticipate what your expenses will be in retirement, including things like mortgage payments or rent, utilities, healthcare insurance and related costs, food, personal care, car payments and maintenance, entertainment, hobbies, travel, and credit card or other debt. Also, consider whether you’ll need to provide for your spouse, children, or grandchildren.
What will my monthly Social Security retirement benefit be?
The average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker in 2018 is $1,404 (up from $1,377 in 2017). The average monthly Social Security benefit for a disabled worker in 2018 is $1,197 (up from $1,173 in 2017). As a reminder, eligibility for retirement benefits still requires 40 credits (usually about 10 years of work). The Social Security Act details how the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is calculated. You can read more about the COLA on our website. The best way to get an estimate of your retirement benefit is with a personal my Social Security account. Get yours today.
Will I have other income to supplement my Social Security benefits?
Secure your financial future with a retirement portfolio that includes savings, investments, and possibly a pension plan. If you’re willing and able, you may choose to increase your income by working past retirement age. Social Security replaces a percentage of a worker’s pre-retirement income based on your lifetime earnings. The amount of your average wages that Social Security retirement benefits replaces varies depending on your earnings and when you choose to start benefits. If you start benefits at age 67, this percentage ranges from as much as 75 percent for very low earners, to about 40 percent for medium earners, to about 27 percent for high earners. If you start benefits after age 67, these percentages would be higher. If you start benefits earlier, these percentages would be lower. Most financial advisers say you will need about 70 percent of pre-retirement income to live comfortably in retirement, including your Social Security benefits, investments, and other savings.
How long do I expect my retirement to last?
Anticipate the length of your retirement, keeping in mind that many American workers will live much longer than the “average” retiree. Consider your health, family longevity, and lifestyle. Your Social Security retirement benefits will provide continuous income for as long as you live, protecting you even if your other sources of income run out. Discover your life expectancy with our online calculator.
No one can predict the future perfectly, but careful planning and preparation will help you to make a well-informed decision about when to start receiving your Social Security benefits.
If you’ve contributed enough to the Social Security system through FICA payroll taxes, you can receive your full retirement benefit at age 66 or 67 depending on when you were born. You may also claim it sooner, starting at age 62, at a permanently reduced rate. Or you may wait until after your full retirement age, increasing your benefit amount by up to 8 percent per full year to age 70.
Social Security is with you through life’s journey, and we’re here to help you prepare for a financially secure future for you and your family. We invite you to use our online retirement planners.
To learn more about all of our programs, please visit us.
Join us on Facebook Live with USAgov on 1/30 at 7 P.M. ET as we chat about retirement.
Note: The closed captioned version will be available within one week after the broadcast.
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Tags: retirement, retirement benefits, Social Security benefits
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Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
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James C.
General question. I’m getting SS. I also have a PT job and am paying SS taxes on my earnings. How will I benefit from these taxes in the future? Will my SS payments increase accordingly each year, beyond standard COLA increases? I paid over $900 in SS taxes last year, over $400 the year before and will probably pay more than $1100 this year. Will I ever actually see any additional benefit in paying that much extra? Thank you.
Yugank K.
Get Heavy Discounts on Your Online Shopping
John
Learn to budget and you’ll have money left over every month to set aside for a rainy day.
Fran
thank you for this site
R.F.
Thank you for your comment, Fran! Continue visiting our website to learn more about our programs. We encourage you to create your personal my Social Security account to plan for the future.
Norma S.
I have been receiving disability check since 2008 do I still have to see about retirement or is disability the same. I stopped working on 2008 I am not familiar with how the system of SS works
R.F.
Hello Norma! We automatically convert your disability benefits to retirement benefits when you reach your full retirement age. Disability payments are established at the highest rate possible, and we use the highest years of your earnings to calculate your monthly benefit amount.
We do not base your Social Security benefit amount on the severity of your disability. We base it on your average lifetime earnings before your disability began. We hope this information helps.
Elizabeth Z.
How many credits do I have now? Do I get any credits if I was married to someone paying into social security? Why am I being penalised for deciding not to have an abortion and marry and have children at a young age?Having kids prevented me from furthering my education and forced me to take jobs involving cash, such as waitressing and cleaning houses. I real that the system is designed to deprive woman from a decent existence. Anyway I am trying to salvage my social security benefits and I would like to know how much better off I would be if I worked a job for 1 year (projected) and then applied for benefits. Can I get medical insurance through social security?
R.F.
Hi Elizabeth, you can create a personal my Social Security account to get your personal Social Security Statement. Your Social Security Statement shows a record of your earnings and the number of credits you currently have. Also, it provides an estimate of your future benefits.
Please visit our Medicare web page and our Retirement Planner: If You’re Divorced for information on these topics. We hope this helps!
PRC
If you paid taxes (including Social Security and medicare) on the cash you earned as a waitress and cleaning houses (like you are required to by law) then you would have build up social security benefits that you could apply for.
Nabil S.
I have received letter from your office tell me that you send me a benefits check and the check return back to your office,the address was wrong.
All my monthly payments send to me wiring by bank of Jordan,and you have my account number,
Please send back my benefits amount through the bank of Jordan.
My account number
J0333030368523010
Bank of Jordan
My mailing address
P O BOX 142848
Amman Jordan 11814
Tell number 797343164
Thank you very much
Debbie
I plan on retiring at the end of this year. I will be 66 1/2. I want to know if that is a good day 12/31/18 & will I receive my first SS Check that Jan 2019? If I waited another day to get my work holiday pay would that infringe on getting my Jan SS check?
Lucia N.
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joseph n.
can I cal about my ssi
R.F.
Representatives at our toll free number 1-800-772-1213 are available Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Generally you will have a shorter wait time if you call later during the day or later during the week. Thanks!
CEDRIC R.
GOOD AFTERNOON I WANTED TO ASK AND TELL YOU ABOUT MY UPDATED INFO ABOUT MY 4 DOCTORS SAID ITS OKAY FOR ME TO HANDLE MY ON RESPONSIBLE BENEFITS PAYMENTS AND BUSINESS.HOW DO I NEED TO TAKE CARE OF THIS FOR YOU CAN HELP ME UPDATE AND MY FOOD SSI CARD AND DEV DRIVER LICENSE.