Throughout your career, you have probably paid a lot of money towards social security, and at some point you can begin collecting payments from it. The big question is when you should begin collecting from it. If you are not sure what to do, you may want to seek advice from a social security lawyer:

What Is The Minimum Age?

As long as you have paid money into social security for at least 40 quarters, you will be able to begin collecting money from social security when you are 62 years old. You do not have to begin collecting money at this age though, and there are times when it might be better to wait.

What's The Advantage Of Waiting?

According to Forbes, if you wait until you are 70 years old, your social security benefits will increase by around 8%. In other words, if your payments were going to be $2,000 each month, waiting until your 70 will increase them to $2,160.

What's The Disadvantage Of Taking It At Age 62?

While you do have the incentive of higher benefits if you wait, you should also be aware that the benefit of waiting may actually be higher than this. This occurs because of the actual age of retirement calculated by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

While you are free to take benefits at age 62, this is not really considered your actual retirement age. In fact, the actual retirement age is determined by the year you were born. People that were born later have higher retirement ages (according to the SSA) than people born earlier.

For example, if you were born in 1938 your retirement age is 65, but if you were born in 1960, your retirement age is 67. Beginning your social security payments before your actual retirement age can result in a loss of money, which may be equal to around 1%.

Are There Other Factors That Matter?

There are a variety of other factors, besides age, that you should factor in as you make the decision of when to begin taking your payments. These include your health, marital status, employment status, and amount of money you have saved up in other places.

If you are not sure what would be the best option for you, it might be wise to visit a social security attorney. This attorney will be able to review your current situation and determine what would be the best option for you. To learn more, contact a company like Prediletto, Halpin, Scharnikow & Nelson, P.S.