Considerations To Keep In Mind For Taking Social Security At 67

For the majority of Americans, those born after 1960, full retirement age is reached at 67. However, there is some flexibility with those age 62 being able to take reduced monthly benefits while those to waiting past 67 can receive bumps. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind when deciding at what age to file:

• The common myth is that filing before age 67 will result in an overall reduction in benefits. However, that is only true for monthly benefits since total lifetime benefits are designed to be the same regardless of age.
• Those who are waiting to take social security benefits to take advantage of the file and suspend strategy might be in for a disappointment. The popular method of taking a spousal benefit along with suspending the wage earners payout to gain a boost comes to an end on April 29, 2016. So if you were waiting to file solely to take advantage of the loophole then no reason to wait any longer.
• For those that remain working at a later age, waiting to take benefits can allow the monthly payout to grow. Waiting past 67 gets an %8 boost per year until age 70 so if there is still an income stream to live on then taking later benefits can give you more financial wiggle room down the line.

See Brian Stoffel, Social Security: 3 Terrible Reasons to File for Benefits at 67, My San Antonio, February 27, 2016.