How Much Will You Get in Social Security Benefits?

For anyone in the United States of America who has worked for some time, you can now find out easily what your Social Security check will be when you retire. Even if you are not a naturalized citizen. Yep, even legal working green card holding immigrants who work here will be able to collect Social Security retirement checks.

The Social Security system says that they calculate your benefit based on your past 35 years of earnings. I’ve known people to have worked for less than that and still collect Social Security benefits. So, don’t get spooked into thinking you have to work 35 years or more to collect. Not True! Although their algorithms to calculate your benefits remains an unsolved mystery, there’s no need to worry. You can get an estimate of what your future checks will look like by, creating a mySocialSecurity account. There you’ll find your estimated future benefit amount based on your real life earnings. It’s a site you’ll have to check out sooner or later, so why wait? Check it out now, it only takes a minute or two and fill in some basic information and you’ll open a portal of information available to you, and that’s to your benefit.

Of course, the longer you work the better the payout will be. If you are unable to work to your full retirement age, then hopefully your living situation will at least allow you to delay applying for benefits. Your full retirement age or FRA is your 67th birthday. If you were born prior to 1960, then your FRA is 66 and some months. You can choose to collect your Social Security earlier, as early as age 62. But, at that early stage your benefit will be reduced 30% and that unfortunately will be permanent. I have heard that some Social Security recipients receive cost of living increases, but that is nothing substantial, and will not make it worth retiring early. The best thing is to wait as long as possible before you apply for benefits. In the meantime, creating an online account now will let you see your benefits if you should choose to retire early. It will show you your benefit for each year you delay up to age 70. You may also need to replace a lost or damaged Social Security card. You can do all of this and more by simply signing up for your Social Security account today.

The best thing you can do, is to take good care of yourself, eat right, exercise and see your doctors regularly. A healthier you can make a wealthier you.

Be sure to check out the My Social Security Video below for more important information.