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Your Retirement Checklist
Your Retirement Checklist
Contents
What you should know before you apply 1
If you have a special claiming situation 2
Additional things you should think about 3
Contacting Social Security 4
At Social Security, we’re often asked, “What’s
the best age to start receiving retirement
benets?” The answer is that there’s not a
single “best” age for everyone and, ultimately,
it’s your choice. The most important thing
is to make an informed decision. Base your
decision about when to apply for benets on
your individual and family circumstances. We
hope the following information will help you
understand how we t into your retirement
decision.
What you should know before
you apply
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What does “retirement” mean?
For us, retiring means getting your Social
Security retirement benet. It might mean
that you’ve also stopped working. However,
these two things don’t need to happen at the
same time. For example, you have the option
of delaying your monthly benet even after
you stop working. Delaying your benet will
increase your monthly benet amount. (See
below.)
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Yourbenetsarebasedonyourentire
earningshistory
Do you know how your benet is calculated?
Your monthly benet amount is based on
your highest 35 years of earnings. If you don’t
have 35 years of earnings, your monthly
benet will be reduced, because years with
no earnings will count as zeros. Learn your
estimated monthly benet amount by reading
your Social Security Statement (Statement) at
www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
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Yourmonthlybenetishigherifyou
wait to start
When should you start your retirement
benet? You can start receiving benets as
early as age 62. However, the longer you
wait (up to age 70), the higher your monthly
benet will be — for the rest of your life. If
you’re married and you’re the higher earner,
delaying your benet may also mean higher
survivor benets for your spouse when you
pass away. You can see the effect of starting
your monthly benets at different ages by
using the estimator in the Plan for Retirement
section in your personal my Social Security
account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. For
more information on how delaying retirement
increases your monthly benet, read our
publication, When to Start Receiving
Retirement Benets (Publication No. 05-
10147).
SSA.gov
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Your Retirement Checklist
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Yourfullretirementagemaybehigher
thanyouthink
Your “full retirement age” is determined by
the year you were born. The retirement age
used to be 65 for everyone, but is gradually
increasing to 67. As the full retirement age
goes up, benets claimed at earlier ages go
down. Find out your full retirement age at
https://www.ssa.gov/benets/retirement/
planner/ageincrease.html.
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Yourbenetsmaybetemporarilyreduced
ifyouworkwhilereceivingbenets
Working after you start receiving retirement
benets may affect your monthly benet
amount, depending on your age and how
much you earn. If you are younger than
your full retirement age, and your earnings
exceed certain dollar amounts, some of your
monthly benet may be withheld. We will
increase your monthly benet after you reach
full retirement age to account for the months
of withheld benets. When you reach your
full retirement age, you can work and earn
as much as you want and your benet will
not be affected. Find more information at
www.ssa.gov/benets/retirement/planner/
whileworking.html.
Working can also increase your monthly
benet amount because benets are based
on your highest 35 years of earnings. If your
current or future earnings are higher than
one of the years we used to compute your
retirement benet, your benet amount may
increase slightly.
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Yourbenetsmaybetaxed
Some people have to pay federal income
taxes on part of their Social Security benets.
This usually happens only if you have other
substantial income (e.g. wages, interest, or
dividends) in addition to your benets. Learn
more at www.ssa.gov/benets/retirement/
planner/taxes.html.
If you have a special claiming situation
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Youmaybeeligibleforspousalbenets
You may be eligible for benets based on the
earnings record of your spouse or ex-spouse
(if you were married for 10 years or longer).
Generally, you can receive up to half of your
spouse’s or ex-spouse’s full retirement age
monthly benet amount, as a widow(er) or
surviving divorced spouse, you can receive
more than that. However, if you are eligible
for both your own benets and spousal
benets, you will only receive the higher of
the two benet amounts.
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Yourfamilymembersmaybeeligiblefor
benets
Your spouse, child, or ex-spouse (if you were
married for 10 years or longer) may receive
a monthly payment of up to one-half of your
full retirement age monthly benet amount.
Your survivors can receive more than that.
Learn more about benets for your family at
www.ssa.gov/benets/retirement/planner/
applying7.html, and survivors benets at
www.ssa.gov/benets/survivors/.
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Youhaveadditionalbenetchoicesifyou
are widowed and retired
If you are eligible for both your own retirement
benet and a survivor benet based on
a deceased spouse’s or deceased ex-
spouse’s record, you have additional options
to consider. You may want to apply for one
benet and delay applying for the other
benet to let it grow. When you apply for
benets, ask the representative if you can
receive one benet and delay the other to
increase its value.
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Youcanreceivebenetsifyouarea
citizenorlawfullypresentnoncitizen
If are legally present in the country and you
and your employers have contributed to
Social Security during your working years,
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Your Retirement Checklist
you may be eligible for benets. Visit www.
ssa.gov/benets/retirement/planner/
applying5.html for more information.
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Yourbenetmaybereducedifyouworked
injobsnotcoveredbySocialSecurity
If you worked in a job where you didn’t pay
Social Security taxes, and you are now
receiving a retirement or disability pension
based on those earnings, your Social Security
benet may be affected. Learn more at www.
ssa.gov/benets/retirement/planner/gpo-
wep.html.
Additional things you should
think about
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Yourlongevityandhealth
Retirement may be longer than you think.
As you consider when to begin receiving
retirement benets, take into account how
long you might live. Today, more than one in
three 65-year-olds will live to age 90. You can
use our Life Expectancy Calculator to see the
average life expectancy for someone your
age — but keep in mind that many people
live longer than “average.” Social Security
benets last as long as you live, providing
valuable protection against outliving savings
and other sources of retirement income.
Delaying your benet to let it grow is one
way to increase your monthly Social Security
protection.
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Retroactivebenets
If you are past your full retirement age when
you apply for benets, you can choose
to receive up to six months of retroactive
monthly benets. However, using this option
changes the start of your benet to an earlier
date. Remember that by choosing to start your
benet earlier, your monthly benet amount
will be lower for the rest of your life. Your
spouse’s survivor benets may also be lower.
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SigningupforMedicare
Consider whether you need to apply for
Medicare at age 65, even if you aren’t
applying for monthly retirement benets.
If you have already started receiving your
retirement benets, you will be automatically
enrolled in Medicare when you turn 65.
Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) is
free for most people, and Medicare Part
B (Medical Insurance) requires a monthly
premium. Generally, if you have not already
started receiving retirement benets, you will
want to sign up for Medicare three months
before turning age 65. This is unless you
have group health coverage through a current
employer.
NOTE: If you don’t have group health
coverage through a current employer and
you don’t sign up for Medicare Part B when
rst eligible, then you may have to pay a late
enrollment penalty for as long as you have
Part B. Also, you may have to wait to enroll,
which will delay this coverage.
If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA)
when you sign up for Medicare, you can’t
contribute to your HSA once your Medicare
coverage begins. Premium-free Part A
coverage may begin up to six months before
the date you apply for Medicare or Social
Security or Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)
benets. Coverage can begin no earlier than
the rst month you were eligible for Medicare.
If you contribute to your HSA after your
Medicare coverage starts, you may have to
pay a tax penalty. If you’re thinking about
signing up for Medicare and would like to
continue contributing to your HSA, talk with
your personnel ofce or insurance company
to nd out how signing up may affect you.
Learn more at www.ssa.gov/medicare or
www.medicare.gov.
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Applyingforyourbenets
Once you have decided when you want to
start receiving your monthly Social Security
benet, you can apply up to four months
before the date you want your benets to
start. Visit www.ssa.gov/retire to apply.
For more information, read our publication,
When to Start Receiving Retirement Benets
(Publication No. 05-10147) and visit the
Retirement Portal.
Contacting Social Security
The most convenient way to do business with
us is to visit www.ssa.gov to get information
and use our online services. There are several
things you can do online: apply for benets; get
useful information; nd publications; and get
answers to frequently asked questions.
Or, you can call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213
or at 1-800-325-0778 (TTY) if you’re deaf or
hard of hearing. We can answer your call from
8 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays. You can also use
our automated services via telephone, 24
hours a day, so you do not need to speak with
a representative. We look forward to serving
you. Waittimestospeaktoarepresentative
aretypicallyshorterWednesdaysthrough
Fridaysorlaterintheday.
SocialSecurityAdministration
Publication No. 05-10377
January 2022 (Recycle prior editions)
Your Retirement Checklist
Produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense