You probably already know Social Security's so-called full retirement age (FRA) for anyone born in or after 1960 is 67 years old. You may also know, however, that you aren't required to wait that long before filing for the program's retirement benefits. You can claim as soon as you reach 62 years of age.
Doing so will simply reduce your monthly payment by up to 30% less than what you would have received by waiting until you turn 67. And this begs the question: What's the biggest possible Social Security benefit for those who file in the very same month they turn 62? And for that matter, how does one max out this payment?
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Continue » First things first. This year's maximum possible monthly Social Security payment for 62-year-olds is $2,969, versus $4,152 for anyone claiming at their official full retirement age. For anyone waiting until they turn 70, by the way, the payment tops out at $5,181 per month.
The key to collecting any of these maximum amounts at these respective ages is the same, though. That is, you must work a lot of years and earn an above-average income in all of them. The minimum number of work years is 35, although earning taxable wages in more than 35 won't necessarily help.
For the purpose of determining the size of your monthly retirement benefit, the Social Security Administration looks at your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for inflation. The more total Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes you pay into the program, the more you get back when you finally claim. But you didn't work 35 years, or you know you're not going to?
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