Social
Security
Social Security is an important part of your retirement income.
It will likely make up 25% to 30% of your monthly retirement
income and, therefore, should not be ignored.
The Trustees believe that you should plan on receiving Social
Security in retirement.
Predictions of doom and gloom with the Social Security trust fund will
not result in the total loss of Social Security benefits.
While some adjustment in the benefits may be likely in some
future year, such adjustments will likely be focused on the younger
workers and not those nearing retirement.
Plan on receiving your Social Security benefits for the rest of
your life.
You should find out about how much your Social Security benefit will
be. You can do this
online at the Social Security website using their benefit
“estimator”. See the
link below. One thing to
keep in mind is that the estimate they produce assumes you will
continue to make the same amount of money each year from now until
you turn age 62. If you
retire before that, your early retirement will cause your monthly
Social Security income to be somewhat lower in amount. You can also
contact your local Social Security office for help in estimating
your actual monthly income.
You will also want to consider your spouse’s social security income.
Typically, once your spouse reaches age 62, your spouse will
receive an additional benefit that is 50% of your benefit for a
total family income of ~150% of your benefit.
Your spouse’s benefit will be adjusted for your spouse’s age
when that benefit begins and may result in a benefit that is less
than 150% of the primary benefit.
Internal Links
Back to How much retirement
income do I need?
Back to Planning for Retirement
External Links