In this informative chat, Deanne Rosso and Clarke Holt from Elevate Wealth Advisory break down the key details of when you can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits. Whether you're considering claiming benefits at age 62 or waiting until age 70 for increased payments, Clarke provides clear examples and expert advice to help you make the best decision for your financial future. Don't miss out on understanding how timing can impact your benefits!

When can I receive my Social Security benefit? Hi, I'm Deanne Rosso, and today we'll explore this question on Elevate Wealth. I'm here once again with my colleague Clarke Holt. Hi, Clarke. Clarke, this seems to be a really popular question that we get from our clients, which is, When CAN I begin to receive my Social Security benefit? You can receive a reduced benefit amount as early as age 62. Okay. However, you can receive your full benefit amount at full retirement age, or what's called FRA, and that's ages 66 to 67. Okay, and that's like a sliding scale, right, because if you were born, I think it's 1955 to 1959, your full retirement age is 66 and some months. Right. Okay. But there's more. You can also delay taking your benefit up to age 70. Okay, why would somebody want to delay? So you get an 8% increase, per year, for every year you wait up until age 70, but it doesn't pay to go beyond 70. Okay. So, for example, if you're 67 years old and that's your full retirement age, and your full retirement amount benefit is $2,000 for example if you take that at 62, it's actually $1,400 so you get a $600 reduction. If you wait until 70, the amount jumps to $2,500. So if you look at the difference between taking early at 62 and taking at 70, it's about $13,000 a year. Wow, that's a big difference. And we don't often think about that. I read somewhere that there's potentially $3.4 trillion that's left on the table by folks who don't make the right timing decision with Social Security. So do you know anyone who's done that, who's waited? There have been people that wait, and it really has a big impact on their financial lives. Wow, that's awesome. Well, thank you, Clarke, that's so helpful, as always, and remember, if you need help deciding when to claim your Social Security benefit, we're here. Visit elevate-wealth.com and click "Let's talk." See you next time!