Social Security can be confusing to those who want to start receiving payments or just in general. People tend to believe what others are telling them, which often times leads them to believe things that are not true. When talking about Social Security, what you don’t know can cost you some serious cash.
Here are some common Social Security myths that we’re going to debunk for you.
- You retire at 65. Years ago, retiring at age 65 was the normal age in which to do so. Times have changed, and the retirement age has been increased. If you want to get full Social Security benefits, you should wait until 66 or 67, depending on if you were born before or after 1960. That is what’s called “full retirement age”.
- You can still work and collect benefits. If you’re not at “full retirement age” and you still work while you collect Social Security benefits, your benefits will be reduced for the time being. The SSA (Social Security Administration) uses a retirement earnings test to determine what your benefits will be reduced to.
- You can’t get Social Security if you’ve never worked. This is not true. You can get spousal benefits. Even if you haven’t ever paid into social security, you can even get up to one half of what your spouse’s full retirement benefits are.