Common Questions About Social Security Planning
Retirement is a complex journey. Social security is just one of the factors that must be taken into consideration when retirement planning. However, social security isn’t always an easy concept to understand, but it is critical in developing the right retirement/financial strategy for you. In this article, our Dallas retirement financial advisor will address some of the most common questions we receive about social security.
What Is Social Security?
Simply put, the social security program is a federal program put into place as a way to provide retirees with income to continue to support themselves.
How Do You Become Eligible For Social Security?
Many tend to believe that social security is a given when you retire, and although everyone can have social security, you only become eligible for it once you have earned 40 credits. Determining your eligibility is a must when developing your Dallas retirement planning strategy.
What Are Social Security Credits?
Credits are a measure taken into consideration when determining if you are eligible for social security. Every year that you work, you earn up to 4 credits, so you must work for at least 10 years in order to earn 40 credits, which is enough to qualify for social security benefits.
When Should You Claim Your Social Security Benefits?
In general, the longer you wait to claim your social security benefits, the more money you will receive every month once you retire. You can claim your benefits either a few years prior to retirement, or a few years after. The right time for you to retire and claim those benefits is known as the “break-even age” and can be calculated. When you want to determine the best age to claim your social security benefits, our Dallas financial planning company–which serves Colleyville and the Dallas/Fort Worth area–will be glad to assist.
What Determines Your Social Security Benefits
When our Fort Worth retirement financial advisors–which help clients in Dallas as well–assist in your retirement planning strategy, we are often asked about how much money you will get in Social Security. To determine your benefits, we utilize a formula that averages the income you earned from your 35 highest-earning years. If you’ve already earned your 40 credits, we can help estimate how much you will receive in social security.
Our Dallas/Fort Worth Retirement Financial Advisors Consider Your Social Security When Assisting In Your Retirement Planning
A lot of factors should be addressed when retirement planning. Social security is just one of them, but it is one of the main factors that our customers worry about. Our Colleyville financial planning team is available to assist and plan the retirement of your dreams. If you're ready to plan for retirement or have some other questions, please contact us.
