【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, May 5, 2022. 】In the United States, many people are eagerly looking forward to the day when they can stop working, officially become a "retiree", and no longer need to work in order to enjoy life with retirement savings and benefits. ( Retirement financing must be deployed ahead of time in order to accumulate wealth. Credit : iStock)

However, at what age do you plan to retire? Everyone has their own calculations.

Surveys show that the average age people want to retire is 62, which is exactly the age at which they can legally start applying for Social Security retirement benefits.

However, it should be noted that 62 is the legal starting age for "starting receiving" Social Security benefits, but not the "full retirement age". The period from "starting receiving" to "full retirement age" is considered If you receive social security in advance, the benefits you receive will be discounted. If you wait until the full retirement age to apply, it is usually estimated to be 66 or 67 years old according to the date of birth, and then you will receive all benefits. Benefits increase by 8% each year after full retirement age.

There seems to be a trend to encourage delayed retirement.

The House of Representatives recently approved a retirement bill that would raise the minimum withdrawal age for certain savings accounts to 75 from the current 72, and once passed by the Senate, would be phased in by 2032.

The Congressional proposal reflects the fact that many people today are healthier, less Longevity and longer working hours.

Warsowski believes that trends in work and longevity should be further applied to the entire tax code and government programs to raise the official age of the welfare system, including Social Security.

There are currently no changes to the Social Security program.

Shai Akabas, director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said the issue is so sensitive that it has been and will continue to be a political red line that no one dares to touch lightly.

But refraining from talking about it doesn't mean there's no urgency to the issue.

The Social Security Administration's trust fund to pay Social Security benefits is expected to run out by 2034, when the agency said last year it would only be able to pay 78% of its original commitment.

To enforce Social Security, lawmakers have responded by increasing the tax on benefits, raising the payroll tax or extending the retirement age, and any changes could include a combination of these three options.

Social Security advocates are staunchly opposed to extending the retirement age for the Social Security program.

Joe Elsasser, founder and president of Covisum, which provides Social Security claims software, believes raising the full retirement age is simply a benefit cut.

In fact, the Social Security retirement age was adjusted before. The most recent, when President Ronald Reagan took office in 1983, raised the full retirement age from 65 to 67, which is still being phased in.

Elsather noted that raising the full retirement age from 65 to 66 would reduce benefits by 5 percent.

Many experts predict that any future policy changes could push up the Social Security retirement age. Rarely, the Social Security 2100 Act: A Sacred Trust, introduced last year by Rep. John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat, maintains the existing age threshold, and some benefits even increase. Generous, but the legislation has a five-year deadline.

The Social Security Administration is evaluating the possible financial impact of other proposals to change the retirement age threshold.

Acabbas predicts that, soon, Congress will reach a consensus on the social security package plan, which includes adjusting the retirement age, maybe two or ten years, it is difficult to predict.

Experts estimate that the full retirement age will be raised by 1 or 2 years, which may be implemented in stages.

Legislators may also raise the starting age for claiming retirement benefits and the age at which they begin to claim retirement benefits on an annual basis from 62 and 70, respectively.

How to plan social security benefits?

In 2000, the average retirement age was about 61 or 62, and the government estimates that 20 years later, the average retirement age will be extended to about 66; people are really working longer, Warsowski said.

Another peculiar phenomenon, Elsather said, is that as the job outlook changes, more and more people are retiring early.

As the statutory retirement age for social welfare is delayed and people tend to retire early, planning in advance is even more important. Only by making arrangements in advance can we predict what will happen after retirement. But then again, the social security system can change at any time and it is difficult to plan ahead.

Elsather said people who have reached the age of 60 basically don't have to worry about unexpected changes affecting benefits, and people between the ages of 45 and 60 can reasonably expect retirement benefits to be reduced by about 5%. Estimated reduction of 10% to 15%.

Regardless of age, a 24% reduction in retirement benefits is unlikely, assuming that paid-in benefits are only a fraction of what they would have been.

According to Elsather, the point of planning ahead is to make sure there is enough money to cover basic expenses in retirement.

(Source: Information Compiled from the Web)

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