The sooner you get started planning for your retirement the better. When you speak with people who seem to have “all their ducks in a row” they will usually tell you that they have it easy as retirees because they had the foresight to plan ahead early in their lives. If you want to get started but are uncertain about where to begin you may want to arrange for a consultation with an elder law attorney who will help you to structure a personalized plan that leads to the fruition of your retirement vision.
Depending on the specific nature of your objectives and the financial capabilities of the individual involved, the exact details of each retirement plan will vary. But there is one constant that is the foundational source of retirement income for many individuals: Social Security. As the baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age some 10,000 new applicants for Social Security are emerging each and every day, and this is expected to continue for the next 20 years. So right around now a lot of people have questions about Social Security eligibility.
Your full retirement age in the eyes of the IRS varies slightly depending on when you were born. For people born between 1943 and 1954 the full retirement age is 66. For those born in 1960 and after your full retirement age will be 67. You can, however, apply for Social Security when you are 62 years of age but you would receive a reduced benefit.
On the other end of the spectrum, you can wait until you’re 70 and receive delayed retirement credits that would increase the amount of your monthly benefits. When it comes to health care, regardless of when you were born you qualify for Medicaid when you reach the age of 65.
The United States Social Security Administration website has some extremely useful tools and a plethora of information that can answer all your questions about Social Security benefits and eligibility. In fact you can even apply for Social Security benefits through their website: SocialSecurity.gov.
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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