I am about to turn age 62 and am unable to work, should I take my age 62
benefits now? Does this keep me from receiving Social Security Disability benefits?
Deciding whether or not to take early Social Security retirement benefits
at age 62 is a difficult financial decision. The tradeoff for receiving
early benefits is that you could receive a permanent reduction in your
benefits of around 25%. Depending on your financial situation and life
expectancy, this may or may not be a desirable option for you. For a good
discussion on this, see
this article from Charles Schawb.
However, many people are forced into retirement before they planned. A
major health problem or sudden job loss can quickly eat through your savings
and leave you with no other source of income. For individuals close to
retirement and no longer able to work because of health issues, there
is a great deal of confusion as to the best course of action. A common
concern that I encounter from people filing for disability in their 60s
is whether taking early retirement benefits will hurt their disability claim.
The good news is that you can draw your age 62 retirement benefits while
also putting in a claim for disability. If your disability claim is successful,
your monthly benefits will be raised to the higher disability rate. Unfortunately,
you are not allowed to “double dip,” and the Social Security
Administration only allows you to draw the larger of the two benefits.
The one potential downside to filing is that you could be permanently
locked in to your age 62 benefits if your disability claim is unsuccessful.
To determine whether you have a case that is ultimately likely to be approved,
please contact the
attorneys of Donati Law. The lawyers at Donati Law are well-versed in the area of
Social Security disability law
and can help you figure out how to maximize your Social Security disability benefits.
