9 out of 10 65 years old citizens or older get a social Security check
When a United States citizen reaches age 62, he or she may apply for a retirement payment from Social Security. This is the case if he/she meets certain other requirements. But the main requirement is to reach the age of 62 having worked for a minimum of 10 years.
If these two requirements are met, the retiree can apply for a check and thus receive a monthly benefit. Although it is not advisable to do it this way because we get a very small Social Security, some citizens have no other option.
However, waiting a little longer, until the age of 65 or so, could give us a better benefit. And that is why most citizens over 65 do have their Social Security check accepted.
Even so, there are some citizens who do not get their payment until much later. All of this will depend on each person’s individual situation, but what is certain is that age 65 is a good time to start claiming monthly Social Security.
Age 65 is a key age to apply for Social Security
For most citizens over 65, according to official Social Security data, the main source of income is a retirement check. Nearly 90% of Americans 65 and older are collecting a retirement check today.
This does not mean that the money they get is only from Social Security. The usual thing is to have some other source of income. In this case, retirement money represents about 30% for these 65+ beneficiaries.
If we talk about figures between men and women, male retirees over 65 get 50% or more of their income in 37% of the cases. For women, the percentage is 42% of this group who get half of their income through Social Security.
Finally, 12% of men over 65 years of age collect 90% of their income through retirement. For women, this percentage is 15%. Therefore, for thousands of Americans, the Social Security check is a fundamental part of their finances.
Applying for Social Security payments at age 62 in this year 2024 can award a check of $2,710 a month. If we wait until age 70 we could reach $4,873, although that is the maximum figure. At age 65 it will all depend on our record, but the amount will not be as large as the maximum payment unless we plan ahead for retirement.