Texas-based financial advisor Christopher Fess leads Fess Financial and Life & Legacy Financial in Frisco. Possessing nearly three decades of experience in the finance industry, Christopher Fess regularly conducts financial seminars about all aspects of tax planning, retirement planning, and social security.
In the United States, the government’s Social Security program provides some protections to retired and disabled citizens. This program is made possible via the pooling of mandatory contributions from workers. As people work, a portion of their income goes toward this program and is paid out to eligible retirees and their families each month. According to the Social Security Administration, retirees in the US get $0.85 of every dollar given to Social Security, while disabled individuals get the remaining $0.15 of each dollar.
To determine eligibility, the program relies on the number of credits each person earned when working. For 2019, one credit was assigned for every $1,360 that a person earned. That person could earn up to four credits each year. Before an individual can collect Social Security, they must have 40 credits, amounting to about 10 years of full-time work. However, benefits are based on a person’s highest 35 years of average earnings. So if they worked for only 10 years, their highest average would still be low, thus resulting in low Social Security benefits.
It’s also important to note that people seeking their full retirement benefits from Social Security must wait until their are 67 years old, if they were born in 1960 or after. While it’s possible to collect early retirement benefits from Social Security starting at age 62, doing so will dramatically decrease a person’s monthly benefits.
Christopher Fess 