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Social Security: Its role in your retirement

Three generations of Americans have counted on Social Security as a primary source of retirement income.

Before you rush to get your benefits, State Farm® encourages everyone to make an informed decision. Know your full retirement age and closely evaluate potential scenarios. For example, if you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67. If you expect to live to be at least 82 1/2, it makes financial sense to delay drawing benefits until age 70. At that age, you would receive 124 percent of your benefit, as opposed to 100 percent at age 67 or 70 percent at age 62.

It is important to develop a retirement plan that does not rely solely on Social Security. A suggested approach is:

  1. Calculate your estimated Social Security retirement benefit at ssa.gov.
  2. Calculate how much you will receive from other income sources, including pensions, 401ks, IRAs and other investments.
  3. Determine how much income you will need to maintain your desired retirement lifestyle. Be sure to account for discretionary expenses, such as hobbies, travel and special events
  4. Calculate the difference between the amount needed for your desired retirement lifestyle and your projected retirement income. Devise a savings plan to cover some or all of the shortfall. If you are over 50, you can make annual catch-up contributions to your workplace retirement plan and/or IRA.

Disclosures

Neither State Farm® nor its agents provide tax or legal advice.

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