Social Security – Planning Your Retirement

Having a comfortable lifestyle in retirement is the goal for most people when they retire. Maintaining your existing lifestyle on less income can be challenging. In fact, figuring out how much income you'll need to retire on is a challenge in itself. 

If you're like most people, you might have either a 401k plan, an IRA, an annuity and possibly even a pension. Other popular sources of income in retirement include certificate of deposit accounts and reverse mortgages. Figuring out the monthly income for all sources might take professional help but figuring out your Social Security benefits is a snap.

Figuring out  how much your social security benefits will be is easy by using the Social Security Administrations' Retirement Planner. The planner includes a table to help you figure out at what age you can retire and if you retire early, how much your Social Security benefits will be reduced.

The Retirement Estimator will help you figure out how much Social Security benefits you will actually receive based on your actual Social Security earnings on record. Your earnings (in this case) are how much you have paid into Social Security over the years.

There are benefit calculators to figure out how much your potential Social Security benefits might be. These calculators give you a rough estimate of what your retirement benefits will be and are not based on your actual earnings record.

• Figure out your retirement age: Retirement Age Table
• Figure out how much your benefits will be based on your earnings on record: Retirement Estimator
• Figure out your retirement benefits based on future potential earnings: Benefit Calculators
• Retirement planner frequently asked questions: FAQ

Planning on working even when you reach retirement age? You do have the option to continue working even though you collect Social Security retirement benefits but your benefits will be reduced. Find out how much your retirement benefits will be reduced by here: Reduced Retirement Benefits.

If you're near retirement, you can start the process and apply for Social Security benefits online. Social Security Retirement Benefit Application. You can also call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 to schedule an appointment to apply in person.