Retirement Terms & Concepts
Social Security Planning

An application that needs to be filled out and signed with the Social Security Administration in order to receive Social Security benefits. These benefits include Retirement, Medicare, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Disability, or spouse's benefits.

A monthly average that's found by taking up to the 35 highest earning years adjusted for historical wage growth, then dividing that by 12 months. This is a key part of determining your Social Security benefit calculation.

Verbatim from ssa.gov

• Spouse if he or she is at least 62 years old (or any age but caring for an entitled child of the deceased spouse under age 16 or disabled) or who is over age 16 and disabled before age 22.

• Children if they are unmarried and under age 18, or under age 19 and a full-time elementary or secondary student.

• Children age 18 or older but who were disabled before age 22.

• Ex-spouses age 62 or older.

Verbatim from ssa.gov

Some benefits are reduced depending on when you begin receiving them.

• Retirement benefits at age 62 through the month before your reach Full Retirement Age;

• Spouse’s benefits at age 62 through the month before you reach full retirement age, provided there is no child of your spouse either under age 16 or disabled and entitled to benefits on your spouse’s record in your care.

• Widow's or widower's benefits beginning at any time from age 60, or age 50 if you are disabled, through the month before you reach your full retirement age.

• Widow's or widower's benefits, if your spouse received a retirement benefit before their full retirement age.

• Disability benefits received after a reduced retirement benefit.

• Retirement or disability benefits received after a reduced widow's or widower's benefit. This applies only if you were born before 1928.

An increase in Social Security benefits based off of inflation.

An index prepared by the U.s. department of labor that tracks inflation for certain goods and services. This index is used to set cost of living adjustments (COLA) for Social Security benefits.

The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax is what funds Social Security and Medicare programs.

Social security retirement benefits can be taken as early as age 62. Based on how many months prior your full retirement age, these benefits will be permanently lowered.

Credits received when delaying social security benefits beyond your full retirement age. These credits increase your benefits by a certain percentage the longer you wait. These credits stop accumulating at age 70, whereby no further increase in benefits can be obtained by further delay.