For many people, their dream is to maximize retirement benefits. However, this isn’t always easy.
The decision to delay retirement is often based on the desire to increase Social Security benefits. After all, the longer you wait, the higher your payment will be.
But for some people, waiting is difficult. This is because they have demanding jobs or health issues that make it very difficult to hold out until the full retirement age. For these seniors, working in their 60s and 70s is a very challenging task. Luckily, some ideas are in discussion to help this group.
Helpful Ideas to Make it Easier to Retire
Some older workers have a real desire to wait until the full retirement age to claim their benefits. But their health and financial struggles make that last decade of waiting seem like an eternity.
As outlined by CNBC and the National Academy of Social Insurance, several ideas are on the table to support older workers and make it easier for them to delay retirement.
The first option is a bridge benefit. By providing a partial payment for seniors starting at age 62, this solution would provide added financial stability so seniors could retire earlier and see their benefits increase over time. There’s also an idea to offer partial benefits to seniors working reduced hours, so they could ease their way out of the workforce.
Another option is to raise the minimum benefit. This would make it more feasible to take retirement earlier, because seniors wouldn’t be losing out on as much money. The earnings test itself could also be reworked, allowing for seniors to increase their earnings by having less money withheld based on when they choose to retire.
What do you think of these ideas? Would they help you retire easier? What other solutions could be used for seniors in the workforce who can’t wait until the full retirement age?