A lot of people opt to wait until their mid- or late 60s to retire. But you may have your reasons for wanting to wrap up your career a bit sooner. Maybe you’re burned out and can’t stand the daily commute. Or maybe you want to optimize good health.
Before you forge forward with your plans, consider these advantages of delaying retirement by a year if you’re under 65.
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1. You can grow your Social Security benefits
You’re allowed to start collecting Social Security once you turn 62. But if you don’t wait until full retirement age to sign up, your benefits will be reduced on a permanent basis. Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
Now, you may not be able to hold off on claiming benefits until full retirement age. But if you’re under 65, each year you wait to file leads to larger monthly Social Security checks for life. So if you delay retirement one year, you may be able to put off your Social Security claim for an extra year.
2. You can give your savings an extra boost
There may only be so much money you can add to your IRA or 401(k) over a 12-month period. But even if you don’t add a dime, waiting a year to retire and leaving your savings untapped during that time could go a long way.
Let’s say you have a $1 million nest egg that’s invested conservatively. Even if you don’t add to your savings, if it grows 5% in the year you wait on retirement and don’t take withdrawals, you can set yourself up with an extra $50,000.
3. You can help bridge the Medicare gap
Medicare eligibility generally starts at age 65. If you’re retiring sooner, you’ll need to figure out health insurance. And that could get very expensive.
If you delay retirement by a year, it could mean having 12 fewer months to pay for health coverage out of pocket. That alone could save you a bundle, even if you still end up retiring before you’re able to get onto Medicare.
It’s natural to want to stick to your preferred retirement date once you establish it in your head. But waiting an extra year to exit the workforce for good could really work to your benefit. So if you’re on the fence at all, think about the fact that working just a bit longer could lead to larger monthly Social Security checks, more savings, and fewer health insurance premium costs ahead of Medicare.
