What About Late Retirement?

Some people continue to work full time beyond their full retirement age and they don't sign up for Social Security until later. This delay in retirement can increase your Social Security benefit in two ways:

• Your extra income usually will increase your average earnings, and the higher your average earnings, the higher your Social Security benefit will be.

• People who delay retirement receive a special credit. This delayed retirement credit, is a percentage added to your Social Security benefit and varies depending on your date of birth.

  Year of Birth	Yearly Rate of Increase
  1917—1924	3.0%
  1925—1926	3.5%
  1927—1928	4.0%
  1929—1930	4.5%
  1931—1932	5.0%
  1933—1934	5.5%
  1935—1936	6.0%
  1937—1938	6.5%
  1939—1940	7.0%
  1941—1942	7.5%
  1943 or later	8.0%

  Note: Persons born on January 1 of any year should refer to the rate of increase for the previous year.

Here's An Important Point: If you decide to delay your retirement, be sure to sign up for Medicare at age 65. In some circumstances, medical insurance costs more if you delay applying for it.