(Deming) – Social Security retirement benefits currently provide Luna County residents with over $59.1 million annually – or 7.6% of the county’s total personal income.
Figures from 2012 show 5,045 Luna County residents received retirement benefits from the federal system. The average Luna County resident received $976 a month in December of that year.
Also, 2,989 Luna County residents – or 11.9% of the population – are aged 55-64. Those are the years when folks start thinking seriously about retirement.
But those same residents nearing retirement age can increase their lifetime income if they wait to start drawing Social Security benefits.
A nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC, is encouraging people to consider delaying drawing benefits.
Virginia Reno with the National Academy of Social Insurance said waiting even a year or two can make a big difference in the long run because the extra benefits are there for life.
Payments increase by 5-7% for each year of delay between ages 62 and 66, and 8% for each year of delay between ages 66 and 70. The increases stop at age 70.
So, someone who can wait until age 70 to take Social Security will be rewarded with a lifetime monthly benefit that is 76% higher than if taken at age 62.
Reno added that residents of nonmetropolitan areas like Luna County may have a harder time delaying their retirement because jobs are not as available, and jobs that are available tend to pay less.
Figures from 2012 show 5,045 Luna County residents received retirement benefits from the federal system. The average Luna County resident received $976 a month in December of that year.
Also, 2,989 Luna County residents – or 11.9% of the population – are aged 55-64. Those are the years when folks start thinking seriously about retirement.
But those same residents nearing retirement age can increase their lifetime income if they wait to start drawing Social Security benefits.
A nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC, is encouraging people to consider delaying drawing benefits.
Virginia Reno with the National Academy of Social Insurance said waiting even a year or two can make a big difference in the long run because the extra benefits are there for life.
Payments increase by 5-7% for each year of delay between ages 62 and 66, and 8% for each year of delay between ages 66 and 70. The increases stop at age 70.
So, someone who can wait until age 70 to take Social Security will be rewarded with a lifetime monthly benefit that is 76% higher than if taken at age 62.
Reno added that residents of nonmetropolitan areas like Luna County may have a harder time delaying their retirement because jobs are not as available, and jobs that are available tend to pay less.
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