Are you wondering if there’s any impact on taking early retirement benefits on your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) case?
My name is Kaitlin Wildoner and I’m an attorney who helps disabled clients obtain their disability benefits as quickly as possible so they can focus on getting better.
Today we’re going to be talking about early retirement benefits with an active Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) case, not Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Social Security retirement benefits and SSDI benefits are two separate programs but there are some important considerations you need to keep in mind when making a decision.
First, let’s talk about what taking early retirement benefits means. You can start receiving early Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but you would receive a reduced amount compared to what you would receive if you waited for full retirement age, which is currently 66 or 67 (depending on when you were born). If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67.
Taking early retirement at age 62 would mean your early retirement benefit will be reduced by about 30 percent compared to what you would receive at full retirement age. This means if you were supposed to receive $1,000 per month at full retirement age, but you opt for early retirement at age 62, your retirement benefit would be reduced to $700 per month. That reduction is going to stay with you for the duration of your retirement benefits. Therefore, instead of being able to receive $1,000 per month in retirement benefits, you are only eligible to receive $700 a month in retirement benefits as a penalty for taking early retirement benefits.
However, if you are found disabled before choosing to take early retirement, that permanent reduction in retirement benefits wouldn’t take place. Instead, you would receive SSDI benefits and upon reaching retirement age, your SSDI benefits would be converted to Social Security retirement benefits.
Whether you opt to take early retirement benefits while waiting for your SSDI decision is up to you, but know that if you are ultimately denied the SSDI benefits, the early retirement amount you receive will remain indefinitely (though you will be eligible for annual cost of living increases).
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