Historical February 1990 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Early retirement is growing in popularity. Part of the reason is that an increasing number of people are becoming eligible for a pension from their employer. Well over half of all non-farm workers are under a pension plan. Workers with above avenge earnings are especially likely to be eligible for a pension.
Here are some important facts you should know if you retire before age 62. First. age 62 is the earliest age you can get Social Security retirement checks. Second. your Social Security check may be smaller than you figured.
This is because benefits are based on your average lifetime earnings that were covered by Social Security. Five years of low earnings can be disregarded, but if you retire early a few years with no earnings will be averaged in, and that will lower your benefit. Third, you can lose insured status for disability benefits if you have a big gap in your earnings record. Recent work is a requirement for disability benefits.
In most cases, this means at least five years of work in the Social Security system during the ten years before onset of disability.
For more information about Social Security benefits and the effect that early retirement may have on them, call Social Security at 1-800-234-5772.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, February 1990.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1990_02.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 7.
