You can start drawing Social-Security benefits at age 62--four or five years before full retirement age. That sounds pretty sweet to many people--until they realize they’re locking in the smallest possible benefit, which could leave them short of funds if they live to a ripe old age.
Webster Phillips, with the advocacy group, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, explains. Check out the Delay and Gain website, including a calculatorto help people envision how claiming benefits at different ages could change their financial picture.
Then: What’s Maryland doing to help workers who don’t have a savings plan at work? Josh Gotbaum, a guest scholar with the Retirement Security Projectat the Brookings Institution, tells us about Maryland$aves.
