How to Plan Your Future by:Manuel Salvacion

Living a secure, comfortable future can be achieved if you plan your retirement

. And how do you plan a retirement?

First, you must earn the necessary credits or the equivalent of years of work to be able to qualify for retirement benefits. The benefits payments that you will receive will depend on the credits you earned and on your birth date. Hence, if you were born in 1929 or later, you will need 40 credits or the equivalent of 10 years work to avail of retirement benefits.

There are things to consider that can help you prepare your retirement plan:

Retirement age - Finding your retirement age will help you determine the benefits that you can qualify.

Calculate your benefits - Through the social security retirement planner, you can make use of the benefits calculator to compare different retirement ages and their future earnings amounts. The retirement planner will also help you determine which family member may get benefits based on your earnings.

Discover your options - Knowing what your choices are will help you decide on what retirement options to take. If you retire early and still plan to continue working, your benefits will increase.

Health condition - Knowing your health condition will help you decide when to start your benefits. It will also help you prepare for your medical needs through Medicare.

Deciding When to Retire

Choosing the date of your retirement is a personal matter. But after considering your options, it is still best to contact the social security office to know when the best time to retire is. The social security agency will be able to tell you in advance which month is best to claim benefits.

It will be more favorable to you to have benefit payments start in January when many people receive the most benefits possible. On the other hand, it is also advisable to have benefits start three months before your planned retirement. But in most cases, it is best to take the advice of a social security claims representative regarding the matter.

When applying for your benefit claims, you will need the information from the following documents:

1. your social security number and birth certificate

2. the W-2 forms or self-employment tax return for last year

3. your military discharge paper if you had military service

4. your spouse's birth certificate and social security number

5. your children's social security number and birth certificates

6. proof of US citizenship or lawful alien status

the name of your bank and your account number.

About the author

Know more about the social security laws through our Los Angeles Social Security Lawyers at http://www.mesrianilaw.com/Social-Security.html

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