In Hard Economy for All Ages, Older Isn’t Better ... It’s Brutal
The share of older people applying for Social Security early spiked during the recession as people sought whatever income they could find. The penalty they will pay is permanent, as retirees who take benefits at age 62 — as Ms. Zimmerman did, to help make her mortgage payments — will receive 30 percent less in each month’s check for the rest of their lives than they would if they had waited until full retirement age (66 for those born after 1942).This is the situation my mother is in. She lost her job and was drawing unemployment as well as social security at the same time for awhile. She's just going to turn 66 this year, so her early draw has penalised her income, but was sorely needed when the bottom of the oeconomy fell out from under her.
I worry about age discrimination even at my age (I'm going to turn 46 soon), but for people my mother's age, it's pretty much a given, and so hard to prove. I worry about the same thing happening to me. Even if I am able to work until the age necessary, and even if social security is still around (big ifs), I have to work till 70 to receive my full benefits. I'm doing what I supposed to be doing--paying into retirement, paying into social security and Medicare, but you know, so did they. So it's a little scary, especially as I have two years left to find a job (with benefits--I have to health insurance due to my diabetes) before my job ends.