Social Security is just one source of income in retirement for Wisconsin public school employees, but an important one to understand.
We encourage Wisconsin public school employees to consider three things for funding their retirement: Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), personal savings in a 403(b) and/or IRA, and Social Security.
Social Security can be complicated, and as a result, many people don’t have a full understanding of the choices they may have. Here are five facts about Social Security that are important to keep in mind.
- While WRS may likely be a main source of income for public school employees, Social Security is still an important source of retirement income for you as a public school employee.
- You can choose when you take Social Security. You may begin receiving benefits as early as age 62; however, your benefits will be reduced. The full retirement age is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. If you were born before 1960, your full retirement age will be reduced depending on the year in which you were born.
- Social Security may be taxable depending on your income and may have implications for whether you choose to work during retirement, how your assets are invested, and the timing of withdrawals from other retirement accounts.
- When you start receiving Social Security benefits, other family members may also be eligible for payments.
- If you are divorced, you may qualify for Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse’s work record.
If you’d like to do some break-even calculations or learn when and where to apply for Social Security, schedule a consultation with us.