Social Security might be a buzzword among retirees, but this benefit won’t be in the cards for you if you retire in your fifties. That is, unless your spouse has already passed by this point and you’re entitled to survivor benefits. Those can begin as early as age 50 if you’re disabled, but you can receive benefits at any age if you’re providing care for minor or disabled children who belonged to your spouse who has passed. 

If neither of those situations applies to you, you’ll need to wait quite a while before recognizing your Social Security benefits. But before you leave the workforce, remember that Social Security takes the highest 35 years of your earnings in order to calculate your future benefits. If you haven’t put in that many years, a zero will be entered for each year below 35, which will drastically reduce your benefits. So be sure you’ve hit that mark before giving notice.

The earliest you can draw from Social Security is 62. But if you choose to do this, your benefits will be reduced for the rest of your life if you opt to start receiving benefits at such a young age. The “prime” time to start collecting Social Security benefits is what’s called “Full Retirement Age,” which for most people is between the ages of 66 and 67. Unless you’ve saved a great deal of money, it can be mind-boggling to think that if you retire at 50, you might have to wait a whopping 17 years before being able to add Social Security benefits to your monthly income. But electing at the earliest possible time - age 62 - will cause you to see a lifetime decrease in benefits by as much as 30% compared to electing at FRA. 

Retiring without benefits is difficult, but it’s not impossible. Short-term savings accounts, like CDs and money market accounts, can help you through the years before you’re able to start tapping into retirement accounts and Social Security benefits.