New Podcast Discusses When To Start Receiving Retirement Benefits

(January, 2009)

Have you been wondering when the best time is to retire? If you have, then we have an audio podcast just for you.

Social Security’s new podcast, "Deciding When to Start Receiving Retirement Benefits," is available for you to listen to now at www.socialsecurity.gov/podcasts.

In this discussion, Social Security will tell you some of the things you need to consider before making one of the most important decisions in your life. Social Security’s Deputy Commissioner for Communications, Jim Courtney and Jason Fichtner, the Acting Deputy Commissioner of the agency, explore the factors to be considered when you think about when to retire.

"There is no one 'best age' for everyone," explains Fichtner in the podcast. "Ultimately, it's a personal choice that people have to make based on their individual circumstances."

The podcast encourages listeners to use Social Security's online Retirement Estimator, which you can find online at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator. The Retirement Estimator can help you "try on" different retirement scenarios, playing with such variables as when you'd like to retire and how much you expect to earn in future working years.

So stop wondering when the best time is for you to retire. Your first step to figuring out the answer to that question is to visit www.socialsecurity.gov/podcasts and to listen to "Deciding When to Start Receiving Retirement Benefits."

Then, you'll want to subscribe to the ongoing series, or bookmark the web address and check back for additional podcasts.

To learn more about Social Security, visit the website at www.socialsecurity.gov.

Ginny Jordan is a Public Affairs Specialist for the Social Security Administration. Her weekly column on all things Social Security appears in the Sunday Edition of the Sun-Sentinel.

Ginny has agreed to let us reprint her articles here for your convenience.

Thank you Ginny!