Everyone’s path to retirement looks a little different, but there are several milestones that most workers experience. You turn 50 and you become eligible to make catch-up contributions to your retirement accounts. When you reach 59 1/2, you can make penalty-free retirement withdrawals. And when you turn 62, you become eligible for Social Security.
At least that’s how things have been for a long time. But the government might wind up moving the goalposts on that last one within the next few years. Here’s why.
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The baby boomers retiring has posed an enormous challenge for Social Security. It’s led to more beneficiaries than ever, and since younger generations have been smaller, there are fewer workers paying into the program than there used to be. So far, the government’s been able to continue paying all scheduled benefits only by tapping the program’s trust funds. But they’re running out.
The latest estimates