Deposit for Social Security is not a decision to be taken lightly. While your benefits themselves are calculated based on your average monthly salary, adjusted for inflation, during your 35 best-paid years in the workforce, the age at which you report will also dictate how much of money you will receive from the program each month.

Now that 2021 is moving forward, you may be wondering if this is the right year to sign up for benefits. Here’s what you need to know.

You can claim benefits if you were born in 1959

The earliest you can register for social security is 62 years old. Incidentally, this is the most popular age to apply for benefits. But there’s a downside to filing at age 62 – you’ll be lowering your monthly payments for life.

You are only entitled to your full monthly Social Security allowance based on your salary history once you reach full retirement age, or FRA. FRA is based on your year of birth, as follows:

Data source: Social security administration.

As you can see, if you were born in 1959, your FRA is 66 and 10 months. If you claim your benefits at age 62, you reduce them by almost 30% for life. And it’s a success you might not be able to afford.

You may want to drop off if you were born in 1955

For anyone born in 1955, FRA is 66 years and two months old. If you are coming to FRA this year, it might be a good time to apply for benefits. Having said that, you don’t have file a social security claim as soon as you reach FRA. Instead, you can choose to defer your benefits until age 70, and for each year you do, you will increase them by 8%. This increase will then belong to you permanently.

You should not delay your filing if you were born in 1951

If you were born in 1951 and are therefore 70 this year, and you have not yet claimed Social Security, you should definitely plan to do so. While delaying your deposit until age 70 makes sense, once you turn 70 your benefits don’t increase any more. As such, there is no financial incentive to delay further, and if you wait too long, you could end up losing money that should be yours.

If you’ve already turned 70 this year and didn’t sign up for benefits straight away, don’t worry. The Social Security Administration will pay you up to six months of retroactive benefits, so technically you can enroll at age 70 1/2 and not lose any money. But a better plan is to simply coordinate your deposit so that you start receiving these benefits as early as your 70th birthday. After all, it is money you are entitled to.

Is this your year to register with Social Security?

You can decide to register for Social Security this year even if you do not belong to any of the above age categories. For example, if you are 65 this year, you can choose to start collecting benefits when you register for Medicare. Whatever your age, know your FRA and understand the repercussions of a social security claim at different times in life. Having this knowledge will ultimately help you make the best decision.