Each of North Carolinaâs nine large counties posted over-the-year wage increases in December 2015. Durham County had the highest average weekly wage among the stateâs largest counties ($1,278), followed by Mecklenburg County ($1,204), and Wake County ($1,071).
Applications for Social Security benefits can only be processed a maximum of four months before benefits are scheduled to begin. Thus, the earliest you can apply is age 61 and 9 months, and you can expect to receive your first payment four months later, the month after your birthday.
For many of us -- people born between 1943 and 1954 -- our regular retirement age is 66. You're eligible to start receiving Social Security as early as age 62. But you suffer a penalty. You can also delay taking Social Security until age 70. Then you get a bonus. The penalty for taking Social Security early is a little over 7 percent a year, and the bonus for delaying is also slightly over 7 percent a year. So for example, if your normal retirement benefit at age 66 is calculated at the average of $1,233 a month, you'll only receive about 1,150 per month if you sign up at age 65.