Posted on 05/14/2025 12:38:15 PM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
We’ve all heard the advice: Wait until you’re 70 to claim Social Security and you’ll get the biggest possible monthly check. Tim F., a retired healthcare worker from Arizona, followed this advice to the letter. But now, at 75, he’s having second thoughts.
GOBankingRates spoke with Tim to understand why he wishes he’d claimed his benefits earlier. His insights might just change the way you think about your own retirement plans.
Tim thought he was doing everything right.
“Everything you read says you should wait until 70 if you can,” he shared. “I guess I thought, well, I can, so I should. I didn’t stop to think about if that was actually the best plan for me.”
Tim likes larger monthly checks, but he’s not sure they were worth the price.
“Looking back, I would’ve wanted that extra money when my wife was still around.”.....
Tim doesn’t believe waiting until 70 is wrong for everyone. But he does have some advice for those trying to make this decision:
Consider your health. “Be realistic about how you might feel in 5 years,” said Tim.
Talk it over with your significant other. It’s not a good decision if it’s not made together.
Think about what you want to do in retirement. Travel? Spend time with grandkids? Take up knitting? Make a list and let your finances follow.
Look at your other income sources. Side hustles don’t have to end with retirement.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Be realistic on how much money you would have forfeited between the ages of 62 and 70 had you not taken it at 62 and how many years beyond 70 would you finally make up the difference.......IF YOU LIVED THAT LONG.
This is the first I have heard of converting 401 to something else. Do you have any good document discussing this?
I drew at 65+ but continued to work until 75 & it has worked out.
Bump to myself as a reminder to look at all of these posts. Sole proprietor turning 65 soon. My old man lived to be 72, as did his dad before him. Mom lived until 95, her mom until 99.
My older siblings are still very healthy so maybe we all got mom’s genes??
When I was approaching 62, I put together a spreadsheet that showed the monthly amounts and cumulative totals with benefits starting at ages, 62, 65, 67 & 70.
There were two factors: monthly benefit amount and the highest cumulative amount.
Although starting at 70 produced the higher monthly amount, it also resulted the the second lowest cumulative total, with 62 being both the lowest monthly amount as well as the lowest cumulative amount.
Also, as the article points out, starting at 70 loses out on 5 years worth of income as opposed to starting at 65.
In looking at these two figures told me that the best compromise was at 65, so that's what I did.
“Do your social security benefits actually end or get drained if you live long enough?”
No...as long as you live and the Union government can still pay.
My dad made 86 amd mother 100. I’ll be 85 next month and say to myself how the actual F am I this old? 62 to now was a flash! Trust me, life goes so deceptively fast you don’t even know what hit you so take the bloody money as soon as you can. For what it’s worth.
My brain, my choice
“I would be able to buy the deluxe mobility scooter.”
And help pay for your round the clock caregiver.
I was 70 when I retired and started taking Social Security. I think it was the best decision for us.
“I retired at 56 for personal reasons which is too bad as I still miss working.”
So did I. Don’t miss working...hated my job. 29 years later here I am and so very many of friends and colleagues who kept on working for bigger retirement are no longer with us. Take the money and run!
For those with little or no retirement savings, you might want to work as long as possible (up to 70) before taking it.
However for those with $1m or more in retirement savings, you will be able to take at $40K a year out of that savings (adding inflation each subsequent year) without fearing of running out of money. This should allow you to start taking it at 62 with no worries whatsoever.
“I noticed that about my late wife Joy and I after reading that. I miss her.”
My late mother always told me life is a trail of tears. Boy was she right.
I had to take SS early. Inflation pushed me to the point where I could not get by otherwise .
It’s greed. Like an insurance company gambling on your longevity.
It’s still taxed at 70 if you are making $$ isn’t it?
True.
I also started taking Social Security at Age 62; mostly because I was diagnosed with Stage-4 metastatic prostate cancer.
I was told I had 3-5 years before I would die of it. That was almost 11 years ago.
Like you, I determined that I’d have to live until 79 to break even.
Every situation is different. Having that extra $1,700/month has been great.
I used to think break even was the be all, and all for deciding when to take Social Security. Deeper study showed that there is way more to it than that. There are tax implications. There is the consideration of when and how much you plan to withdraw from your 401k. There are higher Medicare premiums the more you earn.
I was drawing down my 401k and discovered that taking Social Security at 62, those dollars would be taxed at the higher tax braket 4% more than not taking it at that time and waiting until I slowed my 401k withdrawals.
There is so much more to deciding when to take SS than just the “breakeven”guess of how long you think you will live.
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