Posted on 11/16/2019 3:43:24 PM PST by Openurmind
One of the most important decisions you'll have to make as you approach retirement is when to start Social Security benefits. The soonest you can begin claiming is 62, which remains the most popular age to start. It's not necessarily the wrong choice -- you'll still get a sizable amount of money over your lifetime -- but it might not be the best option if you're interested in maximizing your benefits. Here's a closer look at how the age you begin Social Security affects the size of your checks.
(Excerpt) Read more at fool.com ...
Well....I will grab that money as soon as I am legally able which is 4 years 3 days 5 hours and 29 minutes.....I will also work until I drop...I take time off sporadically say a month or so at a time...so retirement does nothing for me. (been self -employed for over 25 years)
That's what I did 7 years ago and have no regrets. A major health issue forced me to stop working this year. The govt actuaries are counting on you to drop dead before you collect dime one. Good luck with your health.
Excellent point.
Lol, same here, I am just under four years out and self employed also. I added up how much I will be losing total for those 3 years waiting and figured out it will take a LONG time to make up for that lost income if I wait for that little difference later.
I need to correct myself, I would be collecting zero for 5 years if I wait for the full retirement at 67. That 5 years is quite a bit in total.
My husband is having me take half of his social security Until I’m 70 than I’ll take my own. You have to be born between certain dates to do this.
I’m doing same
full retirement age (FRA) based on his or her birth year. It’s 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954.
That’s when I started collecting.
Two points:
1) Social Security may not be solvent sooner rather than later, so whether or not you believe in it, never rely on it.
2) As soon as you request SS money, you are automatically enrolled in Medicare. Though a majority still prefer to get the “free money” of the two programs, a large number have decided to opt out, to never request benefits from either program even if they qualify. However, the government does not want this to be widely known.
3) Democrats fully intend to destroy Medicare as an impediment to socialized medicine. They may also decide to nationalize private retirement accounts as well to further ensure more government control.
and the opposite is true if the non working spouse is older. Collecting it at the earliest opportunity would be best in that case, since the non working spouse can’t college until the working one starts (you can no longer take and then suspend like you used to be able to)
About the medicare, I can start taking SS at 62 but I am not eligible for medicare until I am 65 unless I become disabled.
I dislike these pat little articles that ignore the present value of money, taxes, the difference between SS Colas and real inflation, and the likelihood of a substantial benefit cut in about 15 years.
Something to consider is if you delay your SS benefits the checks get larger but it takes many years to make up the amount you get taking it earlier. For example if you get $2000 a month taking it at age 60 you will get 120,000 over 5 years. If you start taking it at 65 and get $2,500 a month you will take you 20 years for the higher benefit to equal the amount you didn’t earn by postponing benefits.
$2000 x 60 months = 120,000
$120,000 / $500/month = 240 months
If you start at 60 and collect $2000/mo for 20 years you will make a total of $480,000.
If you start at 65 and collect $2500/mo for 15 years you get a total of $450,000.
Who’s collecting SS at 60?
Don’t forget that if you start collecting at 62 rather than Full Retirement Age, and you are still working, you can lose part of your social security.
Unless your spouse is so much younger than you you’re going to go into retirement with minor children. Children of retired persons collecting social security are eligible to receive a dependent benefit, subject to a family maximum.
Yep, absolutely, the reality of the math is important in this. My Dad did the math years ago when he retired early.
Bookmark social security info
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They love when you go in person, too. They sit you a someone’s desk and the person answers questions and discusses things with you.
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