Replies

>>Maybe if the trillions that went to the COVID stimulus checks and the so called infrastructure plan and instead to Social Security this would not be happening. If the public employee pension plans were to go bust all hell would break loose.<<

I have spent my entire working life assuming there will be no SS available. FRA for me is a few years down the line but I think I will take it the moment I am eligible. I will just be using it for trips and stuff like that. But I paid in and I want what I was promised - or at least as much as I can.

I'm probably the same age as you. My FRA is at age 67 and I was always planning to take it then but taking it at 62 seems more and more tempting only because I already have enough saved in 401k to live on in retirement and don't really need a larger Social Security check down the road. If I get it early, I'll use it the same way as you - for trips - while I'm still young enough to get the most out of them. I don't want to be that 80-year-old using a walker to get around a cruise ship!

I agree with other posters here that Social Security will not get reduced in 2034 - or whenever. It's too much of a political football. What is likely to happen however is that we will get FICA taxed to a higher income. I think the current FICA max income is around $142,800. (That is when FICA taxes stop getting deducted from your income.) I see that going to say $250,000 or higher real soon.

They might also start raising the FRA age again. It's currently 67 for most people getting ready to retire today. I see it going as high as 70 for those workers just starting out.

After a lot of thought and doing the math I took ‘early’ retirement ....never looked back nor regretted doing so. I could still work part-time and sock away/invest that money which exceeds what % SS says you would gain by waiting until 65.