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Exactly. Get it while you can. Takes about 15 years to break even. My MIL waited until the last minute to take it ...and passed away a couple of years later.?

I agree that one of the biggest factors is paying for health insurance. Several things in play here including whether you can get on a spouses plan for a couple years or so.

So, my mom who is closing in on 80 years old told me to take it as soon as you can. I did the math and it would take until my really late 70's to burn through the amount I got from 62 through 67 years old (my full retirement age).

My mom told me about a conversation she had with a Funeral Home Director after a funeral service. She asked him what age were most of his "clients". He said without a doubt the mid 60's. He said what he sees happening is that a lot of peoples vices catch up to them at around 60 and many don't make a lifestyle choice (if they even live past their first health crisis). So it appears that a large number of people that paid in are either getting no benefits paid out or a lot less benefits paid out.

I think this is why so many are beating the drum to wait as long as you can. Think about it. If the SS system is struggling to keep up, you want as few people claiming benefits as possible and looking at the actuarial tables makes this call to wait an ctitical message to send.