Quote:
Originally Posted by freemkt
Turns out most people actually file for SS at 62. It's not clear how many are forced into it by health issues and/or unemployment.
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No, they don't. I don't know where you got that information, but it's wrong. The average age is 64, and as of May 2018, there are 59,312,000 beneficiaries and 44,984,000 are 65 and older.
Of the remaining 14,328,000 receiving benefits, 10,345,000 receive Social Security Disability, which is made up of 8,634,000 disabled workers, plus 1,710,000 spouses and children of disabled workers.
That means only 3,983,000 under age 65 are receiving Social Security retirement benefits.
There are 43,024,000 retired workers (the rest are spouses and children receiving benefits).
So, only 9.25% of workers between ages 62 and 64 are receiving retirement benefits.
https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quic...stat_snapshot/
If the majority of people retired at 62 years, or if even a large number retired at 62 years, then the percentage of people between 62 and 64 years would be significantly higher.
If 1/3rd of the people took retirement at 62 years, then the percentage of retirees under age 65 should be at least 20%-25%, but it isn't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by freemkt
I don't have retirement savings, so my only question is when to file for Social Security. But then I would be forever second-guessing my decision.
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That's an intensely personal decision, for which there are no generalizations or cookie-cutter templates and if you think some web-site has the answer, you're sadly mistaken.
It depends entirely on your personal health, family history of longevity, employment situation, current financial situation and anticipated future financial situation.
If your family has a poor history of longevity, then you should retire early so you can enjoy life for 6-10 years before you die. If your family is like mine and has a habit of living 87 to 100+ years (even before it was fashionable to do so), then you'll want to consider delaying until full-retirement age.
If your personal health is poor, and especially if your job negatively impacts your physical or mental health, you should consider early retirement. You're not eligible for Medicare until age 65, but you most likely would qualify for Medicaid to cover costs. So long as you don't have $2,000 in cash in a bank or other assets like stocks and bonds, and your home is valued at $500,000 or less, and you only have one car, you'll qualify for Medicaid.
If your employment situation is tenuous, or your job negatively impacts your physical or mental health, you should consider retiring early, if for no other reason than to extend your life.
For your current financial situation, you might experience a reduction in income on Social Security, but that may be offset by Food Stamps and HUD Section 8 housing. If you know what your monthly Social Security benefit is or might be, your HUD rent is the greater of 30% of your monthly income or 30% of the gross rent, minus the utility allowance for gas and electric. You can contact landlords in your area that cater to the 60+ or disabled crowd. Because of the huge differences in Cost-of-Living in the US, your HUD eligibility is entirely dependent upon the county in which you live. If you don't qualify in your county, check a neighboring county. You can have Social Security benefits and other income totaling $56,000 a year and still qualify for HUD in many places in the US. On the other hand, if your income is greater than $14,000 annually, there's a lot of places where you won't qualify.
It's unlikely there will be drastic changes to your income for your future financial situation. From January 2000 through May 2018, CPI-W has increase an average of 2.4% per year, and Social Security COLA has increased 2.2% per year, so there's only a 0.2% difference. Since costs in some of the 83 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed have not increased or have not increased as high, you might actually benefit from COLA. If you were drawing $1,600/month in Social Security in 2000, then you'd now be receiving $2,267/month, due to COLA increases. The COLA for 2019 is likely to fall in the 3%-5% range based on CPI-W so far.
Once you've examined your situation, you'll have to make the decision best for you, which might not be the same decision someone else makes.
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