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I have a friend who retired at 62 and she was not unhappy about it. She said she had read that accordng to actuarial charts whether you take it at 62 or 66 it still turns out to be the same in the long run. In other words... less for a longer period or more for a shorter. I never checked it out myself.
Your friend is correct. So it comes down to whether you think you will have a longer or shorter than average life, your personal need for the money sooner rather than later, and other factors which are personal to the individual.
"You can get Social Security retirement or survivors benefits and work at the same time. But, if you are younger than full retirement age and earn more than certain amounts, your benefits will be reduced. It is important to note, though, that these benefit reductions are not truly lost. Your benefit will be increased at your full retirement age to account for benefits withheld due to earlier earnings...."
I've seen that. The bulk of my income for the past two years has been unemployment, and they don't take out SS, but my part-time jobs do.
I retired at 60 after they offered us olde timers early retirement. My DH passed away in 03 and then in 04 I retired. I have done OK with small pension and SS first my LH and now mine. I thought about taking a part time job but it just wasn't worth it for the 12K a year to work every day for so little pay. Gas and lunch was about all it would pay for. LOL
I am not sorry. I needed that time to get myself back after loosing my DH.
I retired at 60 after they offered us olde timers early retirement. My DH passed away in 03 and then in 04 I retired. I have done OK with small pension and SS first my LH and now mine. I thought about taking a part time job but it just wasn't worth it for the 12K a year to work every day for so little pay. Gas and lunch was about all it would pay for. LOL
I am not sorry. I needed that time to get myself back after loosing my DH.
Money isn't everything. You did what you needed to do and I'm glad it worked out O.K. for you.
The government hopes you WILL DIE, and DIE SOON AFTER YOU RETIRE.
If you take ss at 62, and don't need it, then save it. At age 70 you will have a huge nest egg that you wouldn't have by taking the full amount at 70, and if you should need that nest egg for something unexpected, it will be there. To break even from waiting until 70, and not taking it at 62 and saving it, you will need to live to between 78-84 years old.
Lots of people will never make what they could have made by taking it at 62, if they wait until age 70 to do it. And besides, who know what rules might go into effect for those who are not yet on SS.
On February 1, I applied for my Social Security online. So now, I'm just waiting for them to process my application. As of this morning, I checked my status, and it said that they hadn't made a decision yet.
My experiences with Social Security since taking my retirement benefit early at age 62 almost five years ago are as follows: As long as your situation falls within the common, normal range of experience they are very efficient and give excellent, courteous service. But the minute I turned 65 and went on Medicare - and my Medicare Part B premium was greater than my monthly retirement benefit - it was hell to figure out what to expect to happen, as no body seemed to know and I was given all kinds of contradictory information. (What happens is they withhold the benefit and bill you for the balance which you owe them, but even the billing does not happen very promptly and I had the feeling I was in limbo). My wish for all you posters is that you don't have an unusual situation.
What is meant by this "making a decision"???? I thought that most people who turn 62 can apply for early retirement and get it, depending on their occupation, like school teachers, who don't pay into SS and can not get it. Am I right or wrong about this assumtion??
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Originally Posted by moved
On February 1, I applied for my Social Security online. So now, I'm just waiting for them to process my application. As of this morning, I checked my status, and it said that they hadn't made a decision yet.
Way back before turning 62 I had debated about retireing early so went to the local SS office and the young lady entered my SS # into the computer and quickly told me how many months I'd paid in and the approx amount I'd receive each month. No brainer there...took a couple of booklets that were for the taking and read the pertinent info and made my decision.
It would take 12 yrs to balance out the $$$ received from 62 compared to 65 at retirement. The booklet explained this. Not everyone lives to the 70-80 yrs so it's all a crapshoot. Some make it and some don't. Me...I'm lucky, still here at 79 with a few more yrs left (I think).
Since I'm 62, it should be fairly simple - no Medicare, so hopefully, they'll process it soon.
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