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Something seems off with those numbers.
Is it even possible that if you are replacing 8 years of very low income with let’s say $100k/yr that the difference would result in +$17k a year in ss?
Yes. Easily. At the max income level, the difference in SS between 62 & delaying to 70 is roughly $20,000/yr. Current yearly SS for a 61 year old, collecting at 62, FRA & 70 are roughly $26k, 36k, and 46k. Look at it this way, if your FRA is 66/6 then delaying until 70 is 42 months of delayed credits of 8% the FRA amount. $3k/mo is $36k/yr. 8%/12 is 0.00667 per month increase. So 42 months means a 0.28 increase of the monthly amount. So without ANY COLA increase at all, $3000/mo at FRA becomes $3840/mo or $46,080/yr at 70. Even just a 1% per year COLA from 62 to 70 bumps the age 70 amount to almost $49k/yr.
Hence, the sirens song for delaying. Its a heck of an annuity for the price!
Yes. Easily. At the max income level, the difference in SS between 62 & delaying to 70 is roughly $20,000/yr. Current yearly SS for a 61 year old, collecting at 62, FRA & 70 are roughly $26k, 36k, and 46k. Look at it this way, if your FRA is 66/6 then delaying until 70 is 42 months of delayed credits of 8% the FRA amount. $3k/mo is $36k/yr. 8%/12 is 0.00667 per month increase. So 42 months means a 0.28 increase of the monthly amount. So without ANY COLA increase at all, $3000/mo at FRA becomes $3840/mo or $46,080/yr at 70. Even just a 1% per year COLA from 62 to 70 bumps the age 70 amount to almost $49k/yr.
Hence, the sirens song for delaying. Its a heck of an annuity for the price!
Yes, if you're still alive and in relatively good health at 70. Many people who are 62 don't make it to 70 or in those 8 years, go from being relatively healthy, to unhealthy and not able to do very much. So it's a chance you take. There are no guarantees. It's not about wanting instant gratification. It's about being realistic and knowing you may be a very different person physically at 70 than you are at 62. Take some money now and know you will have it, or wait another 8 years and take a chance you may not ever see it and never have the freedom of being retired.
I'm a long way from collecting as I'm only 52, but my "plan" is to wait until 70 as that much bigger check ( assuming I live to 85-90) will be a nice income , but i know a lot can change in the next 10-18 years. From what I've read though, if you're in decent health and can afford to live on your investments then waiting till 70 is clearly the best option. Is that what you people have found?
oh and the fact that "most people are taking it at 62 or 65" tells me its probably the wrong thing to do lol
I'm a long way from collecting as I'm only 52, but my "plan" is to wait until 70 as that much bigger check ( assuming I live to 85-90) will be a nice income , but i know a lot can change in the next 10-18 years. From what I've read though, if you're in decent health and can afford to live on your investments then waiting till 70 is clearly the best option. Is that what you people have found?
oh and the fact that "most people are taking it at 62 or 65" tells me its probably the wrong thing to do lol
Not a bad plan unless you croak at 69. Sheesh, at least Uncle Sam should send a thank you card to put in your casket if that happens.
Not a bad plan unless you croak at 69. Sheesh, at least Uncle Sam should send a thank you card to put in your casket if that happens.
then it really won't matter anyway because I'm dead.....but barring a tragedy ( possible but statistically not probable) I will live to my mid to late 80s so wouldn't it make sense to plan for that time frame?
I ran a couple of SS calculators and we determined it made sense for my wife to take hers at 62 (This month) and for me to wait until at least full retirement age. She will collect $1,300 per month and I'll keep working until I get sick of it.
It's also not hard to key SSA Pub 05-10070 into a spreadsheet along with your earnings from the SSA web portal. That gives you better information than the SSA web portal which only gives you age 62, FRA, and age 70 estimates based on your last year's earnings. I update that spreadsheet page every year when my earnings are posted and the numbers in the form are inflation-adjusted.
I'm now a year and a half away from 62. I'm not planning to collect until 70 but I have a pretty good handle on what the numbers look like.
If you die at age 69, can you write and let us know?
then it really won't matter anyway because I'm dead.....but barring a tragedy ( possible but statistically not probable) I will live to my mid to late 80s so wouldn't it make sense to plan for that time frame?
That was our thinking in having me hold off for starting my benefits. If we both die before we reach the break-even point, it won't matter to us. But if both of us or one of us lives past the break-even point, we will appreciate the greater dollars.
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