Why Wouldn’t You Take Social Security at 62? (divorce, moving, divorced)
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I think we debate this ad Nauseam every few weeks on this subject.
Yup. When the comments and discussion points are as elementary as these, what’s the point of even contributing? When I retired and when I decide to collect SS have little to nothing to do with each other. Every one is different. But in case the OP actually reads any of this, your friends logic is futile and clueless.
I retired at 57. Now 75. I would tell my 62 year old self that taking SS at 62 to offset a $400 reduction in other income at 62, has locked in a more that $400 reduction in SS from FRA forward.
.if anyone says one way is inherently better then the other , you can stop listening at that point because they are misinformed themselves .
if we compare the odds between taking ss early and not spending down a balanced portfolio and losing all future compounding on that money vs life expectancy risk and delaying ss we see the following odds .
to equal each other out , one in a couple needs to live to 90-95 . at 90 it is that point that the roi on ss is about a 5% real return and those odds are 47% , but to see 6% real return , one in a couple has to live to 95 , those odds are just 19%
the odds of a balanced portfolio hitting 5.80 as an average real return (that is after inflation ) are 36% .
so there really is not a big difference in amounts at the end of the day between the two going by statistics as a couple . taking ss early does have slightly better odds of leaving the bigger balance. so it really amounts to are you more comfortable with more market risk or more longevity risk ?
for a single the odds greatly favor early ss and staying invested .
there can be tax issues and rmd issues as well involved ... sometimes you may still be working and taking ss early may not be wise . i worked 1 day a week and had to wait to 65 or give some back .
Yup. When the comments and discussion points are as elementary as these, what’s the point of even contributing? When I retired and when I decide to collect SS have little to nothing to do with each other. Every one is different. But in case the OP actually reads any of this, your friends logic is futile and clueless.
the least important factor to deciding is what if i die ? ...the most important factor is what if i or my spouse live ?
these discussions have gotten so clueless that i just copy a lot of what i post and just re-post it . it is easier then explaining this nonsense over and over to those who don't understand just how complex it can get if you really want the best choice and the best choice is rarely based on what if i die ..
Last edited by mathjak107; 06-09-2019 at 03:19 AM..
My OH is 60 this year and i will be 56 at the end of summer.
My OH mostly worked part time only, and spent 10 years not working while living off an inheritance from my OH s grandmother.
Durung my 20s i always had more tyan one job, and spent most of my 20s working 2 fulltime jobs.
I currently draw SSDI and am allowed to work part time, which i do.
My OH s SS statement shows my oh will only get about what i get on SSDI when my OH is 70, if earnings continue as is current.
I wilmhave time to grow bothmy SSDI and eventual SS by working part time.
With my health as bad as it is, i doubt i can even keep working part time til my FRA, 67. my OH s FRA is 66, 10m.
We are late to tye retirement party as neither of us had anything when we got together 19 years ago, i was on welfare while my SSDI application was being approved, and my OH just came out of bankruptcy. So we wont have a lot of retirement savings. Neither of my OH s two current part time jobs have a 401k option, nor does my part time job. So we are left to keep trying to fund ROTH s.
We own our house, half paid for in just 3 years as we aggressively paid it down when we first got into it. Buf we have some debt accumulated updating and upgrading the house and should have that all cleared up in 2 years. The house should be paid off whenever we actually retire, and we are going to a cheap taxes southern area ( over half our mortgage payment is taxes!)
We will need my OH s SS to be as maximized as possible so my OH can survive should i die, and for us to be more comfortable in retirement.
I dont know if i can work until 67, not sure i can even work til 62. My OH is developing health problems, andmay really have to retire at FRA instead.
In either case for one of surviving to be comfortable, we need to wait as long as possible before collecting.
Some people are like us, have never had a pension option at any job, and are late to the retirement savings party.
We had to put dementia FIL in a nursing home, so his assets will go to that and unless he dies quickly, there will be nothing for my OH to inherit, weve never counted on an inheritance anyway.
We will see what the future holds. But for now we plod along...
Exactly. It's not a matter of figuring out which way you'll end up with more money (which depends on when you die), but rather on not running out in very old age. Delaying to 70 is like buying an inflation-adjusted annuity.
the lack of financial sense is seen regularly as people take ss early and then they go buy a commercial annuity product ...
for the money you would give up from 62 to 70 , there is no annuity available that gives you more money , is cola adjusted and passes to a spouse that you can buy .
delaying ss is the best annuity money can buy , only so many are so blinded by the what if i die view that they make this costly mistake all the time
I was talking to a friend the other day about Social Security and when to take it. A family member is waiting until 70 to get the maximum benefit but my friend thinks that may not be best. He noted that you are losing 7 1/2 years of income by waiting and it would take a number of years to recoup that money.
His reasoning is this. At 62 1/2 he would get $1,900 a month from SS. At 70 the benefit would be $3,600. If he starts taking it at 62, he would earn a total of $171,000 in those years between retirement and 70 ($1,900 x 12 x 7.5 = $171,000). If he waits to 70, it will take over 8 years to break even and get that $171,000 back ($3,600 - $1,900 = $1,700; $171,000/$1,700 = 100.59 months or 8 years, 4 months).
He feels he should take that money and, assuming he does not need it, invest it to get a better return. Does this make sense? Is he missing something? Jay
It is entirely a personal decision. If he's satisfied with his decision why does it matter to you? Everyone's rationale and situation is slightly different. One size does not fit all. You can plan and second guess all you want...somehow life can step up and make it all moot at any time.
the lack of financial sense is seen regularly as people take ss early and then they go buy a commercial annuity product ...
for the money you would give up from 62 to 70 , there is no annuity available that gives you more money , is cola adjusted and passes to a spouse that you can buy .
delaying ss is the best annuity money can buy , only so many are so blinded by the what if i die view that they make this costly mistake all the time
Yep. I view Social Security as my hedge against outliving my savings. If I delay until age 70, it’s a COLA-protected $45k per year. I won’t be poor if I outlive my savings. My father made it to 85 and my mother is 87. I kind of have to contingency plan to live to 90+. I’d collect $205k between age 62 and age 70. I have the $205k to fund the hedge that I might live into my 90s.
If I had 5x my net worth, it wouldn’t matter other than as an academic exercise. Social Security would be insignificant relative to my cash flow. If I had half my net worth, I’d have no choice but to start collecting well before age 70.
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