So, I turned 62 today!!! (calculator, years, return)

[LauraC]

I'd bet that within a year or two of the election (depending on when most Congressmen are up for re-election for the party in charge of Congress), upping the Social Security eligibility age will be on the table for Congress. The question is whether the system is in such bad shape that they would change the age for everyone not yet retired as opposed to impacting only people who are nowhere near retirement age now.

[Robhu]

Does anyone know about an extra benefit for veterans?
My son who is in the Air Force told me there is an extra benefit (money) but you have to ask about it. It is not widely known and S/S doesn't tell you about it.
He got the info from one of his superiors and doesn't even know if it is correct.
Anybody know anything about this.

[esselcue]

Originally Posted by katie45

Be very thankful that you are able to survive on s/s, and/or if you work and earn no more than the allowed amount (around 13k) without your benefits being reduced.

Everyone has to consider their personal financial situation before they apply for s/s prior to their full retirement age.

In my case, the monthly s/s, plus earning the allowed annual amount would not be sufficient; therefore I will wait until full retirement age.

Hi Katie;

I am the original OP. I could not begin to survive on my SS alone, but I also have a pension from work and my home is paid for

[nancy thereader]

The question is whether the system is in such bad shape that they would change the age for everyone not yet retired as opposed to impacting only people who are nowhere near retirement age now.

I don't think that they would do that . There are so many of us baby boomers and Social Security is probably the most successful program in the history of the U.S.

[Huckleberry3911948]

yes yes yes i can hardly wait. good for you.

[maggiekate]

At 62 Go for it! But you do give up money. I am 62 and will wait! You also have an option to repay!

[esselcue]

Mmmm...doing the math(which I am not good at, I admit)...if I retire and claim SS at 62 I will, by age 66 (full retirement), have "earned" $39,648.00 from SS...if I wait until age 66 it will take me almost 25 years to make up that difference. I hope I live that long...but who knows, eh? Plus I will not be spending $200 a month on gas for work, so I'm not sure how it will cost me. But each situation is different.

[MN2CO]

Suze Orman's advise is "get it now". She is probably the only financial person that I trust. If you don't know her, Oprah has her on her show occasionally. She's very adamant about getting SS as soon as you can. Wonder what she knows that we don't?

[GLS]

Originally Posted by esselcue

Mmmm...doing the math(which I am not good at, I admit)...if I retire and claim SS at 62 I will, by age 66 (full retirement), have "earned" $39,648.00 from SS...if I wait until age 66 it will take me almost 25 years to make up that difference. I hope I live that long...but who knows, eh? Plus I will not be spending $200 a month on gas for work, so I'm not sure how it will cost me. But each situation is different.

I am not sure if I am any better at math than you are, but 25 years to catch up seems an overestimate. If you earn $39,648 during the 4 years (48 months) between 62 and 66, it looks like you would start receiving $826/mo at 62. This should be 75% of what you would receive if you waited to 66.
Therefore, you would be getting $1101/mo at 66 or $275.33/mo more.

If you divide $39,648 by $275.33, it would take you 144 months or 12 years to offset starting at 62. You would need to live until 78 yo to breakeven. If you live past 78 you were better financially to wait until 66. NOTE: I have not calculated the interest or return on investment that you might make on the month to month investment of the $826 starting in month #1 after 62.

The above is just a fun calculation exercise. I am sure you have already thought of many more rewarding reasons to have an extra four years of freedom.

[deckdoc]

Originally Posted by Robhu

Does anyone know about an extra benefit for veterans?
My son who is in the Air Force told me there is an extra benefit (money) but you have to ask about it. It is not widely known and S/S doesn't tell you about it.
He got the info from one of his superiors and doesn't even know if it is correct.
Anybody know anything about this.

reason the question is there is if you served BEFORE military covered by SS you get credits~ but military covered by SS since 1968! those serving after that recieve no additional!