Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-01-2015, 07:52 AM
 
105,734 posts, read 107,717,837 times
Reputation: 79355

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by nicet4 View Post
People living in retirement, especially those who have lost a spouse, often find themselves living in poverty and a big culprit is taking benefits early.

I find it amazing 44% of the population opted to take retirment benefits at age 62 and when you look at it over half the population took benefits at age 63 or less.

A couple receiving just $2,048 had better have some savings and the thought of a widow(er) living on $1,214 makes me dizzy with fright.

What strikes me as well is the small number, appears to be less than 5%, of people who delay benefits past FRA.



I'm aproaching 67 and so want to put off taking benefits until 70 because if we do social security is really all we need as it will provide a combined benefit of over $4,300 tax free it's the same has having a $70,000/year full time job. With very few exceptions a couple with a mortgage free home and no debt should be able to live comfortably on proceeds from a $70k job in nearly any part of the county.

As an added bonus in another year my wife will be 66 at which time I will file and suspend so she receives 50% of my FRA benefit and we'll just save that.
one of the mystery's is if you look at the bar graph it is called age distribution of retirement benefits , yet the numbers do not coincide with the total amount of folks receiving oasdi payments at 62-64.

it looks like the bar graph actually represents all folks receiving some kind of oasdi payment at 62 or younger.

if you add up all those receiving payments under 62 then those totals equal the 44% or so the bar graph shows.

for some reason there is a big disparity between the two. one answer may be folks convert from ssdi to retirement social security at full retirement age so those numbers take a big jump in that group . which means then if the bar graph is not counting them the bar graph is skewed.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-01-2015, 08:02 AM
 
Location: Coastal Mid-Atlantic
6,710 posts, read 4,361,234 times
Reputation: 8302
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107 View Post
working and waiting can be one powerful deal .

the difference between retiring at 62 and 70 for someone who can't afford 62 can be huge.

not only is the payment 79% bigger plus the colas but you are working and not spending down for 8 years. you may still be letting your portfolio grow as well as adding to your portfolio by delaying retirement.

that can make the difference between a stressful marginal retirement ,always sweating the next unexpected bill and a very comfortable one.
Consider the average life span of a male is about 72. Think about holding out to get more, when you could wind up getting nothing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 08:12 AM
 
Location: SW MO
23,593 posts, read 37,317,871 times
Reputation: 29336
Quote:
Originally Posted by xsthomas View Post
Consider the average life span of a male is about 72. Think about holding out to get more, when you could wind up getting nothing.
It kind of reminds me of health fanatics who spend their lives doing everything right and then are so surprised to die of nothing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 08:14 AM
 
105,734 posts, read 107,717,837 times
Reputation: 79355
Quote:
Originally Posted by xsthomas View Post
Consider the average life span of a male is about 72. Think about holding out to get more, when you could wind up getting nothing.
that is not accurate. that is from birth. things are very different once you make it to older ages. a 65 year old man has an average life expectancy of almost 83 , a woman almost 86 and a couple almost 87 since either can outlive the other. over the last decade we have added 1 year of life every 4 years.

average life expectancy is only the 1/2 way point . 1/2 will go on and live even longer. about 1/2 the group will die each year beyond that point . 12% will make it to 90.

but in any case that means little to us. we can only be dead or alive , which one will you be ? so statistics mean little to us..

since no one knows we still have to plan to some ripe old age or face the consequences of planning wrong.

Last edited by mathjak107; 02-01-2015 at 08:32 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 08:40 AM
 
31,672 posts, read 40,901,280 times
Reputation: 14418
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107 View Post
that is not accurate. that is from birth. things are very different once you make it to older ages. a 65 year old man has an average life expectancy of almost 83 , a woman almost 86 and a couple almost 87 since either can outlive the other. over the last decade we have added 1 year of life every 4 years.

average life expectancy is only the 1/2 way point . 1/2 will go on and live even longer. about 1/2 the group will die each year beyond that point . 12% will make it to 90.

but in any case that means little to us. we can only be dead or alive , which one will you be ? so statistics mean little to us..

since no one knows we still have to plan to some ripe old age or face the consequences of planning wrong.
Badddddddddddddddddda Bing! The other thing is that if married you are planning for the life expectancy of two people which at the SS decision points creates greater probability of one living into their 80's plus. Plus with higher benefits and income you probably increase your options to live a happier and healthy life enjoying what you want with less financial stress. That can be a killer and the absence of a relaxer. Happier can be many things beginning with where you live and the ability to visit family etc.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 01:20 PM
 
Location: Central Ohio
10,802 posts, read 14,863,633 times
Reputation: 16460
Quote:
Originally Posted by TuborgP View Post
Badddddddddddddddddda Bing! The other thing is that if married you are planning for the life expectancy of two people which at the SS decision points creates greater probability of one living into their 80's plus. Plus with higher benefits and income you probably increase your options to live a happier and healthy life enjoying what you want with less financial stress. That can be a killer and the absence of a relaxer. Happier can be many things beginning with where you live and the ability to visit family etc.
Exactly.

If I was somehow assured I would die the day after my 70th birthday I would still put off collecting benefits because it isn't about me but my wife. That's it, that is the reason I am working later.

The extra four years will give my wife an extra $800 tax free every month for the rest of her life. That extra $800 can mean the difference between scraping by and having some extras every month.

Another reason is I've never viewed social security as an "investment" but as an "insurance policy" to protect both my wife and myself in the event we get older. The exact opposite of life insurance and using the investment logic sometimes used on social security benefits you wouldn't mope around hoping you would die before the term policy expires, would you?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 01:53 PM
 
31,672 posts, read 40,901,280 times
Reputation: 14418
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicet4 View Post
Exactly.

If I was somehow assured I would die the day after my 70th birthday I would still put off collecting benefits because it isn't about me but my wife. That's it, that is the reason I am working later.

The extra four years will give my wife an extra $800 tax free every month for the rest of her life. That extra $800 can mean the difference between scraping by and having some extras every month.

Another reason is I've never viewed social security as an "investment" but as an "insurance policy" to protect both my wife and myself in the event we get older. The exact opposite of life insurance and using the investment logic sometimes used on social security benefits you wouldn't mope around hoping you would die before the term policy expires, would you?
Bada Bing. We are a couple of years away from 70. She took her benefits at 62 and I took spousal off of hers at 66. When I take mine at 70 that and our spousal benefit pensions leaves the survivor golden and that is independent of investments. If either one of us couldn't live on that shame on them. It is more than our current income. When deciding how and when to do a lot the big prize was surviving spouses income. She even has nursing home care nailed and that was a factor. I dont mind having the inability to avoid SS taxes. The trade off is a fixed income that we are blessed to have.

Last edited by TuborgP; 02-01-2015 at 02:04 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 09:56 PM
 
Location: Central Ohio
10,802 posts, read 14,863,633 times
Reputation: 16460
Quote:
Originally Posted by TuborgP View Post
Bada Bing. We are a couple of years away from 70. She took her benefits at 62 and I took spousal off of hers at 66. When I take mine at 70 that and our spousal benefit pensions leaves the survivor golden and that is independent of investments. If either one of us couldn't live on that shame on them. It is more than our current income. When deciding how and when to do a lot the big prize was surviving spouses income. She even has nursing home care nailed and that was a factor. I dont mind having the inability to avoid SS taxes. The trade off is a fixed income that we are blessed to have.
We think a lot alike in that I am structuring our retirement upon social security and a small state pension so our retirement accounts and other savings will be fully intact for the surviving spouse. Around here I figure a single senior can live very well, better than most in fact, on $1,000 after tax weekly. $1,000 "take home" is equivalent to a single person having a $75,000/year full time job and if you can't live very well on that, I'm in rural Georgia, you got spending or debt problems.

The only way I can reach this goal is to work to 70 which isn't far away.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 10:15 PM
 
Location: Saint Johns, FL
2,309 posts, read 2,584,316 times
Reputation: 2464
Quote:
Originally Posted by TuborgP View Post
Bada Bing. We are a couple of years away from 70. She took her benefits at 62 and I took spousal off of hers at 66. When I take mine at 70 that and our spousal benefit pensions leaves the survivor golden and that is independent of investments. If either one of us couldn't live on that shame on them. It is more than our current income. When deciding how and when to do a lot the big prize was surviving spouses income. She even has nursing home care nailed and that was a factor. I dont mind having the inability to avoid SS taxes. The trade off is a fixed income that we are blessed to have.
That's the plan here also......
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2015, 01:58 AM
 
1,844 posts, read 2,414,500 times
Reputation: 4501
Quote:
Originally Posted by rdflk View Post
OP here.
No I don't know when I'll start taking SS. I do have a Roth IRA. (and pension and other retirement accounts, of course)

...
Why "of course"? It sounds like you are gloating about the fact that few seniors have traditional pensions! I'm sure you didn't mean it that way.

What you bring up is truly a first world problem, as they say in the vernacular.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top