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Either way I am not in any great need of the money, and I know if I use the 401k its gone and it would not go away if I didn't use it. Social Security, on the other hand, is a crap shoot. I could die tomorrow and my wife gets nothing from it. (as her social security almost matches mine exactly).
It's not an exact science I know, but what would you choose to do?
I started taking my SS at 64 this year because I do not need the money. Instead of using my other assets to pay taxes, etc., my accountant agreed with me that it made more sense to use my SS. This leaves me with more money to leave to my son and my favorite charities when I die. (I've run the Monte Carlo projections on my retirement assets and given that I don't spend much, it shows I should make it to 95 with a fair amount to spare.)
The idea that you MUST wait as long as you can makes sense if you have little in the way of other assets and can work, or scrape by somehow until then. But if you have sizeable assets, why use those when you could be using "free" money? The fact that waiting doesn't help your wife means there's no point.
So this forum is only for those who haven't worked and planned for retirement. Or is just for people who make less money than you?
Seriously. This just makes me want to disregard any advise you might have to offer. I want to hear from people who have done retirement from all walks of life. I want to see where people get their information. The majority of great posts always to refer to other sites, meaning they don't just rely solely on this forum for retirement advice, or they share their lessons learned, the good, the bad and the ugly.
And guess what... we have a financial advisor, multiple investments, an inheritance, a great military pension, and are still working. Is that bragging, maybe...bragging about working hard our whole careers, saving money like we were depression era kids (because our parents were, none of who earned more that $15 a hour in their lives, yet were able to leave us a surprising amount of $). Bragging about starting with nothing at the very bottom of the ladder working hard and climbing, scratching and sacrificing our way to the top.
By your rules, I'm not allowed to post or at least only post about some struggles.
And guess what I was thinking about asking if I should by a new car just prior to retirement. I'm looking at a BMW...because my current car is a BMW - a 2001! But I guess that is just bragging. How can I afford a new BMW - because I drive a freaking 17 year old car! Now that is a struggle.
Sorry to hijack...
I drive a 1998 Ford F-150. And that's great that you and the OP have done so well and planned so well for retirement!
And that’s fine for you. I plan to live well wether I take at 62 or FRA. Whichever decision I end up taking I’ll be fine with. My dad waited until 70 to get his he died at 80 my mom lives entirely on his SS which is not a lot but she is happy. I can adapt and be happy with whatever I have. coming from a family that came to the US with nothing we learned to survive and be happy with whatever we could afford
Your comment indicates if your dad didn’t delay his SS until 70, your mom would be in worse shape. Her SS depends on his SS.
Of course you can adapt, but do you know what you can adapt to? When you were young, you could cut corners, but when your old, how do you cut out cost of drugs that could help you. You really don’t know. Let’s say one drug you are taking cost $45, but doctor increases and add another drug that would increase another $60 a month, so that’s off the bat, $105 per month on drugs. All these with good health care insurance. My brother stayed one night for observation in a hospital and his out of pocket was $3500 for just one night, even with a very good insurance. All these are real life examples, not straw examples at all.
This is why some young people like Mr Money Mustache never cant comprehend the cost associated with aging, minor stuff, not life threatening stuff.
I used to have no money, in high school, I survived on peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch every day for a whole year, so I’m also used to live with less. You don’t have a corner in this “we learned to survive and be happy with whatever we could afford”, this is why it’s good to plan ahead so at least we hopefully try not to repeat the same living situation.
Your comment indicates if your dad didn’t delay his SS until 70, your mom would be in worse shape. Her SS depends on his SS.
Of course you can adapt, but do you know what you can adapt to? When you were young, you could cut corners, but when your old, how do you cut out cost of drugs that could help you. You really don’t know. Let’s say one drug you are taking cost $45, but doctor increases and add another drug that would increase another $60 a month, so that’s off the bat, $105 per month on drugs. All these with good health care insurance. My brother stayed one night for observation in a hospital and his out of pocket was $3500 for just one night, even with a very good insurance. All these are real life examples, not straw examples at all.
This is why some young people like Mr Money Mustache never cant comprehend the cost associated with aging, minor stuff, not life threatening stuff.
I used to have no money, in high school, I survived on peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch every day for a whole year, so I’m also used to live with less. You don’t have a corner in this “we learned to survive and be happy with whatever we could affordâ€, this is why it’s good to plan ahead so at least we hopefully try not to repeat the same living situation.
My parents didn’t make much my dad worked until past 70 he did not have a choice in his situation it wasn’t about delaying SS. That’s a luxury that I have and he didn’t.
As I said there isn’t one right or wrong answer. You feel is best for you to delay in case you make it to 95 and get that bigger paycheck from SS later. Then that’s that’s best for you. Others might look at it differently.
As I said wether i end up claiming at 62 or FRA I will be just fine because thankfully thru planning and saving SS will only make a small part of my retirement and not the full amount like my mom.
no , it was a legitimate question . the bragging accusation is nonsense and is a typical response by some here that is unwarranted in many discussions here. this is a legitimate question the op has .
Bragging occurs frequently here. And BTW as far as I know no one said the question was not legitimate. Like it or not people like to brag about how much they have, accomplishments, knowledge etc...
as they should or could .. why is it others get to talk about how bad they are doing and discuss their situation ? if it is in the right forum and context nothing wrong with discussing success , using numbers or talking about what you did or didn't do . .
deflecting this discussion into something else. It is merely a observation of behavior. It does not mean that they cannot ask a question about success. Or that they are bad people because they have done well.
well many are demonized in these forums for talking actual numbers . but the tales of woe seem to be no problem on the the other side of things .
most financial forums or retirement forums encourage success stories , people are encouraged to present their own numbers . others want to see how they did , what their plans are and perhaps what they themselves can duplicate in their own plans .
i know i learned most of what i learned by hanging out on the firecalc early retirement forum . numbers are freely discussed and plans tossed about and discussed . no one ever has said in the more then 10 years i have been on those forums to someone who presented numbers "your just bragging "
op was accused of bragging right from the get go .
i think that is an awful attitude for people to take . if they don't like the discussion just don't read the posts it if it is not for them .
success usually encourages success and success stories tend to attract those who want to be successful or are successful . on the other hand think poor and you likely will be poor .
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-08-2018 at 07:46 AM..
Well said mathjak, this is very true, "success usually encourages success and success stories tend to attract those who want to be successful or are successful . on the other hand think poor and you likely will be poor."
Seeing real figures in other forums, mainly boggleheads, encouraged and certainly has benefitted me now. Luckily there are few judgements made as they tend to encourage all to attain a level of success based on their own situation. Whether it's someone barely making ends meet or someone with several million saved , everyone gets the benefit of the group's knowledge and wisdom.
First, I hope the OP, 4K, was able to arrive at an informed decision. I would tell 4K that whatever path you choose, don't second guess it. We all plan around an ever-changing storm of incomplete information, AKA the future, so a perfect outcome is never guaranteed. Best of luck to you going forward.
On a side note, I seek out any and all "braggarts" on retirement fora. I'm always looking to find out their "How I did it" and see if the choices they made could be overlaid on my retirement planning and positively impact my future bottom line. It's an opportunity to learn and I, for one, appreciate the information and insight. So keep it going! Cheers!
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Like it or not people like to brag about how much they have, accomplishments, knowledge etc...
