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Let's say you carry insurance on your car and home, faithfully paying premiums to Allstate or GEICO or State Farm, every year for 40 years. Fortunately, you are a safe driver and never had anything bad happen to your home, so you never needed to collect. Would you say that money belongs to you, and you got robbed... or were you just lucky?
Now flip it around and imagine you had a fire that destroyed your entire home. You receive a check from the insurance company that totals much more than you ever paid out in premiums. Would you say you maybe weren't so lucky anymore, but you were glad you had that insurance when you needed it most?
Social Security was designed to function like an insurance product, insuring against a destitute old age, with all of us (working Americans) sharing the risk in a gigantic pool. The word is even right in the title of the federal program: "Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)." The equivalent of the "house fire" analogy is one of us living to 100 (as increasing numbers do), and outliving our savings... in which case we keep on collecting social security, far beyond what we paid in.
It was not intended to function as a personal bank account.
Exactly. And as insurance, it works "better" if you only take it when you need it. If you have a pension and/or other IRA, 401k assets, or if your job is one you can do beyond full retirement age and you choose to do that - you get a higher payout and as noted higher COLA adjustments. It's just another form of delayed gratification.
I retired at 58, and will be 62 next year. I'm taking my social security then. I'm not waiting one day.
I'm scared if the democrats get in power, they'll start means testing. I want my money back for no other reason, than I don't want someone else to get it.
What do I plan to do with it every month, **ss it away.
I retired at 58, and will be 62 next year. I'm taking my social security then. I'm not waiting one day.
I'm scared if the democrats get in power, they'll start means testing. I want my money back for no other reason, than I don't want someone else to get it.
What do I plan to do with it every month, **ss it away.
It is already means tested ..... the lowest incomes get 6x the benefit per dollar paid in then the highest earners ... plus the ss is double taxed over certain levels of income
If you hate your job or it causes you pain, then 62 is an easy choice.
I'm not far from 62 and don't have these issues, so I'll keep on going.
Lots of different scenarios. After 32 years in the same house and city, I was ready for a change, so I retired at 62 and I moved to another state. I am really enjoying my new (smaller) city and I have the health and time to do it. I did move closer to my daughter and she has now moved across the country, but that doesn't change my satisfaction with my decision.
If you have been following this thread ,it is not about working or not ..it is about RETIRING AT 62 and having the choice to take ss at 62 or delay while not working
Actually, the OP said nothing about retiring.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT
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's more financially prudent for me to delay.
If I took SS at 62, a large chunk of the SS (maybe all of it) that I would recieve between 62 and 65 would be eaten up by high healthcare costs.
A better case could be made for me to take SS once I am eligible for Medicare.
It's more financially prudent for me to delay.
If I took SS at 62, a large chunk of the SS (maybe all of it) that I would recieve between 62 and 65 would be eaten up by high healthcare costs.
A better case could be made for me to take SS once I am eligible for Medicare.
If your job is affecting your health then you might not be saving 5hose dollars in the long run.as I keep saying everyone’s story is different.
I retired at 58, and will be 62 next year. I'm taking my social security then. I'm not waiting one day.
I'm scared if the democrats get in power, they'll start means testing. I want my money back for no other reason, than I don't want someone else to get it.
What do I plan to do with it every month, **ss it away.
It's more financially prudent for me to delay.
If I took SS at 62, a large chunk of the SS (maybe all of it) that I would recieve between 62 and 65 would be eaten up by high healthcare costs.
A better case could be made for me to take SS once I am eligible for Medicare.
He is most likely asking about retiring because if he was working he can’t collect if he makes more than 17k and change a year at 62.. so this thread is really about collecting at 62 or 70 and being retired or close to retired and under the income cap possibly working at most a part time job..
But if you notice the discussion is all about the pros and cons of taking ss early or delaying while not working and the effects of drawing down a portfolio to live on vs a bigger check
Last edited by mathjak107; 06-11-2019 at 05:24 PM..
What do I plan to do with it every month, **ss it away.
My goal is not dissimilar... to spend my last dollar on the day I die.
The closer I can get to that goal, the better.
My wife and I have no heirs.
I tell people if she predeceased me and I knew I only had a few months to live, I'd go buy a Rolls-Royce and drive it until I couldn't.
I like Rolls-Royces, they're nice. It would be fun to own one. My estate can sell it when I'm done playing with it.
there is almost a 50% chance a 65 year old couple will have one of them see 90 ....that is pretty high
When did "almost 50%" get to be "pretty high?"
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