Age you started Social Security?

[RST]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SS4Real</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thank you for the excellent responses so far as they are very helpful. I'm retired, financially secure, estate planning is completed and I'm covered by my wife's health insurance which is terrific. I am in excellent health, however, both of my parents died in their mid 60's and that certainly is on my mind. I don't need the money, but don't want to leave it on the table either.

I know there must be a bunch of you in the same or similar situations as I am. Any of you think you should have waited longer to take it, or conversely, started it earlier? </div></div>

If you don't need it, TAKE IT and start a trust for something you love, Grandkids, a Charity .... something that will make you feel good and leave your mark [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

[ohhawk]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SS4Real</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thank you for the excellent responses so far as they are very helpful. I'm retired, financially secure, estate planning is completed and I'm covered by my wife's health insurance which is terrific. I am in excellent health, however, both of my parents died in their mid 60's and that certainly is on my mind. I don't need the money, but don't want to leave it on the table either.

I know there must be a bunch of you in the same or similar situations as I am. Any of you think you should have waited longer to take it, or conversely, started it earlier? </div></div>

I would consider getting input from a fee based financial advisor but from your brief description I would guess the longer the wait the better....... at a minimum, your full retirement age. Lots of variables at work that need to be considered and no two people have the identical scenarios financially. Lots of questions need to be asked and answered (by someone) before a sound decision can be reached.

[TimG]

I'm still hanging in there at the insurance business, but definitely cutting back. Cars and working out occupy my spare time along with some travel. My wife retried last October with the intention of working again in some capacity, but she's really enjoying not working. My plan was to retire at 63, that's over one year away. As that time gets closer I'm considering moving that back, though.

[markinnaples]

Do the math. Calculate what you'll get at 62.5 (Is that when you can start?) and add up all that you will get before the next tier that raises the amount and see how long it will take you to recoup the amount that you're foregoing by not collecting right away and see where that puts you.

For example, if you collect $100/mo when you start at 62, and the amount raises to $150 at 65, then you will need to make up 3 years of $100 payments ($3600) at $50/mo, which means that it will take you 6 years/72 months ($3600/$50) to make up the difference. After those 6 years (age 68), you'll start to get ahead as a reward for waiting.

I'm 50, so I have a ways to go, but I plan on collecting as soon as I am able because (a) I don't trust politicians, (b) I have no guarantees how long I'll live past 62 so I'm going to enjoy life with the extra SS money as long as I can, and (c) I don't trust politicians. JMHO.

[Crush]

Great conversation. Me and a friend always have the discussion about what amount do you need to retire. A friend of his retired at 52 w a million and no debt and is loving life. We always get into the discussion as to the &quot;number&quot; predicates the type of lifestyle you want to have, in terms of material things, travel etc.. as was already stated the unknown we all face is how long we live and what will be the quality of those years. My 87 year old mom still works because she believes staying active mentally and physically is key and I tend to agree. If you love what your doing and it affords the lifestyle that you like to have, keep doing it. However if you find yourself putting things off because of time you may want to think about using the time you have so you can live w/o regret. A quote I heard recently,
&quot;A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams&quot;

[lbnaz]

Just FYI. I went to a seminar about when to take it awhile back. I'm 61 if I take mine at 62 instead of 66y2m the break even date was 77y8m.

[Crush]

Not sure I understand &quot;break even&quot;? Can you elaborate please?

[SBR]

I would take the money ASAP as no one knows how long we will be here. I believe that you have to live to age 77 before delaying the receipt of payments would have paid off. I would have no problem with that lol, bird in hand.

[lbnaz]

By break even I mean the sum you would have gotten up until the 77y 8m point for me is the same if I take reduced at 62 or I wait until 66y2m for my full benefit. After the 77y8m point I start loosing money if I took it at 62. There was even a break down from 66 to 70 and I think the age was 82 and change to make a difference. Larry

[Jeff H]

If you retire early at age 62 you would get roughly 70% of what you would get at normal retirement age (which is 65, 66 or 67 depending on when your were born). If you wait until 70 or older you would get 25-30% more than if you retired at normal retirement age. That's all assuming SS is still around when you do decide. If your family medical history shows a pattern of living longer, then it might be worth waiting. Both my grandfathers passed away in their late 70's early 80's but my grandmothers lived to 96 and 100 so that's a really big spread to be hedging against. There is no easy answer but looking at the SS information they send you each year and going to the website to look into it further might help you plan it out. Some people get bored quickly, others don't. I never planned on SS being there so I started putting money into plans a while ago.