I am not a lawyer but I recently did the numbers for myself.

In your case if you were born in 1955 your full retirement age is 66 and 2 months. You can start your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but the benefit amount you receive will be less than your full retirement benefit amount. Not recommended.

If you wait until you are 70 to claim SS the break even is living to 84. If you live longer you live you make considerably more money vs taking the benefits early.


If you wait until you are 67, you'll get 108 percent of the monthly benefit because you delayed getting benefits for 12 months.

You get an increased benefit of 8% per year you delay collecting your benefits.

If you wait until 70, you'll get 132 percent of the monthly benefit because you delayed getting benefits for 48 months. After 70 they stop adding to your benefits.

I plan to wait until I am 68 or 70 to collect my SS benefit.

It is a lifestyle choice. I am not ready to retire. Plus the guarantee of 8% return is not a bad thing either.

Bytes,

Very similar situation between you and I in all the scenarios you name. I retired seven months early at 65, the last six months I literally hated to go to work. I used to say it was time when a person hated to go to work, I now add to that. I hated to drive home after work because I knew in "X" hours I would be driving to work again down the same roads. Pretty sad.

I took SS, the penalty was under fifty bucks a month, well worth it to me. My wife turned 62 that same year, her birthday was the same month that I "hung it up"., we both received our first checks the same month.

In our case we are using SS for daily living expenses, not touching the 401k's at this time. Cottage shopping is on the horizon, if it had not been for the pandemic we would have started shopping by now.

My suggestion is to inquire with your employer's insurance company's rep to see if they will assist you in shopping for coverage for you and your wife. Even though you are on Medicare you could consider an Advantage plan. I did and so far have been satisfied. With your wife's coverage like another person posted the Marketplace will give you options to explore for her coverage.

As those options are income driven, you may qualify for assistance with her coverage.

Some people advocate working for as long as you can to maximize SS income. What good is retirement if you cannot enjoy the fruits of your labor? My ex-supervisor tried to talk me out of retiring with the money angle. He is a couple of years younger than I. Unfortunately he had a stroke earlier this year, he was still working at that time. While I wish him the best I warned him of that exact scenario before my last day there.

Best to you and your wife whichever way you decide to go.

I discovered the 'retirement' I had for a number of years prior to my Sweet Bride herself actually retiring, changed in a number of ways after she was home 100%.

We discovered a couple of the small details our various financial advisors overlooked, have made a rather larger impact on our post retirement life style. Frugality and financial discipline have demonstrated their benefits.

I am not a tax guy or financial Guru...but..All that money you have saved up is your money, you have earned it.

Yes healthcare is a bitch to pay for. But the older I get the more parts break down. I retired and LOVE it. Wife is still working (I am lucky as she is younger than me)so she covers health care benefits.

Like you, we have money saved up. With each passing day, she talks more and more of retiring. I would lean more to retiring and use your savings as that is your money. Use it now because when you are gone..who gets to enjoy YOUR money?

Just my thoughts but a good Financial Planner will really be able to pencil it out for you.

Good Luck

Not sure how it would sit with your wife, but "you" could always retire and start enjoying life and let your wife continue to work until the insurance thing works out. Taking SS early vs waiting several years nets you the same amount of income up to about 77 or 78 (been awhile since i did that calculation) After that the higher payments for deferring will net you more cash. So if you think you will live into your 80's and beyond, holding out for higher payments is to your advantage. Your financial advisor should be able to explain and guide you with that. Hopefully he/she is a fiduciary.

You have a lot of cash and should live a very comfortable retirement assuming your health holds out.

We have only touched "savings" to do home improvements and such things. Even with the recent market issues, and spending a few thousand here and there, the balance has not changed much. Our financial guy did a calculation on our IRA's, and assuming 5% growth each year, we can take about 2x RMD and those accounts as well have stayed the same.

One of the things that I am not seeing in this discussion is the answer to the question: "what do you want to do in retirement?" In my case, I am still working at 70 because I can't answer that question with any kind of assurance. The usual activities of travel, etc. do not do it for me. I'd want to be active with hobbies, etc., but the old body deteriorated significantly between 65 and 70 and I no longer have the energy, physical and mental to work up a lot of enthusiasm for that sort of stuff. The last thing I want is to retire to an easy chair in front of the TV.

Anyway, before you retire, it is probably worthwhile thinking about what you want your life to be like in retirement, both the day-to-day, and what you might want to accomplish. The people who seem happiest in retirement are those who quit work to take on something they are truly passionate about, and those who simply hated their job so much they are delighted to be rid of it. A lot of "free time" isn't necessarily a blessing.

I enjoy volunteering for some things, makes me feel good.

Having said that, you can't sit on your butt and watch tv in retirement, your physical and mental health will most likely detiorate quickly.

IMO you must have a plan to stay busy.

Whatever that may be will be specific to you.

Write a list of things you want to do. Some travel, kids/grandkids/hobbies, etc. Consider volunteering, there's a big need for it and it helps keep things in perspective. Most of us have no idea how well off we actually are.

IMO we need to do a number of things each day, including but not limited to: Physical exercise, Mental Stimulation and Learning, Emotional interaction, Spiritual and Love, Arts, and more. Doing these things every day gives a great deal of Contentment and Happiness.

I'll stress this: STAY PHYSICALLY ACTIVE, just being up and moving around and doing things is a huge benefit to your health, and the absence of not doing so will kick your ass so to speak.

Best wishes to you and your wife.
.

quote:

Originally posted by architect: I'd want to be active with hobbies, etc., but the old body deteriorated significantly between 65 and 70 and I no longer have the energy, physical and mental to work up a lot of enthusiasm for that sort of stuff.

Which is exactly why I have no intention of working to 65.

Can you retire and still keep your insurance from work? My wife is 10 1/2 years younger than me. I was able to keep my insurance, covering my wife and serving as secondary to Medicare.

Simply put the only thing it depends on is what the two of you plan to do in retirement. If you have interests that will keep you guys together and engaged then go for it. You have plenty of assets to move on from regular employment.

If you do not have a plan on what your life together is going to be with out work in the mix than figure that out first.

I have not missed going to work for someone else one day since giving that up.

Work as long as you can, save as much as you can. Try to set up some sort of income generation that you can carry into retirement. Plan for a situation in retirement where Social Security and Medicare are no longer available.

I think you're kind of stuck, Bytes

I see the problem not so much as medical insurance premiums, deductibles, and co-pays for routine health coverage, but the risk of what could happen if, God forbid, your wife should become seriously injured or ill. That, to me, is the real risk.

So I would recommend you stick it out until she's eligible for Medicare.

I worked until both my wife and I were eligible. Luckily, she's less than a year younger than I. Then we signed-up for the most comprehensive Medigap plan there is. In this way, no matter what happens to either of us, the other won't be left homeless and destitute by the U.S. health "care" system.

My sister and her husband were in that exact situation and they got insurance from Farm Bureau of Tennessee and it was fairly cheap. IIRC maybe 300 a month. It didn't cover any existing conditions and likely had a high deductible. Disaster insurance I guess, but they could afford to absorb the smaller hits as needed. Sorry I don't have any more details.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
So I would recommend you stick it out until she's eligible for Medicare.

Thanks for chiming in ensigmatic. I wanted to hear from a fellow NERD. After talking with the wifey this AM, sticking it out until 70 seems like the least risk possible. I am very risk averse. We do want to leave something for our kids and this seems like the best course of action.

To the rest of the SigForum brain trust, I am appreciative of your input. Really, I am!

I can't believe Para put a forum together that I could post this on. Thanks Para!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I agree. Those medical bills can bankrupt a lifetime of savings. These problems generally come out of nowhere. A drug reaction put me in the hospital for a week. Well over 100 thousand dollars. Insurance took care of most of it.

I've been enjoying reading this thread as retirement may be upon me sooner than I think....or really want. I too will be looking at the cost of healthcare for me....I'm not married. Many comments hit home and I appreciate the responses.

To Bytes, I might add that it's not all or nothing as far as the five more years of work go. Take it day by day, month by month, etc. Maybe in a year or two you'll find a healthcare plan for your wife that will suit you both perfectly. Keep an open mind and good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by Bytes:
Thanks for chiming in ensigmatic. I wanted to hear from a fellow NERD. After talking with the wifey this AM, sticking it out until 70 seems like the least risk possible. I am very risk averse.

You're welcome. My wife and I are very risk-adverse, as well.

But I was a bit too quick on the trigger, so now I have to contradict myself

The part I didn't think of in my original response is this: Just how good is the coverage you currently enjoy? Ours, at my old employer's, was pretty good, but not as good as our current Medicare/Medigap coverage.

What I would suggest is figure out just what is your current exposure, then find out what it would cost in premiums to achieve the same exposure for your wife if you were to retire at 65. Add in Medicare Part B and Medigap for you, then whatever the non-Medicare/Medigap premiums would cost for her to achieve for her the same exposure she currently has, and figure out, from that, if retiring sooner makes financial sense.

The reason I think that would be a worthwhile exercise is this: The average life expectancy of American males is a mere 76. Too many American males wait too long to retire, retire, then die soon thereafter, not having been able to enjoy much time in retirement.

quote:

Originally posted by Bytes:
I can't believe Para put a forum together that I could post this on. Thanks Para!

Hear! Hear!

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
The reason I think that would be a worthwhile exercise is this: The average life expectancy of American males is a mere 76. Too many American males wait too long to retire, retire, then die soon thereafter, not having been able to enjoy much time in retirement.

That's right. The financial planners will tell you that there's a (I think) 30% chance that you or your spouse will live to 90. OK, that means there's a 70% chance that neither of you will. Unless your family history is one where most of the men lived into their mid-80s, I wouldn't expect to beat the odds by that much.

I have a strong bias toward early retirement due to my dad's experience. Retired at 57yo/33year exp. Rule of 90. Three years later, at age 60, he mowed the grass, went to bed and woke up paralyzed. He suffered a major stroke that night. His life was over, but it took his body the next 12 years to die. The last two in a nursing home.

quote:

I have a strong bias toward early retirement due to my dad's experience. Retired at 57yo/33year exp. Rule of 90. Three years later, at age 60, he mowed the grass, went to bed and woke up paralyzed. He suffered a major stroke that night. His life was over, but it took his body the next 12 years to die. The last two in a nursing home.

^^^^^^^^^^
It is interesting how we base our life span on those of our parents. All the males in Mickey Mantle's family died in their forties. Thinking he would meet the same fate he famously remarked if I knew I was gonna live this long I would have taken better care of myself.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
It is interesting how we base our life span on those of our parents. All the males in Mickey Mantle's family died in their forties. Thinking he would meet the same fate he famously remarked if I knew I was gonna live this long I would have taken better care of myself.

It's about the best we can do. Seems more reasonable than assuming I will be the statistical outlier.