quote:

but given what I know now I'd take it the very first day I qualified.

I think many are concerned with inflation and rising costs of living, food, fuel, electricity, that if you are still working, extend to have a higher monthly "paycheck",

They live that way now, so it's something they calculate differently based on what they will need to live, maybe don't have any financial advice or education.

The program is setup so that it is difficult to navigate for many people, even those that have the ability to comprehend these things.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
I did eight months before FRA. 48 dollars a month less than if I had waited. Insurance was the determining factor for retirement. Once Medicare was in the picture the decision was made. I was tired and wanted out of that company.

I did wait an additional four months to exit, had to wait for my employment anniversary date to qualify for vacation paid time off. It was based on working the previous year with no prorates. Without going into a bunch of boring details I was not going to walk away from anything that I was entitled to that they had to pay for.

That earlier post was from December 1, 2020. Still today I have no second thoughts for retiring in 2017.

quote:

I think many are concerned with inflation

One of the HUGE benefits of SS is that its indexed.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
This sounds mean but all the options are actuarial the same...
...but given what I know now I'd take it the very first day I qualified.

I was aware of this because I sold life insurance for awhile.

I started my SS on my 62nd birthday...nice side benefit was that my daughter, who wasn't yet 18, was able to collect Survivor's Benefits on my SS until she reached 18

I filed for full age retirement (70) just yesterday. Will start paying in May. My wife and I were both born before 1955. As such she filed for SS at age 65 and I filed for spousal support SS the same time. Been about 2 years now I have been receiving a monthly amount equal to 1/2 her payout. With spousal support it did not affect my FRA SS. Nice benefit if you and your spouse were born before 1955.

I decided to wait till FRA primarily to maximize the benefit for my wife should I pass before she does. If that happens then her benefit goes up to my benefit amount.

^^^ That is a very nice benefit! Sounds like you did it right for your circumstances.

I've held off because I have a defined benefit pension and other investments, and because, as a former pubic employee, my benefit is hit hard due to the Windfall Elimination Provision. I worked as long in the private sector as the public, BUT, according to this law, the reduce my benefit to around 700 a month at FULL retirement age. There's a move on to eliminate this provision, so I'll wait for a while and see what happens. As has been said before, your health, your finances. I'd certainly draw early SS before I touched a 401k, for example.

quote:

and I filed for spousal support SS the same time

IIRC, that's gone now, correct?

He said that benefit was for those born before 1955.

Everyone's situation is different. My plan was to wait until both my wife and I are 70. But if was was smarter, here's what I would have done. My wife's full retirement benefit is exactly half of my full retirement benefit. So the optimal plan from a numbers game would have been if she took hers at 62, pile up those benefits over the years. I wait until I'm 70 to file at which point, she can file for spousal benefits which gets her her full retirement benefit amount. All tht money she would have gotten between 62 and my 70 years would have been "free money" with no penalty for her for applying early.

The part of me that creaks and is concerned for longevity of benefits in the plan leans toward early as possible.

The part of me that understands our financial modeling is geared toward living to ~90 and knowing that there's an 11% chance of me, and 17% chance of my wife, living to 100 leans toward as late as possible for max benefits.

We have 5-6 years before having to make the earlier decisions but it's a conundrum. Also recognize that our spending will likely be less at 85 or 95 than at 65, apart from any home care needs. And the more expensive those are I suspect the shorter the life expectancy. Nobody ever went broke under long term hospice....

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:

We have 5-6 years before having to make the earlier decisions but it's a conundrum. Also recognize that our spending will likely be less at 85 or 95 than at 65

My observation of family and friends is that they end up surprised with extra money by the time they hit 80 yrs old. Many of them, maybe all, have pensions, so that is a consideration. Still, their spending goes way down after about 75 years old.

The key factors seem to be living in a paid off home or an affordable rental situation, and not wasting gobs of money trying to appear wealthy.

I retired at age 63 and began drawing S.S., plus Pension funds from Pennsylvania.

My S.S. does get taxed.

I ran the numbers for myself.

Took it at 67 one year after full retirement age.

Break-even was at 79 if I waited until 70 and spent the money.

Much longer if I invested it.

I decided to take the money now.

Glad I did.

I got word this morning that my application had been approved and I'd start receiving SS deposits on the fourth Wednesday of each month....starting next month.

Enjoy and I wish you a long, healthy life collecting more than your fair share of benefits!

This is timely for me as well. My parents applied for my Social Security Card when I was 14 or so. I go by my middle name and always have. My Social Security account is under my middle name only. My first name appears nowhere in it, just middle and last name.

I have a copy of my birth certificate showing my full name but I haven't had a physical SS card in years. The SS Administration does have my current address and sends notifications to me at that address, and they always show middle name/last name. My driver's license shows first name, middle initial and last name. I guess before applying for SS, I'll have to visit one of their lovely offices and speak with the happy people there. Why do I get the feeling that this won't be any fun?

Has anyone dealt with this kind of thing? Fed161, any idea if I'll have any difficulties with this?

Congrats 6guns. Buy an AR with the first check.

Para I went through the same, I applied for mine around the same age. It was part of a school class push. I went to our local PO and got the form and filled it out not knowing to put my birth certificate full name on the app.
Used it my whole life and didn't become an issue tile I created a SS acct to apply for SS benefits.
All I needed was my birth certificate (not a copy) and my DL as ID. spent an hr waiting to get seen and having to wear a damn mask but it went through no problems. This was a few months ago and they are still mandating the mask crap.

Thanks, but if you'll notice, my DL shows only middle initial, not full middle name.