Age you started Social Security?

[SS4Real]

What age were you when you started to draw Social Security and what made your decision? I'm 58 and while I have a few years to decide, not sure which approach is the smartest. I know some of you have already started the process (or delayed payments) and I'm curious as to what drove your decision?

[Lynn]

If you had a crystal ball, and knew exactly when you will die, you can figure out the date you should start.... assuming it doesn't implode.
If you are in good health, and plan to work beyond age 65, waiting until 70 will NORMALLY pay off in the long run... again assuming it doesn't implode.

Good place to start: https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/applying1.html

[mockingbird812]

Good advice from Lynn. Also, if at all possible, don't collect until your full retirement age (even if you retired before that age). Which for you would be about age 66 and 8 months.

[m22mike]

Don't agree, you do not have the crystal ball, start ASAP, Just one opinion. And don't work so long, you may take the dirt nap sooner than expected...... <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/shocked.gif

Mike

[Lynn]

And... just to be clear, you will get the same divergent answers you got from Sam and Mike from financial professionals. There is even a significant contingent that really believes to start early, and get it while you can before it does go belly up.

Personally, I like working. I like what I do; I like my clientsp; and I have the world's best legal assistant (Sherri) who is 14 years younger than me, so she is not ready to quit working either. We have already cut back our hours (that's why I have time to piddle on the cars and spend time with the grandsons) but I don't intend to fully retire until the day I turn 83. I have several healthy clients who retired in their 70's and really regret it.

Yep, the dirt nap could come any day. I have made sure Sherri is taken care of, and will have no regrets. BTW, I am 64.

[bbbentley]

Difficult answers. While I am the part of the boomer generation, 56, I am not the age group &quot;riding the wave&quot;. More like the group sucked up in the under toe. I think this depends if you really enjoy your work, like Lynn. I have known so many guys who retire and die shortly after. That was their life (working) , and it was what gave them a reason to live. While others can't wait to retire to pursue other interests. So, I feel it is a personality thing that decides which strategy plan of S.S. Then, there is health to consider.
I am in the camp that you better get it while you can and as soon as you can. Life is a very uncertain and a precarious feat. Enjoy it while you can and do not look back with regret.

[m22mike]

Good point on work Lynn. In my case I still work, almost every day doing restoration work. I left a great job at 59 and have enjoyed the last 10 years. Point is have a plan, sitting in the mall drinking coffee with the other geezers won't cut it. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

Mike

[RST]

My take: As long as you feel good and are enjoying working, don't take it.... if you have a scare and get tiered of working and are set with other investments, take it and have fun!

[SS4Real]

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?

[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 <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif

[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.

[Salvatore]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: m22mike</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Don't agree, you do not have the crystal ball, start ASAP, Just one opinion. And don't work so long, you may take the dirt nap sooner than expected...... <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/shocked.gif

Mike</div></div>

Correct Mike! If you really do not need your SS, take it and invest it in stocks or something. take it while the gettin is good.
Since our Pres. restarted the gas and oil pipelines a couple stocks I know of are doing good. Put some money in them.
BPL, TLLP, NGL, MMP a few examples. They pay a good yield too. If your money rests, it will rust!

[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.

[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

[Bill Pritchard]

As others have said here, there is no 'right answer' that fits all. Longevity of males in my family has been very poor, so I took mine at 62. The break even point for me was around 79 1/2. If I live past that age, I will not be the least bit upset that I am 'losing money'. And if I make it to that age with no drastic changes in the program, like a sizable reduction in benefit, I will be astonished!

[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.

[SS4Real]

Financial advisor and my CPA both said to take it at 62 and have fun........if I live to the break even point in old age then I still win 'cause I'm not horizontal.

[flyingn]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SS4Real</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Financial advisor and my CPA both said to take it at 62 and have fun........if I live to the break even point in old age then I still win 'cause I'm not horizontal. </div></div>

Mine said same thing. Take it as early as you can

[enio45]

I loved my job at IBM - but not the stress - so having said that, i retired at the age 53. Am financial set with all the hard work and sacrifice my wife and i put into IBM (she worked there as well). Not having kids has its benefits as well and some downside, but i understand that. So at the age of 53 i turned the hobby into a larger hobby, play golf and travel and enjoy life for the most part, and help out family and friends when they need something. 10 yrs later I took my SS when it came up - don't need the money, so i use it to draw less on the retirement funds to enjoy life.

Optionally i can use it to pay down the house mortgage sooner, or buy Kimberly a new lexus RX, or just save it.

I cannot complain.....

[Ngtflyr]

Unfortunately I started receiving SS survivor benefits at 13 when my dad passed away. I continued receiving it until I was 23 and it was a major factor in being able to go to college and get a degree. It was incentive to get school done because I knew I was on the clock. Almost simultaneously, I finished school, turned 23 and President Reagan killed the program. You would no longer receive survivor SS benefits after 18. I was lucky in the sense that as a poor kid I wouldn't have been able to afford college. College for me was a combination of SS benefits, VA benefits, scholarships and grants as well as what I made during the summer and spring breaks. I took full advantage of the program, got my degree and the USAF offered me a pilot slot when I finished. I've paid in a lot to the program in the meantime but not complaining.

[Woj]

About 10 years ago at a Merrill Lynch financial meeting, they had some reps from the Social Security Administration. They recommended taking it at 62. Given all the ideas mentioned earlier, that is something to consider.

[SeattleCarGuy]

I'm 46 and I've had the conversation many times with my friends that are in the same boat, roughly. None of us even figure SS into our retirement plans, so if there is anything available when I am 62, I will take it, but I'm sure not counting on it.

[rubbinisracing]

Tell me your going to die and I can advise you when to start drawing SS