[rjm1cc]

Originally Posted by batman911

Has anyone successfully tried any of the scenarios in this article?

Yes. I went to the SS office with my wife so we could do everything together and at the same time and the SS employee told me is was familure with file and suspend and could process the papper work. (My research showed that most SS employees were not processing the requests correctly). Long story short the paper work was not done correctly (form not processed) and I spent three or four months getting things corrected. The short story is that it worked so I would go for it.

[Prendie Girl]

Originally Posted by Francie

I am wondering if it makes sense to utilize my investments when I retire at 62, then take SS when I turn 70 for the maximum payout, versus taking SS at 62 or 66.

I welcome any opinions.

I am 66 and am going to collect on my husband's social security. You have to be full retirement age to do that. When I am 70 I will collect on my own social security and that is about $400 more than my own current social security would be right now.

[Prendie Girl]

Yes, I am 66 and collecting on my husband's until I am 70 then my own. $400 difference.

[Prendie Girl]

You can't take spousal SS until you are full retirement age -66.

[jimbo2012]

Say the wife takes early at 63 receiving $500, does that change at 66?

When say the husband receives $1800, does the the wife at 66 get 500 + 900

[coach]

Originally Posted by jimbo2012

Say the wife takes early at 63 receiving $500, does that change at 66?

When say the husband receives $1800, does the the wife at 66 get 500 + 900

If your wife files on her own work record at age 63 and gets $500, when she is (full retirement age) 66 she could then file a spousal claim against your $1800 and receive half or $900. She would no longer receive her earlier payment of $500. If you died she would step up to your $1800 but no longer receive the $900.

[mrfixit]

...........Having not perused this thread in its entirety......
.........................................Perhaps this needs to be mentioned.......

....IF your spouse has passed away....

...........You are entitled to the Surviving Spouse benefits at age 60.

......You CAN collect the Surviving Spouse benefit,
............then switch to your own at 62 or 66 or whatever age.....
..................if and when your own benefit becomes a larger $$$ amount.

[chazz1996]

Do it now , don't wait, times a fleeting

[jimalto]

Originally Posted by Francie

I am wondering if it makes sense to utilize my investments when I retire at 62, then take SS when I turn 70 for the maximum payout, versus taking SS at 62 or 66.

I welcome any opinions.

And what if you happen to not turn 70?

[batman911]

Originally Posted by jimalto

And what if you happen to not turn 70?

Then you would have done something nice for other people and you may get a gold star beside your name in Heaven. I do not feel I need to get every single penny I paid into SS out before my time is up to feel good about SS. I am simply happy that I will have income from SS for as long as I need it.

[Kelsie52]

There are many options according to your wants or needs. What a great Country !!:IMHO It all depends on your situtation.

We were lucky enough to get of the rat race of NY at 58/56 and find a little piece of paradise here in TV.

My calculations show if I start taking the $$ at 62 --my break even point is around age 77 --- (if we make it that long ) 3 of 4 parents passed before 77

We intend to enjoy (or save ) every penny while its still a viable program

Good luck and good health to all

[JourneyOfLife]

There are many issues to consider in addition to expected age of death of you and your spouse.

I could not adequately describe our plan and all of the issues that went into selecting our planned ages for beginning SS in a post.


It is definitely a detailed planning exercise. One needs to include personal risks in that planning exercise (financial ,legal, health, etc). It is amazing what concerns surface when one asks them self a simple question: "what might go wrong?" The answers can be a little frightening when one realizes there are so many pitfalls.

Since we have imperfect information, I tend to look at the problem more from a "limit our risk" POV rather than hoping to "maximizing our total return" from SS.

For retirement income, I tend to hope for the best, but plan for the worst.


Since that time is still a few years off, our plan could change depending on our situation in the future. Our current plan is for my wife to take SS early at 62 and I will take my SS late at 70. The reason is whichever one of us survives the other will have access to the larger check. We have reason enough to believe one of us might live long enough to make delaying one SS a smart move. Plus in a worst case financial situation (e.g., we lost everything)... SS will still be there and it is adjusted for inflation.

[Shimpy]

I would have taken mine at 62 but didn't because I wanted to work to 67. This way I wasn't limited to how much I could earn, and each year my SS would rise until I decided to take it at 67. Good choice for me as the last 5 years of working were my biggest money earning years which helped the SS calculation. I figured each year I worked at the end eliminated a year back 20 years ago when I earned very little.

[JoelJohnson]

On the SS.GOV site you can find a table of the index factors for each year (starting in the 1960s I think) for someone born in 1950. Anyway, if you print off a copy of your SS earnings from the web site, you can multiply your earning for each year with the index factor and get your inflation adjusted earnings for that year. Once you put in all your data, sort the results to get the highest 35 years of adjusted earnings and get a total. Divide that by 420 (35 years in months). That's your avg indexed monthly earnings. The site will explain about the exact formula, but if you take about 1/2 that amount you be will close to your monthly benefit at age 66.

I have a Excel spreadsheet, but it is easy enough to create your own.

The SS site now has an index table for someone born in 1951.

If you want a copy of my Excel spreadsheet (it's a 2002 version) email at JoelJohnson530@gmail.com and I'll send you copy. You will just have to enter you own numbers of course.

[Mallory Voice]

Originally Posted by Francie

I am wondering if it makes sense to utilize my investments when I retire at 62, then take SS when I turn 70 for the maximum payout, versus taking SS at 62 or 66.

I welcome any opinions.

NEVER! If you are not working apply for SS at age 62 and let your investments continue to grow. Waiting until age 66 or later - you will never live long enough to recoup what you would have lost in benefits! Do the math!
MV