Taking your SS

[Colorado Cowboy]

There was a thread about this same subject about 6 months ago, you should read some of those answers too.

 

[AKDoc]

Good advice but if you are married it's actually a team decision because it can dramatically affect a surviving spouse/lesser wage earner...

Absolutely!

 

[SteveCNJ]

For those who say they're going to start at a specific age, make sure you do your homework. My bday is in April and I was going to wait until my 68th bday. I went on to the SS site and used this tool to see how much I'd get come my 67th in April. Then i slid it back a month and to my surprise it was the same amount! February and January the same thing. December went down so I started my SS in January and got my first payment in February. So, I wound up with 3 months of SS that I would have never seen if I just waited for my birthday. Don't leave money on the table.

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[Huntingfarandwide]

I'm taking mine at 67 and diverting the exact same amount into my 401K. I don't know how long I will work after that butvI have done the math and if I wait until I'm 70 it will take me until I'm 84 to even out.

 

[*Mountainhunter]

I retired at 66 1/2. I started taking SS at 67 1/2. I know I didn't max what I could have received but I am okay with it.
I will deplete our assets less and have more left to leave to our heirs.

 

[Mike Islander]

I'm waiting for 70. I make great money and enjoy working. Why wait? My SS is much higher than my wife's. If I die before her she collects mine, which is 24% higher for the rest of time if I wait till 70 versus taking it at 67.

 

[Oldrook]

The wife and I filed at 62 and now two and a half years in, it was a good call. We agonized over it, but a late in life job loss at age 60 created an interesting situation for us. I was able to start a small business and work until age 63. We took the early SS to give us a financial cushion. The plan had always been to retire at 65 and begin drawing then- still prior to our FRA, but that was our plan as the numbers worked well.

Funny thing about all this at 62 our projected benefits were less than age 65 obviously, but with the COLA increases since we took and if this year is 3.5% and it should be, we will be within $50 dollars of our age 65 projected benefit at age 64 1/2 and should surpass on the next calendar year. The big thing here is your unclaimed benefits do not go up with the COLA - they stay static unless you make money over your best 35 between 62-65 and significantly over. so we've pulled 2.5 years of our SS money out early, made life much easier, allowed our personal retirement account to grow and given up nothing.. We can leave our money to our son, but not SS. So I want that money protected the most.

In our case it was the right thing to do. I was a fairly high earner for a number of years and maxed out a good chunk of my highest 35. The last 2-4 would not have been at that level most likely as the few offers I had, and they required relocation were no where near my last levels.

everyone's situation is different, but look at all the angles.