Well, I went and did it

[LoboGunLeather]

Taking SS early at 62 means a smaller benefit amount, also limits on taxable income without loss of benefits.

Waiting to "full retirement age" (varies depending on birth date) brings a higher benefit without income restrictions.

Pretty easy to project benefit amount over the years to compare the total to be received at each age. For most people the "crossover" or break even point is about 13 to 17 years, depending on lifetime contributions.

We have two reduced SS benefits. Mine is minimal due to 24 years of public employment without SS contributions. I started drawing at age 63 and unless I live past 80 the total pay-out is in my favor.

Don't forget that at age 65 you will be auto-enrolled in Medicare with premiums deducted from your monthly benefit. Basic coverage (Parts A & B) are now about $170 per month; expanded coverage or supplemental plans on top of that. So far I haven't figured a way around that, even though I don't use Medicare at all (full VA disability benefits, hospitals, doctors, pharmacy, etc, no deductibles, no co-pays).

 

[coltle6920]

Retired at 58yrs old. Single with no kids or dependents of any kind. Have a decent pension and 401k. Collecting SS was the last thing on my mind for several years.

Without a house or car payment I was living comfortably on my pension and meager withdrawals from the 401k. I figured might as well use them up first not having any beneficiaries I would pass anything on to.

When I turned 70 I was "forced" to start taking SS. Given my life style it is more money than I could ever need. Turning 73 in a few months and will be "forced" to start taking a RMD from my 401k.

Life is great and I'm thankful to be in this position. If I was a carefree spender with a lot of debt I probably wouldn't have made it this far.

Thanks, Mom and Dad!

P.S. And NO! I'm not taking requests for adoptions.

 

[Muley Gil]

I took my Social Security at 63 1/2. I had a lot of reasons to do so. My dad's health was slipping and he wanted to spend more time with me. I was having health issues, some I knew about and some I didn't. According to the SSA website, it would have taken me 14 years to catch up if I waited for my full retirement age. But considering the life spans of the guys in my family, it would not have been a bad bet to wait for my full retirement age to take Social Security.

BUT, sometimes life has other plans. Not long after visiting my dad, I got called into the senior partner's office to learn that I was getting an unfavorable reassignment at work. That was the mental kick in the pants I needed to put pen to paper to decide if retirement was a feasible option. With the costs of commuting 90 miles a day, to continue working would have netted me a whole additional $20 a month for the privilege of running the traffic on the Baltimore Beltway. Did I want to run the Baltimore Beltway for a whole $20 a month? Not only NO, but HECK NO! My application for Social Security was filed immediately and after 8 1/2 years in retirement I still call it the best move I ever made. I'm taking care of myself better and now I can go bust caps at the range in the middle of the day in the middle of the week. And isn't that what we worked toward?

So Steve, based on my own experience, I think you made a good move. John, I think you're making a good move and going to be OK.

I wouldn't drive that Beltway for $100 a month!

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

About this time next year -if all goes well.

 

[riverrat38]

"*You watch, somebody will call tomorrow with a very well paid two-year consultancy."

I am pretty sure that if that happens, you can suspend SS payment for the time you are employed. Then, they will recalculate a new payment amount, which will be higher for two reasons. One, because of the time you didn't get benefits, and also, because they will be collecting on the "very well paid two-year consultancy."
That happened to me, except that when my old employer called to offer me a consulting job after I started collecting SS, I had moved too far to commute. And, I had gotten used to not working. I am 81 now and have been on SS for 19 years. Also, my company pension for the same time period. I am shooting for 30 years for both, as that is how long I worked at that job.

73,
Rick

 

[Skeet 028]

For most of my working life I did not pay SS. Some income was tax free. I was also not allowed to do any 401s or anything till about 4 years before retirement. So my wife and I invested in land buying one farm for about 50 grand and another for about 130 thousand. We sold the first for a substantial amount and bought the ranch here in Wy. Put the rest in some accounts to earn a bit. My wife retired from nursing at 57. Reinvested her 401 and waited to collect SS when she became eligible(63?). I retired at 47 and have been so longer than I worked. Still have the other farm cause I can't afford to sell it and lose most to taxes as I never lived on it. We don't want to move so can't do property exchange.. I'll just give it to my daughter or grandkids

 

[H Richard]

I retired at 63 1/2, would have earlier but could only have Health insurance under COBRA for 18 months. I added up how much I would get from 62 1/2 to 66.4 years, and that $65000+ wasn't too bad. The decrease in my then SSA benefit wasn't enough to offset that amount of money for quite a few years. I also had a decent retirement from my employer, and a very small VA Disability. With the mandatory withdrawal from my IRA (since 70 1/2) I'm making quite a bit more than I did when working.

Tell all your children to set up payroll deduction savings at the earliest age possible and every time they get a raise put half of it in the savings plan. DON'T touch it, and they will have no worries when they retire.

 

[Doug M.]

Anyone know how far in advance the eligible birthday one can apply to make sure the payments start as soon as you are eligible, and how long the process takes from start to the point of getting checks? I presume that the payments start at the beginning of the month after eligibility.

 

[riverrat38]

I don't know about the lead time, but the payment is directly deposited into my checking account on the third Wednesday of the month. My wife gets hers on the second Wednesday. Depends on which day of the month your birthday falls on.

73,
Rick

 

[Dave_n]

I applied for social security today. Yes, I'm taking it "early", but when I did the math it was the only thing that made sense given the chances of further employment at a salary that would make waiting even close to worthwhile.*

One part of the process baffled me slightly. I receive a retirement from a previous job in the UK and I checked the box to say so. However, at no time did it ask me to enter how much. That seemed odd given the Windfall Provision. Maybe I will get a letter to go down to the local office with proofs of how much. Given how much my SS benefits would be hit by WEP, it would be really nice if the current bill in congress made it. We shall see.

Steve:

There is no reduction on US SS for an UK pension. I continued paying into the UK system for quite a few years after I moved to teh US in 1968 and when I took US SS at 65 the UK pension was sent every four weeks directly to my US bank in dollars. Also, since I had an UK pension my wife was also entitled to one as well (roughly 50% of mine) even though she was born in the US and has never held another nationality. Her pension is also direct deposited in US dollars every four weeks. However you report it to Uncle Sam but file a replacement 1099 as the UK Pensions bureau does not issue any similar form. Also since PA does not tax pensions no problem that way. Dave_n

Can email me offline for further info

 

[Dave_n]

There is no problem collecting SS and having consulting income as well. I set up an LLC when I "formally retired from Uncle Sam" at 75 years old. Income from the consultancy (last 9 years) goes into my LLC and I then pay taxes but not SS on the "net income" after removing legitimate expenses etc. Dave_n

 

[tripledipper]

Took mine at 62 for 80% of full amount and have been collecting for 24 years and that along with a NYC pension for 31 years, but they have lost a lot of dollar value in today's economy so I tell everyone that you better have something else also if you want to make sure you don't run out of money before you run out of time.

 

[kraynky]

I opted for my SS benefits 2.5-3 years ago at age 62. I was "laid off" 3 days before Christmas in 2021 because I refused to get the "Jab". I drew unemployment from the scallywags as long as I could and then liquidated my 401 and paid off what little was left of my mortgage & re-invested the rest. I have no debt at all now.

Congratulations LVSteve!!!!!

I'm so much better off now than when I was working full time......... even with my Medicare and supplemental insurance costs. Other than I'm getting too fat............

 

[Old 44 Guy]

I took mine at 62. That was 31 years ago. So I am way above the curve. Went to a retirement party for a fellow worker once, he was killed on the way home, his widow never collected a cent.

 

[ladder13]

Both of us took the early Head Start option. We both get reimbursed for Medicare Part B payments no matter what IRMMA says.

 

[djohns6]

I hear about people making appointments and going down to the SS office to sign up , etc. I handled everything from the comfort of my couch and it was extremely easy . Even if you're not ready to pull the trigger go ahead to the SS website and create your personal account . You'll need it anyway and you can access all of your info from there .

 

[URIT]

I retired at 54 and started collecting my pension from the city then.
I had a heart attack at age 59, so I opted for SS at age 62 and I've been collecting for 15 years.

Currently, I've been contributing weekly to other options - Power Ball and Mega Million.

Life is good.

 

[Donn]

Applied for SS at 62, owing to family genetics, didn't know how long I'd live. So, here I am at 75. Glad to still be around. With SS and my pension, we're doing OK.

 

[wproct]

My wife and I both worked for the same company virtually all of our working careers. The company was bought out and closed their factory and office operations at our location so we were forced to retire just prior to being 62 years old, so we opted to start taking SS at that time. Not sure how much longer I would have kept working otherwise. There was one gentleman that had worked in the factory and waited to retire until he was 70 years old, he wanted to retire with the longest seniority of any employee there. He died of a heart attack 1 week after he retired.

 

[charlie sherrill]

I took mine at 65. Convinced them I was disabled and they bumped the benefits up another two years, as if I had retired at 67. If you are taking it at 62 check to see if you might be disabled and get a few more years credit.