My SS net deposit into my account is $157 a month. That’s not going to make or break my retirement income. DH, OTOH, gets the max so a cut would be substantial, but again…would not put us in the poor house.
I worry a lot about Medicare being cut, or costs increasing. Or services being cut, or whatever. But then, I worry about health care/insurance in general in this country.
I get that, but I am extremely confident that no retiree who is currently receiving benefits will ever see a reduction.
I chose to take my relatively small SSA payment at age 62 because (1) my break even age was 82, (2) we were able to use the extra income in those earlier years, and (3) we had IRA’s and 401(K)'s to turn to down the road. It did also mean my spousal benefits are reduced; husband waited until age 66 because he was still working then.
We made similar decision for my husband’s small pension (layoff after 18 years, half taken as cash). He saw that the break even age was 82, and he was in his 50s - it was super helpful in those years with college bills. Plus there was a minor concern that maybe somehow the employer would find a way to commandeer it.
I think the S&P hit a new high today. Yay retirement savings.
Good.
Yep so did the Dow. And the Nasdaq is only 4.6% its all-time high.
Yes I didn’t want to put the numbers out w/o citing a credible source; but anyone who volunteers or listens to the needs in their communities are aware of this. An example in our local news media is where school age children (who have free breakfast and lunch at school) get a pack of food at end of school day on Friday to carry them over on the weekend, and on the school bus these kids are eating this food because when it gets home they may not get their food allotment.
Some seniors have a companion pet, and sacrifice out of their meager food budget.
I would venture to say that a majority on this thread are very giving people to help in their faith groups and communities. (I hope this doesn’t violate CC standards to post this).
Hopefully you are expressing ‘concern’ - and you have heightened awareness of what is going on which can impact you now or in the future to be reassuring yourself on decent ‘status quo’.
I categorize ‘worry’ with fear, and have heard many times in my faith “fear not”.
The nibbling away with paying more for Medicare B with higher income is the one way I have seen a bit of pull back when it comes to costs/benefits.
When one retires, they is the giving up of primary source of income (along with benefits), and there is an adjustment on day to day activities/spending time, and transitioning on how finances get handled, in and out.
My question is if I wait until say, 67 to take SS…what if I die 2 days after turning at 67? My spouse or kids can’t inherit it. I paid all that into it and will never see it.
But if I take it a 62, and invest it, and die 2 days after I turn 67, then there is something for spouse or my kids to inherit.
I feel like many (maybe most?) people on this thread are “ridiculously rich” compared to me! 
And feel like (no proof) that a lot of Americans (and I include myself) don’t have any idea (and/or understanding) of laws, legislation, etc that impacts us financially (sometimes it seems impossible to keep up on or understand it, and like we have no control over it anyway).
I don’t feel particularly savvy when it comes to finances (I feel like spouse and I have common sense, are savers, are debt averse, with a little better than “basic” financial knowledge, etc. ) and am always surprised when I come across people less savvy them me. Like there are people who know less than I do?!
It is actually quite shocking and honestly, frightening, when I hear about people’s actions. Example, 60 yo friends have Parent Plus loans, they have very little saved for retirement, their kids have school loans, they still have 15 years on their mortgage. They needed a new car…and spent $45,000 on one. What?? You couldn’t spend $25K? I think they are probably very much like the average American.
That’s the 64,000 question. We don’t know what the future holds.
By taking social security early, you are taking a 30% cut over what it would be if you wait until full retirement age.
It’s hard to find investments that give you that kind of return.
Yes, you make a gamble that you will live long enough to make it pay off.
But you also are making sure that you will have that income stream when you are older and it’s a risk against running out of money later.
It’s hard to make the decision and it’s a very personal one.
Our financial advisor suggested we wait until later to take SS (67 for me, 70 for husband).
As discussed above - it’s a gamble based on a variable that’s generally unknowable (time of death).
But having seen my parents get those reliable, helpful SS deposits in their bank accounts when they were in their mid/late 80s when there was no way they could go out and work ---- I look at maximizing SS (by taking later) as protecting older (and possibly debilitated) me!
(but agree - a very individualized decision!)
There are many people who have a lot of debt. They are much like the parents not familiar or expecting their kids going to college away from home is going to cost them more than they can really afford. Unprepared. So like all their other decisions, they take out loans.
Don’t forget, a spouse could earn a survivor benefit if the your income was higher. But yes, if you have a bunch of chronic conditions, your odds of making it to age 82 are less than someone who is healthy.
Alternatively, what happens if you take SS at age 62 and then you or a spouse live to 92? (Social Security is inflation-protected longevity insurance.)
I’m can NEVER earn a benefit from my husband. Never. I’m subject to the offset and windfall provisions of SS.
So…just make sure you actually can do this because some people…can’t.
yeah, the WEP formula sux, but that affects only a small portion of folks.
My parents made many decisions based on not living long.
Guess what, my mom is still here. Regrets abound.
Yep. W had to consider this when planning retirement, and when to take SS for both of us.
Here are the folks affected…it’s a fair number of people, although not the majority.
Who is penalized by GPO/WEP? Teachers in 15 states and police, firefighters, postal workers, air traffic controllers, federal government employees (hired before 1983 on CSRS), & some state, county, local & special district workers are penalized by GPO/WEP
Maybe we can’t predict our time of death, but most know how heavily SS plays into their retirement planning. If SS will be a significant component of your retirement income stream, and you won’t be able to live well without it, then it makes sense to wait as long as you can to get the highest payment you can.
If SS is gravy for you, then the amount and when you take it isn’t as important.