<p>My DH has been trying to consolidate some of our accounts. We also have too many spread out all over the place. I cant get my head around it all. Fortunately we can talk to someone at USAA who can probably help with some of this stuff.</p>
<p>We’ve got all our investment accounts at two companies, Fidelity and Schwab. Probably have way more funds than we really need to, though.</p>
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<p>But don’t rely on them to help you figure out your social security strategy. I am telling you, we have barely skimmed the “making your head spin” complexity of choices. The SS administration also isn’t the best at helping you maximize your benefits. They can tell you what is LEGAL – what you can and can’t do. But they are not equipped to help you get the most bang for your buck. I think this whole thing makes college selection look like a cakewalk. 
The professional calculators are your best bet to figure out your best strategy because that is their main focus.</p>
<p>Second bogleheads. </p>
<p>We will have approximately $180,000 in pensions and social security. Of course that money will dramatically decline if one of us permanently declines. My main concern is whether to pay cash using our TSP and IRA funds for another house when we move to Hilton Head (HOPE, HOPE).</p>
<p>What dadx describes in #72 is as I understand file and suspend. I heard about but it seemed like a trickery and ignored. When we went to file the claim SS, they said we should’ve come sooner and explained how it could be done. That was a few years ago, I have no idea if the rule had changed since.</p>
<p>File and suspend is expalined on the SS site. If there is any change at all, this government site has to have it updated. I would not trust any other site. It does not sound any trickery. It sounds like it is design to make it more fair for families with 2 income earners, when one can still get a small portion of of what they would have get if there was only one earner. From my reading on this, it sounded it that both have to be at least FRA. I do not think you can clain half of your spouse benefits at the time when you are below FRA but your spouse is at FPA and actually filed and suspended (as an example). For our situation, it will mean very little money, but we are palnning to do it anyway. Our specific situation is in 2 facts: one is 3 years younger than another and the younger one does not want to work until 70. So, the older has to wait until the younger is 66. the younger will actually file (and not suspend, but rather start receiving the benefits). At this time the older (who hopefully is still working) will file for half of the younger benefits (it is called Restricted) while postponnoing filing for own until 70. At 70, the older will drop the spouses half benefits and switched to own benefits (hopefully still working if not kicked out). This is our plan. But again, everything might change and our plan will go down the drain. One plan is not changing - one of us is working until kicked out by employer (or catastrophic illness)</p>
<p>I need a diagram. </p>
<p>(but off too google bogleheads so I have another place to whil away my should be working harder time).</p>
<p>MiamiDAP - I am no expert. Verify what I say. My understanding is you can’t receive your spouse’s benefit and switch to your own at a later date or get your benefit and switch to your spouse’s.</p>
<p>Beyond the web site, The Bogleheads Guide to Retirement Planning is well worth the $12 or so that it costs on Amazon. </p>
<p>I might be sounding like a shill by now, but I promise that my relationship with Bogleheads is as pure as the driven snow. John Bogle, IMHO, is probably the best friend that the small and moderate sized investor ever had. Vanguard and Bogleheads.org continue in his style (as does he, obviously). I believe that he is a true American hero.</p>
<p>Ok NOW you do sound like a shill. (smile)</p>
<p>I believe that you can file Restricted and after that at certain time file full. I do not see how they can legally deny you your earned SS benefits. However, our dear gov. is known to behave illegally, so your note is taken. I will go to SS site and read it again and actually will call SS office.</p>
<p>^I agree about John Bogle. He also made us pay attention to how fees are eating up investments forcing the industry compete for lowers fees. It was from him I heard first about how asset allocation trumps everything else in the long run.</p>
<p>Big Bogle fan here! What worries me about retirement is all the uncertainty. We will have two decent pensions and have been very aggressive savers. We are not planning on one dime of SS. I am quite certain that there will be some means testing by the time we get there. I am so tired of how we are penalized for saving, but I have to save just in case there is no SS for us later! Also, I have no idea what healthcare will cost. Even with LTC insurance, potential medical costs are impossible to predict beyond “a lot.” Unless things change, I expect one of us will file and suspend and the other wait for FRA.</p>
<p>TempeMom, was calling him a hero what took me to shill land? :-)</p>
<p>Momof2kids, I get bothered by the unfairness of it also. </p>
<p>[rant]We live in a town with a lot of serious money, but also some people here spend to their limit and beyond. I remember being called foolish for paying off my mortgage rather than putting every penny in the stock market (it was Internet stocks at that time). </p>
<p>Schadenfreude would ordinarily make me happy at the eventual reckoning that befell those equities zealots (and real estate zealots, and gold bugs, and so on), but then I remember that they had families. I don’t want to punish children for the stupidity of their parents, but I have to admit that it irks me to be subsidizing the children of the (previously) Bentley-driving clowns. [/rant]</p>
<p>
Iglooo,</p>
<p>This is incorrect.</p>
<p>My husband started taking SS last year at age 66 (FRA). I won’t reach FRA until 2017. When I do, I will take 50% of his benefit until I turn 70, at which time I will take my own full benefit. The amount I will get on my own record at age 70 is about $700/month higher than the amount I’d get on my record at age 66.</p>
<p>What MiamiDAP says is correct, too. Her husband can file and suspend while she collects 50% of his full benefit. Then when they each turn 70, they can collect the higher benefit. This article explains it pretty well.
[Maximize</a> Benefits with File and Suspend | Social Security Choices](<a href=“Welcome socialsecuritychoices.com - Hostmonster.com”>Welcome socialsecuritychoices.com - Hostmonster.com)</p>
<p>I love Bogle also.</p>
<p>For those of you who think you will not get SS -how old are you?</p>
<p>48 here. I have been contributing in since 1986! H is 54. His FRA is one year lower than mine so he is actually 7 years closer to SS than I am.
I just hope whatever changes are made are PHASED in. I do think FRA should rise over time (we are all living too long for the system as is), but I fear that whatever changes get made down the road will just s#$%w me! Many of my peers are counting on SS as is for the primary part of their retirement income.</p>
<p>It’s not that I think I won’t get anything from SS, but that I am planning as if I will get nothing.</p>
<p>I am quite surprised that outright means-testing hasn’t been introduced yet. Although I shouldn’t be, I guess, because most if not all politicians these days are cowards at heart. And they are all deathly afraid of the AARP crowd. </p>
<p>The first steps were taken in the 80’s when benefits were first taxed as a backdoor method of reducing benefits to the “wealthy”, which I put in quotes because the taxable threshold is really pretty low. The taxes only recapture a few percent of paid out benefits, I think.</p>
<p>Still, when the fictional SS “surplus” is gone, current revenues will only fund 70% of promised benefits, and they aren’t going to raise taxes on working people or cut benefits of people getting $1000/month or less, they will go after the fat cats like me who will have maxed out benefits.</p>
<p>I never understood why they do not tax 100% of social security once you collected the total of your contributions.</p>