When to start collecting Social Security

[JohnH]

Why not wait?

If you reach 66 and are still able to earn a living, why not continue to work and wait longer to being drawing SS, unless you are independently wealthy? The benefit increase between 66 and 70 is about 8% per year, which you'll continue receive the rest of your life (with cost of living increases). As a matter of fact, if you assume a monthly benefit of $2,000 at full retirement, each year you wait past age 66 is roughly the equivalent of putting $24K annually into an IRA and then buying an annuity with the accumulated funds. I'm painting with a broad brush here, but I'll bet if you run the numbers you'll find the analogy relevant. If an IRA (or an IRA equivalent) is a good idea at age 40, it's also a good idea at age 66 unless you've already achieved critical mass.

As I said before, your primary risk is outliving your assets and your buying power. I'm not persuaded by the argument that it's important to leave anything to one's heirs, nor the argument about becoming incapacitated. First and foremost is the consideration to remain financially secure and to avoid becomeing a financial burden to one's heirs or to the taxpayers, if possible.

[George Boutwell]

... your primary risk is outliving your assets and your buying power. I'm not persuaded by the argument that it's important to leave anything to one's heirs, nor the argument about becoming incapacitated.

How do you propose we outlive our assets without being concerned about becoming incapacitated?

[JohnH]

Some things can"t be changed, others can be altered

We do need to be concerned about being incapacitated, as well as dying at the wrong time, when it comes to planning for retirement. Those are certainly possible outcomes. Of course, there is little we can do to alter outcomes which are preprogrammed into our genetic makeup or which result from bad health-related decisions earlier in life which catch up with us as we age. Some things are controllable while others are not.

In any event, it is hard to refute the premise that the outcome which needs the greatest focus is the possibility of outliving our resources. Failure to properly plan for that one can at the least have a drastic negative effect on quality of life in retirement, and at the worst can easily lead to premature death or incapacity due to the inhibitions it can place on our critical choices and/or lifestyle in retirement.

[jainen]

apply for Medicare

>>I will start drawing my social security check at age 66<<

Don't forget that you still have to apply for Medicare at 65, or you get penalized for life.

[George Boutwell]

Don't forget that you still have to apply for Medicare at 65, or you get penalized for life.

I think they changed that -- if you don't take Medicare at 65 because you are still covered by a health insurance plan at work (which has to be primary to Medicare, anyway), you can wait to start Medicare Part B until you retire or no longer have coverage, and the premiums are not raised.

What raises the premiums, now, is having high "modified AGI", even if from a one-time event like capital gain from selling property.

[LTS]

jerry falwell, 73 -

David Halberstam, 73, was in excellent health when he died in a car accident a couple weeks ago.

not in the best of high fat health, even with his righteous hedged bet. his soc sec benefit was not a concern, since he had a 100m debt to work off from the late 90's deflated religious contribution bubble.

this whole thread is informative. it could be the basis for a primer on when to take soc sec benefits: high/low income x high/low benefits x early/late date of retirement x early/late date of death (all considered by the fact that the average husband will die before the average wife/or if the wife worked).

my humble opinion is that the most often case for the proletariat (men) is 'take the early soc sec money and run', still work (or not) at less than the approximate 12k payback limit, and if you are lucky collect a company pension. anyway, after the money is gone and you're still alive (women), medicaid will cover the nursing home 'drooling years'. your mileage may vary subject to facts and circumstances (and the roll of the dice).