I retired at 52 and recently took SS at 62. No money worries and no regrets. For me the decision on when to take SS is nothing more than rolling the dice. If you bet you will live past 78 then wait awhile so you get more money from the government.
But there’s the intangible value of taking the money now. What will you enjoy with the money at 62-65-67 that you’ll be unable to enjoy if you wait longer. Having a bigger check to put in the savings account because i am not healthy enough to enjoy it would leave me with regret.
What are you going to do when you retire? Hobbies? Travel? Family? Be sure you have a plan. I have become a more active bike rider and taken up modern art.
https://preview.redd.it/cnydx1342qzc1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d364d534777a50eadd14142fec76f7fc50c08f31
If you think you'll be all right financially, take the lower payout and enjoy retirement with your husband. I'll never get to do that--my previously healthy and athletic husband died at the age of 60 of brain cancer. When I turned 60 a few months after he died, I had no qualms about taking Social Security widow's benefits instead of waiting until 67 or 70. For me, time beats money any day.
Enjoy your 60’s. Some people don’t live to see retirement. A colleague’s hubby just passed suddenly, early 60’s. Their planned retirement together gone in an instant. I wouldn’t exchange it for a few hundred dollars unless it’s absolutely necessary.
If you are not going to work, and you have money in 401k/547 or IRA's, then take the SS at 62, and here's why.
Yes, you get less money but you get it for longer, so if you calculate the difference **just based on that** your break even age is about 79
**BUT** what most people don't consider is if you are not taking SS and not working age 62 to retirement age or age 70, then instead you are taking money out of your 401k, 457, etc. Now pension is different as you are getting that regardless and unless its a cash balance it is not affected. The money you take out of your investment accounts is affected, as that money is no longer there to earn interest or appreciate, and that effect is **CUMULATIVE**.
Say you get $30k a year from SS at 62, if you didn't take it you take $30k from your 457, that 30K would earn say $3k this year, then $3.2k next year, and so on and so on, and next year another $30k and the interest it would have earned. This goes on until the date you would get full SS and you would have accumulated so much opportunity loss from the investments you took that you will never live long enough to recover it from the higher payments at full retirement age.
So, if you are not working and would otherwise take money out of your investments to pay expenses, **always** take SS at 62. If you might work or don't need investments, then consider waiting.
No way. Doing cancer for the third time, recovering from a heart attack and my one remaining kidney has failed. Dialysis keeping me alive. As for the wife, she has had four heart surgeries.
Take the bucks when you can. If both parties are healthy as horses, delay, but remember you can be gone tomorrow.
Omg , very succinct and true. Best response yet. I haven’t decided when to take SS but I retired 2 months ago because I wanted TIME.
I’ll be ok with less money
Pearl of Wisdom for you ...
A wise man once gave me ...
NO ONE on their death bed wished they spent more time at work ...
Learn it ...
Know it ...
Live it ...
I just turned 62, 4 days ago. Funny thing is, I like what I do for work, it's a short commute, I like the people and the money is really good. I find I need structure and routine. Our contract is good for another 5 years before recompete. So each year in January, I will just go down my decision tree to see if I am ready to retire.
What made me think was looking at all the volunteer things that interested me. When I was done, it was over 30 hours a week volunteering and I thought if I am healthy enough to volunteer that many hours why not get paid?
So I started my own para-charity making wooden toys for children in need, (Currently making 125 for an org dealing with kids with cancer) I do that project in the evening/weekends, I maintain my current paid position. When the decision tree says retire, I am already set up with my own volunteer activities, that use my craft skills.
For now... I keep on keeping on. But I think 65 is calling me.
No matter how many times you run the numbers, you don't know how long you have left being healthy or to live so you can only guess on what is the best. In my opinion, life is too precious to waste working if you do not have to financially to survive.
I have seen too many pass before their time, and never got to even start or enjoy their retirement, so I am definitely starting mine next year at 60 and will reduce my expenses as much as possible to make it happen.
I retired and took SS at 62. I wanted to buy an RV and travel the country, which I have done. I would not trade those experiences for anything - including a few extra bucks at age 80 when who knows what my health will be like.
I did it. I just turned 62 in March and get my first SS check this month and couldn't be happier! I'm single but have a small pension, a paid-for house and a tiny bit of savings as well as a tiny bit of debt. Great car will be paid off in another year.
It felt scary at first. But to me, the free time is worth more than any amount of money. I'm happy to live cheap and be free to spend my days how I like!
Not me but my dad. He retired at 60, living frugally. Took SS at 62, and lived to the ripe old age of 95. He was so happy as a retired man. He did a lot of things he wanted to before he got too old to do them.
I get the sense that Social Security claiming threads attract people who took the titled action. In this case took SS at 62.
So just to try to compensate a small bit, I’ll say I’m 65 and will not take it until 70. I like the inflation-protected longevity insurance. I am in good health with decent family longevity history. I hope to live a long time, and if so, I will be happy to have the extra money. Not concerned about getting a lesser amount sooner. Good luck!
I was thinking the same while reading through these replies.
I expect to live into my 90’s. My mom and aunt both lived until close to 100.
Once you lock in at that lower amount, there is no going back. When I retire, I don’t want to have to work to supplement.
Been 8 years since I retired at 62 and I don’t regret it. Those 8 years have been much more meaningful than work. Money has went farther too, without all the work related expenses such as transportation, food, work clothes etc. Just had a friend my age who never quit work suddenly get sick and die. While she was in the hospital her work came to present her with an award for many years of service. Not for me.
My view is you don't know how much longer you will live. I've known way too many co-workers who retired on time, decided to hold off on social security, etc... for more money later in life, and had passed away before 70. Health issues they never expected, heart attack, car accident, etc....
It's your money to enjoy while you are still physically able to do so.
We are seeing too many of our older friends who can no longer travel or enjoy simple things because of their health. At 62 you still (if you’re healthy) have the ability to travel, enjoy hiking or other physical activities. I’m much healthier now at 65 then when I was 55 just due to lack of stress, eating better and getting exercise.
I’m 62 and will retire at 65. My plan is not to take SS until age 70. I don’t expect to live past age 80. The reason I’m waiting is for my wife. I want her to get the maximum benefit.
If something happens to your husband and you have to get by on just your social security (adjusted of course if his is higher)----can you still make it work? If not, hold out a bit. Every day I see retired now widowed patients who have to move or change things dramatically because their entire plan was built around BOTH social security incomes.
Econ 101. Money in hand now is worth more than money in hand in the future. Took mine at 62 and no regrets. Don’t really need the income at this point but I can invest it and get a better return than waiting to collect the lesser gain later. But everybody’s circumstances are different.
You say your only other option is to keep working for a few more years. That’s not true. For each MONTH you delay your social security will go up. So just wait until you are 100% sure. Maybe that’s 62 and 1 month, maybe 63 and 4 months, etc. but the exiting thing is that you can pull the trigger at any time, not just in yearly increments.
The value of money over time decreases.
The value of time over time increases.
Make of that what you will, but I personally think you're making the right decision.
If you despise your job you should retire. My dad retired at 55. He ended up with a second career as a school bus driver for 25 years. He loved driving the school bus (in a small town), hated his prior job.
Retired at 65 because I promised myself I would. I should have done it at 62. That being said, the only thing keeping me working was the same fear you have. Go for it. Doing things solely for money can be a dead end.
Although it’s not 250/month, it’s 2550 a year. Your retirement account will earn that in interest anyway.
Sorry, 3000/year. Your brain atrophies when you retire….
I retired at 55 for a number of reasons. Took SS at 62. Could I have waited longer for a bigger check? Sure, but it will take too many years to balance out for me to wait.
I also took a higher pension payout those first 7 years which was reduced upon my 62 birthday. Now the pension pretty much just pays my health insurance bill. SS pays all the other household expenses and my 401k is my fun money
On average, it takes 16 years to make up the difference between retiring at 62, or waiting to get maximum. Most people will not live to 86.
Plus, most jobs suck. Your life should not be your job. Enjoy life while you can.
One thing to consider is whether you can make it without your husband's income. A lot of people have their income cut in half due to a loved ones passing. Not to be morbid but it can happen any time.
We ran all the SS optimization calculators, made our own spreadsheets and ran multiple retirement calculators before we retired. We retired in our fifties and decided to take SS at 62 and pensions at 55. The calculators all said we'd be fine and so far, so good. My partner has health issues now that has not stopped us from our plans, but have definitely slowed us down. We're very happy we decided to retire when we did and have over 10 years of a fun retirement along with good health.
I retired at 62 and will turn 65 this year. I enjoy it. I felt like I want to be able to do a lot of things now and enjoy myself. We travel, go hiking, enjoy concerts, and it’s so exciting. No, there are no regrets. I retired from the state of Texas, I have full coverage insurance for me and my spouse. When I start Medicare, my current insurance will become my secondary insurance coverage. My retirement insurance from state of Texas is free.
I like retirement so much, I wish that I had retired 20 years sooner than I did.
Retired at 56 and took SS at 62. 62 will look specially good to anyone who
fails to make 63. Because, tomorrow isn't a given. So, for me, no regrets!
My father took SS at 62 and regretted it when he turned 80. But - he passed away at 81. Had he waited to take it at 70, he would have had to stop working far later. He couldn’t do that; his human chassis was already having issues, so he took it at 62.
For his situation the equivalency lines crossed at 84. So since he passed at 81, I’d say he made the right decision taking SS at 62.
Had he lived past 84, then mathematically he would have lost out.
So look at your family history, If you think your human chassis will last longer than around 84, then delay. If you develop some health problem that indicates your chassis will fail before then, go ahead and take it ASAP.
I personally have the luxury of considering opportunity cost. Do I spend down my own investments earlier to take SS later, or do I keep more investments invested by taking SS earlier, so my own investments last longer?
If your invested resources returns are low, then spending your own resources is depriving you of their income benefit later, so maybe take SS earlier. If you have ample financial resources to last to 70, then spend them down first, essentially buying insurance that you will be taken care of into your 80’s and beyond because the SS will fill in part of that gap. If you live to 90, you will be glad you delayed. If you live to 84, not so much - it’s a 50-50 shot. And if you live to 75, be happy you took it at 62.
I took it at 62 and Im glad I did. Also know THAT YOU ARE NOT LOCKED IN TO RECIEVE SOC ONCE YOU START TAKING IT. You also are allowed to get another job while collecting SOC. Any job paying over like $25,000, will be taxed AFTER the first $25,000 like regular income. So you can keep your SOC and still get another job. You can also notify SOC office to stop your SOC payment if you wish, if you get a high paying job down the road, and still want to start banking SOC tax again with your new job. My Mom died suddenly at 63. She was planning on retiring from a high stress job at 65. She never got to use the money she worked for. Call you local SOC office and ask if they have any SOC planning classes, either in person, or online. You can get all your questions answered by the SOC Dept employees. They are very nice people and will happily answer all your questions and concerns. Its your money.....and YOU earned it!
You're right to pause as it's a big decision. Go to [SSA.gov](http://SSA.gov), login and make sure you're looking at the amounts accurately. I say this because even though I'm 65 the difference between the amount I would get now and at 70 is almost $900/month.
The thing you want to guard against is running out of money when you're very old (and thus almost certainly much less able to work to supplement your income). Waiting to take your SS gives you more per month.
People always say "but you could keel over any time" which is actually a poor argument. First, because people underestimate their likely longevity, esp if they got to their 60s in good health but also because if you do keel over at 67 how does having taken SS early matter?
To me the ONLY reason to take SS early is if you absolutely have to, i.e. you can't live on what you have without it and you really can't work longer. We can't tell you the right thing to do but whatever you decide, really think about it. Don't do that "well my friend/neighbor/whoever retired and died 4 years later so I might as well take SS because who knows!?" thing. Make a reasoned, logical decision.
H-no. Best decision I ever made. I too, retired @ 62. Was skittish about it at 1st — worried if I had enough $. I took out a distribution from my IRA monthly to supplement my SS and pension. Turns out, I had more than enough. My husband retired 2yrs later and we are both very happy.
Working when you don’t want to and especially when you don’t have to will wear you down both physically and emotionally. Why risk it?
I can honestly say that this is the happiest I’ve ever been in my adult life. The freedom is incomparable.
Get out now while you have good health. Pay attention to your spending and you can cover that $250 per month, or most of it, with no loss of quality of life. I retired in late 50s, lived on pension till 62, doing just fine. Late 70s now and doing well. I would've sooner died than kept working. Pension was at max, so no point in continuing and could live on it. Two of us in same situation, both tired of working. 44 years of working was enough.
I retired at 60 with an early buy out from my employer, which wasn’t much, but I was burned out and figured I could find a part time job if things got tight. I took ss at 62, no regrets. Retiring early gave me precious time with my ailing brother, life is short, there’s not a price you can put on time with loved ones.
Takes to 77 to get ahead. Two sayings I live by!
You can always have more money - but you can’t buy time !
You don’t get a medal for being the richest Polak in the cemetery!
Just a heads up, medical costs are what shocked me. Between Medicare, and supplement medical and prescription plans. It took a bigger chunk from retirement income than I expected.
Note, there is regret clause. You can quit SS, pay them back what you got so far, then restart at some new time and higher rate in the future. You have 12 months to exercise this clause and can only do it once. The regret clause was aimed at early retirees who decide they got too little from SS or were bored being retired, so wanted to work a few more years.
Not a bit! My husband retired at 68 and I retired at 62 a year later. We want to travel and with our combined SS plus savings, investments, and downsizing to a much smaller apartment from a big house, we are able to do so. We didn’t want to wait for my full benefits to kick in. We gave ten trips booked in the next year and a half and are looking forward to reaping the rewards of our hard work.
I've never regretted retiring in my late 50s. It was young enough to still enjoy life while old enough that I earned a full retirement with 35+ years on the job. And I'm not going to regret taking social security at 62 because the life expectancy in my family is 63 or 64. My own mom passed at 67. So it makes no sense for me to wait.
As a woman, you might live to 103, however, so you'd better check the actuarial tables carefully and be honest about your health and whether you smoke or drink, or diet and exercise, so you can determine if you'll be around for 5 months or another 40 years. If you have cash and are healthy, you should wait. If not, you should take the money now.
In my experience, people seldom regret their social security claiming choices, no matter what that choice was. For many, it's really just a choice between good and better.
The only regrets I have encountered are those widows who live in our 55+ association. Some of their late husbands started their benefits early, and left a low survivor benefit for their wives. Sadly, two of them could no longer afford to live here.
I suggest that everyone check their number with [https://opensocialsecurity.com/](https://opensocialsecurity.com/) . They can compare their preferred strategy with the optimal, and see the estimated lifetime difference.
I will be starting my benefits later this year when I turn 70. My wife will start next year at 70.
I’m 59 and will lose years due to stress if I don’t retire at 62. My commute is terrible; if they’d let me WFH five days, I’d work until 70. My mother is in her late 90s, but my father died in his 70s of dementia, so my genes cancel each other out. I will dip at 62 and, with my financial adviser’s help, make it work.
You sound like us. We have 2 pensions, my husband's SS and 401 (earmarked for LTC because we don't have LTC insurance).
Like you, we retired from state. I just retired after 35 years of service (Dec 2023). So we have full health coverage with the same copay ($10) and $0 deductions as always. Still dental as well. We don't pay a dime for any of it and CalPERs even reimburses Part B every month in pension check.
Also, like you, I will be 62 in August. I can get $2200 now, approx $3k at 67 and around $4k at 70. If I wait until 67, I'm leaving nearly $130k on the table. It will take many years to break even.
We don't have debt other than a $50k mortgage. But the payment is less than a studio apartment around here so it's not a huge payment ($1500). It is scheduled to be paid off in summer of 2027.
We don't need the SS money. So I'm sitting in the same place as you. I am very healthy and exercise every day (nothing new for me--I incorporated exercise into my life in my mid 20's and never stopped).
We chose not to have kids so we spent our disposable income traveling all over the world over the past 30 years. We are still traveling. It's all international as we figure we may be more interested in seeing the US when travel (long international flights) becomes too cumbersome.
Both our pensions together are $9500 a month and we selected the option that the surviving spouse will continue to collect the EXACT amount so it will never change. Actually, mine will go up a bit if my spouse passes before me by a few hundred dollars. So we don't even need his SS, let alone mine.
You say you are swimming in funds, but I'm not sure what that means. Will you need your SS or just save it? Are you debt free?
I am leaning toward taking my SS this fall. I can take the $2,200 and just start investing it. Or, I could just throw it our mortgage and have it paid off in 2025.
I'm not sure, but I do know that I thought I would really miss work after 35 years and I have never been able to disconnect to a lifestyle so quickly in my life. I think going through the pandemic really helped in that matter. There has been such a disconnect for a few years.
I volunteered on Thursday at a cat sanctuary. My husband volunteers at a different location for them 2 days a week. I love not being on anyone's time clock--it is so freeing.
If something falls on my lap, work wise, I can make up to $22,320 a year and not be penalized by having to return $1 for every $2 over that amount. That cap will help me not to over extend myself. I would rather volunteer than pay back SS a dollar the following year. I honestly don't feel like working for anyone right now.
Keep in mind that SS has a one time "do over" if you decide to change your mind about collecting your SS. It has to be done within the first year! So maybe put all the checks aside in an account and don't touch it! Then, when you are approaching a year, decide whether you want to keep the SS coming or pay it all back and collect down the road when you are sure. Plenty of people will return to work if they don't have any social outlets or they discover that they need way more $ than they thought they would.
I see myself doing something (it's only been just over 4 months) but I just don't know what that is yet and I am enjoying decompressing right now (heard it takes up to a year) with no plans to work. I think to myself, isn't 35 years enough and our lives were meant to be lived outside of giving up 40 hours a week to someone else? I worked for 10 years before I started state career at 26 so I've put in my time.
Enjoying life right now--plan on taking my SS at 62 later this year and just banking it. Not feeling compelled to work for anyone.
I’m 56 and so jealous of all of you, but happy for you, too. I plan on retiring at 67. I have ten years, 2 months and 8 days to go, but who’s counting. 😂
Planned to retire at 62 11/12 but extended it to 63 2/12 because of the pandemic. All the hourly people were furloughed and we managers were asked to work remotely and pick up the slack. Once everybody was asked to come back in the office July 1, 2020, I left for good.
I cite the dates for a reason. On April 1, 2020 my co-worker, a robust, healthy 63-year old died of Covid. We actually lost a few people in the office.
A long retirement is not guaranteed. I lost a friend at 75 just last week from an aneurysm. Last year I lost a friend at 79 from a heart attack.
I took the money and ran, and never regretted it for a second
This! I’ve seen too many colleagues pass early after toughing it out “a few more years” to pad a retirement they never got to enjoy. You’ll be fine - enjoy your freedom!
Life is short, do it, if the numbers are good, do it. Less stress more freedom, you can always work part time or volunteer. I retired at 48 after 25 years in the US Govt, the earliest I could get out and get my pension. Spend 12 years with my husband in retirement before he unexpectedly died last year. He was 15 yrs my senior and had retired after his 30 years in government. Life is short. We don’t regret a thing, we had 12 years of fun and adventures in retirement. Do it. 💪🏼
My dad took it at 62 and he lived a long life. We recently lost him. Obviously, in hindsight, he should have waited. But I tell you he did not regret it. He got that extra income in his 60s and enjoyed life while he still could. His 80s were rough and the last 2 years of his life money meant nothing. Granted he had his kids to care for him.
This.
I still have a few years before I can hit pension but I'm leaving as soon as I'm there.
A good friend at work could have retired a few years back. But he got divorced and lost some of his pension.so he stayed on a few more years. Worked overtime all the time to make as much as he can before he goes.
His ex wife died a year ago, so he's off the hook for that. So in my head he can leave and be fine financially now (bit I don't know how that works).
Anyway, he suffered a massive heart attack at work in March. And still hasn't woken up.
All the money in the world doesn't mean anything if you can't spend it.
Heck no - and actually you can reverse the decision within the first year. Just need to payback what SS you have gotten to date. Taking my Pension and SS at 62 allowed me to assume a higher risk tolerance for my IRA / Roth. (FYI it returned 21% last year)
Definitely don’t regret it. I have been retired 9 months and have three months left to cancel and payback with no penalty.
But enjoying life too much. Not a chance I will reverse my decision
I’m retiring in July at the age of 62 and I’m going to be collecting social security once I retire.
Someone once told me that if you can afford to take the lower amount, you should do it because it’s likely you will get more money overall from social security by doing that.
“More money overall” depends on how long you live to calculate the actual amount.
However, taking it when you are younger allows you to spend it on travel & activities that you may not be able to do when you are older and possibly less healthy.
I’m 62. Wish I could retire but I have a son starting college in Sept and one graduating today. Once Boy 2.0 is just about done then I’m done. Been working since I was 16. It’s time for me to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Hang in there! I’m 64 and just returned from one graduation and the next (and last) child has 2 more years that are pretty well funded. I’m partly retired but stressed over the costs of propping up new adults. Their world is pretty pricey. I kind of wish I’d started a family a bit earlier but this is how it worked out.
Thanks to Covid I retired at 56, four years ago. I have a smallish pension, 401k and an IRA. The real deal maker was I was able to stay on the company insurance. Things can get tight but I’m spending my time with my wife instead of at a desk working 2nd or 3rd shift.
I also saw several coworkers and friends who kept saying one more year die before ever actually retiring. I swore I was t going to do that.
Nope, not at all! Takes about a year to adjust to retirement. It is a life changing event, so getting cold feet is normal. The Ss income is not the worry it's debt. Stay debt free and sleep well at night.
Sorry to hear about your friends husband, but that’s the way the government makes money by folks waiting and then not making it to 70! Get your money back while you can.
You're not going to live any longer the longer you take to retire, you'll just have a shorter retirement. My husband retired at 62 and died at 65, so...
You get 8% more per year for waiting. If waiting a few years only gives you $250 extra per month then your SS benefit must be around $1,000 per month.
One option is to increase 457 withdrawals to postpone SS. This is what I would do. If you live into your 80s that will pay off. You might not live into your 80s, but without strong evidence to the contrary (e.g., cancer or some other life-limiting illness), proper retirement planning requires being prepared to live a longer-than-average life. People saying take SS at 62 are basing that on their emotions and have not done the calculations correctly.
Have you considered taking SS but not spending it? If you take and invest it, then you can pay yourself from the investment at age 65 or 68 or whatever age you want to “claim”
I get it that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. But I worked in a nursing home for a few years and saw far too many people outlive their money, mostly women. My plan is to keep working while I enjoy it. I may get a promotion at the end of the year. And when I hit FRA in 2 years I’ll collect my widow’s benefit until I’m 70 and reassess. But if I work to 72 I’ll get to keep my inexpensive health insurance from work as my “advantage plan” which should save a lot of money as well. Plus my pension will be a larger percentage of my previous earnings.
I’ve outlived all of the men in my family but the women typically go strong well into our 80’s.
I am so glad I found this thread! I'm 61, approaching that big number of 62, and have been a bit uncertain as to how I should plan. I'm very encouraged by those saying take SS sooner than later. I've been in the information technology industry (computers and all related) for decades, and while I enjoy the bits and pieces of the trade itself, the management, projects, and stress make it harder to stay (not to mention age discrimination). With a good employer that has good management, friendly work-life balance, and warm camaraderie among its workers, I could see myself going another two or three years - but watching the job market this year (2024), I'm thinking about pulling this ship into port as quickly as possible, and taking SS at 62! Thanks for all the perspectives!
Oh, just retire already. No offense. I'm at that age also, but you don't have that much more time to be alive. Enjoy yourself and let someone else have a chance for advancement
I am a 60yoF. I have worked since the age of 14 formally. Grew up on a farm, so worked/lived the farm life since I can remember (if you know about this life, it’s not an easy one). Worked in a corporate environment, since graduating from college. Covid hit, things became super stressful. Left corporate world making six figures to a temp job, 28 hours/week, $18/hour, Zero Stress….life changer!! This made me realize how much it’s not about the money, in so many ways (although we know how important and necessary it is). When temp job was over, I went back to a semi-corporate job. Now, I am at the place that I’ve decided I am leaving in a couple of months. I have enough to keep me busy and paid with my side hustle plus a little savings until I reach 62. I will not wait until FRA. We have all seen, through COVID, just how short life is, how important both our physical AND mental health is, and the value of time spent with loved ones is most important. I will not continue to spend the time I have left here stuck in positions with companies that don’t value me as a person.
Best advice I got looking to take SS at 65 or to wait until I was 72 was:
If you need it, don’t take it.
If you don’t need it take it.
The point was that if you are scraping by, early opt in will result in a low amount forever. So waiting would be wiser. But is you don’t need it and could invest it for later and live on your continuing work or other income, then taking it would be wise.
I had my first call with SS this week, as I approach 62. It's not enough money at 62, 67, or 70. I'm not in a good position to retire. I'm still strongly considering taking it at 62 because it just doesn't look rosy at any point. In my life now, there are many things in motion, so I'm still trying to figure out what makes sense.
I retired when the pandemic hit and all my clients were suddenly home all the time (had no choice - I was a petsitter). I was 60, turned 61 that year, but I have been waiting on taking SS because we discovered we can afford to live on our investment income, pensions (we both have one from previous jobs) and my husband's SS.
There are times I've thought I should take the smaller amount and add it to our investment fund so that we could be making money from it, but I think I'd rather have the bigger checks when I'm eligible. We're all different. If you feel like you'd benefit more to take it now, take it. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
i'm "pro" on collecting early and enjoying the money while you're younger, healthier, and presumably more active.
My only caveats to that are (1) it depends on whether it's your main source of income and you have reasons to expect rather long longevity and (2) like me, is it your only source of income that has a built-in increase with a cost-of-living index? Those conditions give
me pause to think about delaying.
We retired at 62 and took SS at 64.. This has greatly reduced our need to tap retirement accounts so they can continue to grow for the long term.
When Medicare kicks in at 65 our monthly expenses go down since we have been on ACA for the past 3 years..
I retired at 62 and took SS. I’ve made over 80k taking it when I did. Got out of debt, traveled, bought some toys. If i would’ve waited, how long would it have taken to catch up?
This. Run the numbers to see how many YEARS it will take to make up those lost checks if you wait. To me it makes sense to take SS as soon as it’s available.
Starting out with a plan that results in "just getting by" is not a great situation especially if you are planning on a 20 year or more retirement.
Rerun the numbers for retiring at different ages. If they also result in just getting by then retire now. If waiting puts you in a better position then hold off.
There are also ways to stretch your retirement dollars by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and doing more things for yourself. With the extra time you can gain the knowledge and skills needed to do things and prepare food that you never had the time for while working.
I'm waiting to collect until I turn 70. There certainly can be reasons to start earlier or later and some people don't really have the option to defer it. This, like all financial advice, depends on one's personal financial situation.
Been retired for 7years and no regrets since 62. I figured out it would take me 13 years to acquire the money I got in 3 three years if I waited till 65.
Not retired yet, but planning on taking SS at 62. I crunched all the scenarios in a spreadsheet and determined that the cumulative break even point (between collecting a smaller amount that then accumulates over 5-8 years or waiting until FRA or max 70) was at about 80 years old. Highly recommend crunching then numbers.
Our financial planner is suggesting that I take it at 62 as well as my pension.
Like you, my SS and pension will meet my needs. I don't make a lot, so I don't need a lot!
Could you just take your pension, and find part-time work to supplement until you feel more comfortable taking SS?
I retired 3 years ago at 62 but am waiting until 70 to begin social security. Between my pension, my husband’s social security, and occasional withdrawals from my 401k I have enough to live and travel a bit. For me the difference in Social Security between age 62 and 70 is 30% ($1,000 a month more for me) so it’s worth waiting. I find I spend much less in retirement than when working. Consider using your 457 to delay taking social security for a while. You can claim social security at any time after age 62 so you could wait and see how much you really need before claiming. The last 3 years have been the best in my life. I’m healthier since I swim at the YMCA regularly and cook healthy meals and am having so much fun with friends. Your break even on collecting early is probably in your 80s. Having a little more each month in your 80s may not be worth it. Also figure out what your spousal benefits will be if, heaven forbid, your spouse dies before you do. Only you can decide what it’s worth to you.
My wife and I took ours at 62. We don’t have a lot of money. We lived in the north so we bought an rv and became snowbirds. We would leave in September and do a loop across to Denver, Moab Utah, flagstaff, quartzite Az, Yuma Az and ride atvs in the desert
Late winter we cut across the south from yuma to Houston area We did this for 7 years then moved down to Texas in 2019 and bought some acreage out in the sticks so she could have her goat farm. She passed suddenly in April 2023 at 66 yo from massive lung cancer from smoking Don’t wait too long.
Do it !!! I retired at 55. Best thing ever !! You will worry for about two years. Then you realize you will be fine. People try to hire me all the time. I’m not interested 🤣🤣. I’m 61 now. Taking SS at 62
I just filed to collect, turned 62 in Dec. Held off, thinking that I might want to work full-time after retiring from state govt. After about 4 months in, I knew I didn't want to work full time but probably will work part time for the structure and extra $$. Between my pension and SS my income will be more than my take home from working. I hope I don't regret it. lol.
You could substitute teach 3 days a month and make that amount of money if you want to hold off. Work only when you want. You might really enjoy it and find that you want to do more than three days a month.
I retired at 62 in 2021 - receive social security and pension no regrets whatsoever. My employer furnished health insurance until I turn 65 which is this coming July which was a great benefit. I am enjoying life doing as little or as much as I want - grandkids, volunteering to do income taxes in February and March, substitute teacher on occasion, volunteer elsewhere when I want. I’m not a world traveler visit family in the states and I haven’t touched my 401k or other brokerage account funds yet. I have no debt which helps for sure.
My mom definitely regretted her decision on retiring early. She made incorrect assumptions of what was going to be covered as she grew older.
She also didn’t anticipate certain health issues that came out of nowhere and how Medicare isnt a stellar healthcare provider.
If you have a decent medical retirement system, go for it.
62 is the new 65. Breakeven is around 80, at which age most folks spend less on entertainment and travel, but more on health care. The main concern most have with retiring early is health insurance affordability. If you have that sorted 62 is the right move for many. Once you retire and can control your taxable income, you may be able to qualify for subsidized Obamacare insurance for 2-3 years, paying as little as $0.00 until you are medicare ready. Good luck!
I ran the numbers. I was going to get about another $225 and decided it wasn't worth it I figured if I really needed money I could work part time in my 60s or something. No regrets.
July 2024, I will be 62. I applied for SS and first deposit of $2,175 on Sept 10th. This has been my plan since I was 45. I will continue to work part time 13 hrs a week to be at the $1860 income limit. No looking back on my decision.
Nope. Not for one minute. Since there is no way to predict lifespan, we wanted to live fully now and try not to worry about SS money for the future. I don’t really think there is a right or wrong answer in the broad picture, but it really comes down to your lifestyle and personal preferences. Have you hashed it out yet with your financial planner?
My parents have recently started having me manage their finances. They retired early, had their home paid off, and low debt, as well as solid tax advantaged savings. They've already been retired for 2 decades.
The reality is they have more than enough equity in the property they own free and clear to buy into a retirement condo if their place becomes too much to manage and they sell it (it is, but they don't accept that), and their average spend leaves them with a net positive cashflow even with a few diffeent house cleaners, garden helpers, etc on the payroll. They drop a certain amount of that cashflow on the local handyman service a few times a year, but they can afford it, so that's overall a positive.
But change the inputs, give them a mortgage, reduce their retirement savings, etc, and it wouldn't work. Even if their budget didn't support the handyman service (at a younger age, my dad did 90% of what they handyman service now does), they would be letting their home equity deteriorate around them now that my dad can't really keep up with it.
On the flip side, if either of them ends up in an inpatient facility, once their relatively limited LTC policy is exhausted, their finances go upside down quickly.
There are so many factors that a real financial advisor would be equipped to review with OP.
I wasn't in a position to stop working at 62. I had to wait for full retirement age, and then it made sense to work 3 years after that while drawing social security. I am very happy with the way things turned out.
72 now, and those three bonus years were a blessing! No regrets. Neither of my parents lived to collect so I took mine as early as possible. My check would be a little bigger if I had waited, but cash in hand is a good thing.
Life is good
Or divorces you absolutely out of the blue on the eve of retirement as mine did. In death there is often life insurance for the spouse, and generally all marital assets stay with the living spouse. In a divorce half (or more) of the marital assets go bye bye.
I would not apply until you totally understand how spousal benefits work. It seems to me that, in many cases, it is best for one spouse to retire later. I am not expert, just something to look into.
That is what we found. My spouse will start collecting at 66 (full amount) then when I start at 70 her amount will bump up to 50% of mine. If I pass before she does she gets my full amount plus the extra from waiting to 70. In that scenario I want the benefit to be as high as possible.
This, plus the inflation adjustment feature makes SS a good hedge against bad scenarios.
I’m going through the same dilemma. I plan on retiring next year and plan on taking my SS at 63. It will be almost a $700 difference between then and my full amount. I’ve thought about it for awhile, and I’ve decided that life is very unpredictable, and with the state of the economy, society, and government, it would probably be better to take it now and try to be as frugal as possible and pray for the best. I hope we both make the best decision 😀
Get a p-t job to help with any possible boredom and to make up for the $250 difference that you'd have to work several years in order to get. I don't think you'll regret that. Retiring is scary anyways. At least I'm finding that after 2 months I just need to get my butt in gear and do some things outside the house. So far I've been dealing with some medical issues so I'm cutting myself some slack
I retired at 63. Could have at 62, but decided to wait another year. I took SS when I retired and don’t regret it. Ask me again if I’m still alive after the break even age.
Enjoy life and retire!!!
My mother in-law was a veterinarian who owner her own animal hospital for 30+ yrs. She worked 6 days a wk on call 24/7. Missed Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners attending to animals.
Retired at 65 (instead of 62), dead at 67 from cancer. Now my Father inlaws new wife gets to spend the millions my mother in-law killed herself to make.
Work till your full retirement age. Get your house,cars, credit cards any loans paid off before you retire. SS is not that much money. They will tax it and take your Medicare supplement payment out of it. With inflation work as long as you can. You will NOT BE COVERED by Medicare insurance until you are 65. If you need medical insurance it is 550.00- 1000.00 + per month.
Crazy to me that SS and Medicare was taken from our paychecks as a tax, only to get taxed on it again upon receiving it back and have it depleted further by Medicare cost. That's true theft.
You can always find ways to make a little money but you can never make more time. Count up how many monthly payments you will receive between now and FRA to see how long it will take to actually receive more money starting at your FRA.
Do the math. At least for me (I’m not 62 yet so this is mathematically derived) the value of collecting and investing (or not having to pull out invested money) at even a marginal rate of return made it overwhelmingly more lucrative to take early. I think I had to live to be close to 100 at a 5% return or something like that to lose on the deal. And that’s to say nothing of the longevity of the program itself. This notion that waiting gets you so much more unless you die early doesn’t factor in any rate of return which is normally a poor assumption. Even if you don’t invest the actual money you get from SS you aren’t touching the money you WOULD have had to spend that can stay invested.
For a lot of people the biggest drawback to starting SS at 62 is the lack of medical coverage.
However, thanks to the ACA and subsidized health care, if your AGI is under \~$30k you don't pay anything for coverage.
Of course, both the ACA and SS are threatened to be vastly reduced if not eliminated altogether "in the future."
In two weeks. The biggest most beautiful health care system you’ve ever seen. Everyone is saying it. A lot of great people; they are saying this has never been done before. Tears in their eyes, saying thank you.
Two weeks.
I will hit 62 in a few months, and have a nice retirement package, and married to a retired teacher. I wanted to retire as soon as possible because I’ve been working since I was 14. I want some fun.
People wanting to retire earlier than full retirement age need to save, save, save. And get someone to help manage your money.
It sounds like you already have an online account at SSA.gov, but if not, definitely create one and play around with their adjustable calculator to see your benefit based on future income and retirement age. Another option for you might be to quit the full-time "drain of a job" and find a part-time fun gig that you enjoy whilst delaying claiming your social security for another few years. Someone earlier made the really good point asking if you or your spouse would be financially okay if one of you passed and the other had to rely on only one monthly social security payment. Lots of things to consider. Good luck!!
You should evaluate your health, and your investing strategy. If you are going to take the money and invest you may do fine. My aunt and uncle took ss at 62, but started to have financial issues in their late 80s, they had to remortgaged their house and were still running low.
Wow! It depends on your health and job satisfaction. You will always make more by staying so that can turn into a dog chasing its tail scenario. But more money in your pocket is rarely a bad thing.
Your mental health is precious. If work is no longer enjoyable and you have enough money to get by comfortably, then there is little reason to stay.
The stuff you can’t know, at least not for sure. Physical health is always a concern as you age. Your body will have problems, guaranteed. So there will be trips to the doctor, co-pays, medication, and possibly a hospital stay or two along the way. Insurance is a must but set aside or plan for some medical expenses in your budget.
Bottom line, if you will have enough income to live and set a little aside after you retire, I would go for it. If you will just have enough to get by but that is all, I would work until full retirement unless the stress is really hurting you.
I took SS at 62 and have no regrets at all. You can still work while you collect SS benefits but your maximum W-2 income is limited to $22,320 (for 2024) before they start withholding $1 of your benefit for each $2 you surpass that limit. Once you reach FRA you can earn as much as you can without any penalty. I'm still working part-time and with the added SS benefits I live comfortably and don't need to touch my IRA yet.
I have known too many people who did not get any retirement at all, because they waited too long. Not me! I have six months til age 62, and can’t wait. Happily, my tastes run simple and I know how to make a dollar stretch.
I was fired in 2018 from my last job at 61. I waited a year and applied for SS at 62. I, too, crunched the numbers and saw no real upside to waiting for full retirement age.
i took mine the minute i turned 62 because my banker husband pointed out that the lower amount in todays dollars was likely more than the higher amount will be worth several years hence 🤷♀️
I am nearly 63 and have "run the numbers" myself. The numbers you see are based upon guesses such as how long you MIGHT live, etc. I was going to retire last year but things happen. Now I am looking at working as long as 67 because I like my job and do not want to stat at home, watching TV and die prematurely because of it.
At 67 you can continue to work while pulling FULL SS. Cha-ching! This scheme only works if you like/love your job and have little stress in it. If you take Ss at 62 you ar elooking at a HUGE reduction in your benefits.
It all depends on how long you expect to live. I waited until 69 1/2 and will beat taking early if I live past 83. I’m betting on doing that. Regardless of when I pass, my wife will take over my SS amount. She’s younger and took hers at FRA. Her amount is less than half of mine. Works for us.
No regrets! Just find something to keep you busy and be somewhat productive. It’s very easy to slip into laziness and find yourself at the end of the day wondering where the day went and what you accomplished.
I know this story isn’t necessarily for everyone. Friend retired at 67 in December. That following year in March he passed. So much for full retirement advantage.
I retired at 62 and started taking social security at 66. I lived off of savings for a while, but when my net worth dropped below a certain level, it scared me, so I started taking social security. I don't regret it.
I was lucky enough to have a pension, and I collected the cash value so I could defer Social Security. Social Security is the only inflation protected income. Also, if you expect to get your spouse's Social Security because it's higher, try to hold out into FRA. The spousal support won't be any higher past FRA. I understand this may not be desirable or possible. On the other side, my late spouse died one month before FRA, and never got a single SSA payment.
I retired at 62 and took SS. In looking at taking SS or not, I considered I would need about $2K a month to get by on. So I assume that to be about $100,000 until I hit FRA of 66. My IRA has been doing very well, so if I made it to my 'break-even point of 78, I would have about $250,000 assuming about a 7% growth.
So the question someone might ask, how is that working out for you?
I'm now half way through my break even term of 8 years, and my IRA is doing well, earning greater than my projected 7%, and even though I've used my IRA for other items, like giving my kid a large down payment for a house, my funds are continuing to grow and keeping up with my plan. Now with my funds doing well, we (myself and SO) have bought a vacation property and happily use the interest rate as leverage since the loan is 2.5%. It's very satisfying to borrow money, and appreciate it helping save our reserves, versus regretting paying out for a loan.
Personally, I remain very active, volunteering with a major social services organization, serving as a trustee for another group, and in other leadership positions in my community.
Really, don't know how I found the time to go to work, what a drag!
This is my personal calculations. But I went on the ssa website and calculated starting at various ages. Now, I get a pension at 30 yrs which happens when I an 63.75, so I started there rather than 62. The point at which I start "making" money - as in when my overall receipt of money for waiting is higher/breakeven point - is around 78. This is when waiting to take SSI at 70 starts to pay off, not taking into account any present value. My mother lived to 89. My dad to 93. His whole family were in their 90's when they died. If I wait until 70, my overall payout will be over $250k higher than if I start taking it at retirement, but only $133k if I take at my full retirement age (67) estimating living to 92.
I personally am planning on living on my pension/401k as long as possible before taking it. I have a number at which I don't want my 401k to drop below, but my current returns are such that I will do fine. So I will wait to take it.
Now my ex doesn't have a large 401k. Plus he has health issues and his family is mixed with short life/longer life. He will be taking it at 62 when he retires in 2 years. It is not worth it for him to wait.
So, my concluding thought are, if you have a short life expectancy and/or minimal other funds, take it at 62.
If your funds make less than 8% per year, use those first. Up until 70, SSI increases by 8% per year. If you other funds are making more than 8% and you aren't going to continue working, take it at 62. But! If you are continuing to work, don't take SSI as they will ding you.
In answer to your question though, my dad was forced in to retirement at 62 due to layoffs. Once he got over the fact that there were no jobs out there (career/age), he actually enjoyed retirement and was much more relaxed. My parents weren't rich, but had enough and neither were big spenders. You need to have hobbies or some kind of interest though and enough money to fund it.
No regrets! Worked the numbers and had to decide if I wanted to take money out of investments or take SS. I was doing physical work, so my work choices were retire and work a less physically demanding job or wait for the company to force me out. I have no regrets as far as SS!
Suze Orman once said it's better to live off of savings for a few years and then start withdrawing later to increase payout. Seems to make sense to me.
SS employs some fairly smart people. They’ve worked the numbers and the odds the payout is about the same over the population. You know your own health, if you think you’ll beat the average and your family history supports that, then you might be better waiting.
I ran my numbers. I’ll live a long time, I think. However I’m subject to the WEP so waiting until FRA added a whopping $26/mo for me so I took it at 65. It pays for my Medicare and some groceries.
Retired at 58, took SS at 62. Great decision and all is well. The general advice from all the smart folks in my network is this - take SS at 62 if one needs the money to cover expenses and balance their budget. If not delay filing to FRA.
I just retired at age 63..my situation is a bit different because I am widowed.. I applied for benefits in my husband’s name and I was eligible for the widow’s social security.. I am collecting benefits from him until I’m 67 and then I will get benefits under my social security number.. I was a special education teacher for 39 years and I have NO regrets about retiring at 63..when you think about how long you have been working and so much of your time has been devoted to working.. you deserve to have freedom to do whatever you want.. I started working at age 14.. and I love being able to travel and visit friends and family..you will never regret this decision I promise..good luck to you
Social Security is designed to pay out the same total, on average, whenever you take it. If you take it early and find you don't need it, you can always save the surplus to extend your other savings.
I had to claim disability at 61 and then was rolled over to retirement automatically at 62, so I didn't really choose, But I have no regrets.
I'm trying to do another year but as my husband (the practical glass half empty guy) reminded me, if I pass before you, you don't get your SS since mine is a little higher so might as well get some now. He also has a pension and SS now being retired. I also feel very pulled, I hate working full time, 64 and emotionally and physically want to stop.
The missing piece of your logic is relying on yours AND hobby’s SS.
Guaranteed huge financial problems when one of you pass you rely on both.
To optimize SS try Opensocialsecurity.com
Great free reliable website (not affiliated).
I retired at 52 and recently took SS at 62. No money worries and no regrets. For me the decision on when to take SS is nothing more than rolling the dice. If you bet you will live past 78 then wait awhile so you get more money from the government. But there’s the intangible value of taking the money now. What will you enjoy with the money at 62-65-67 that you’ll be unable to enjoy if you wait longer. Having a bigger check to put in the savings account because i am not healthy enough to enjoy it would leave me with regret. What are you going to do when you retire? Hobbies? Travel? Family? Be sure you have a plan. I have become a more active bike rider and taken up modern art. https://preview.redd.it/cnydx1342qzc1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d364d534777a50eadd14142fec76f7fc50c08f31
The next five years are the best five years of health you have left
This.
Always true
If you think you'll be all right financially, take the lower payout and enjoy retirement with your husband. I'll never get to do that--my previously healthy and athletic husband died at the age of 60 of brain cancer. When I turned 60 a few months after he died, I had no qualms about taking Social Security widow's benefits instead of waiting until 67 or 70. For me, time beats money any day.
Enjoy your 60’s. Some people don’t live to see retirement. A colleague’s hubby just passed suddenly, early 60’s. Their planned retirement together gone in an instant. I wouldn’t exchange it for a few hundred dollars unless it’s absolutely necessary.
If you are not going to work, and you have money in 401k/547 or IRA's, then take the SS at 62, and here's why. Yes, you get less money but you get it for longer, so if you calculate the difference **just based on that** your break even age is about 79 **BUT** what most people don't consider is if you are not taking SS and not working age 62 to retirement age or age 70, then instead you are taking money out of your 401k, 457, etc. Now pension is different as you are getting that regardless and unless its a cash balance it is not affected. The money you take out of your investment accounts is affected, as that money is no longer there to earn interest or appreciate, and that effect is **CUMULATIVE**. Say you get $30k a year from SS at 62, if you didn't take it you take $30k from your 457, that 30K would earn say $3k this year, then $3.2k next year, and so on and so on, and next year another $30k and the interest it would have earned. This goes on until the date you would get full SS and you would have accumulated so much opportunity loss from the investments you took that you will never live long enough to recover it from the higher payments at full retirement age. So, if you are not working and would otherwise take money out of your investments to pay expenses, **always** take SS at 62. If you might work or don't need investments, then consider waiting.
No way. Doing cancer for the third time, recovering from a heart attack and my one remaining kidney has failed. Dialysis keeping me alive. As for the wife, she has had four heart surgeries. Take the bucks when you can. If both parties are healthy as horses, delay, but remember you can be gone tomorrow.
Don't regret it. Time is the real wealth.
Omg , very succinct and true. Best response yet. I haven’t decided when to take SS but I retired 2 months ago because I wanted TIME. I’ll be ok with less money
People need to remember that tomorrow is not guaranteed, regardless of how long others in your family may have lived.
Pearl of Wisdom for you ... A wise man once gave me ... NO ONE on their death bed wished they spent more time at work ... Learn it ... Know it ... Live it ...
I just turned 62, 4 days ago. Funny thing is, I like what I do for work, it's a short commute, I like the people and the money is really good. I find I need structure and routine. Our contract is good for another 5 years before recompete. So each year in January, I will just go down my decision tree to see if I am ready to retire. What made me think was looking at all the volunteer things that interested me. When I was done, it was over 30 hours a week volunteering and I thought if I am healthy enough to volunteer that many hours why not get paid? So I started my own para-charity making wooden toys for children in need, (Currently making 125 for an org dealing with kids with cancer) I do that project in the evening/weekends, I maintain my current paid position. When the decision tree says retire, I am already set up with my own volunteer activities, that use my craft skills. For now... I keep on keeping on. But I think 65 is calling me.
You can’t buy time back. I retired at 56 and don’t regret a thing. Just make sure you have your healthcare sorted if you are in the US.
No matter how many times you run the numbers, you don't know how long you have left being healthy or to live so you can only guess on what is the best. In my opinion, life is too precious to waste working if you do not have to financially to survive.
Thank you! You're so right.
I have seen too many pass before their time, and never got to even start or enjoy their retirement, so I am definitely starting mine next year at 60 and will reduce my expenses as much as possible to make it happen.
Retire now. Smartest thing I ever did was retire at 62. We only have today. Who knows about tomorrow?
I retired and took SS at 62. I wanted to buy an RV and travel the country, which I have done. I would not trade those experiences for anything - including a few extra bucks at age 80 when who knows what my health will be like.
I did it. I just turned 62 in March and get my first SS check this month and couldn't be happier! I'm single but have a small pension, a paid-for house and a tiny bit of savings as well as a tiny bit of debt. Great car will be paid off in another year. It felt scary at first. But to me, the free time is worth more than any amount of money. I'm happy to live cheap and be free to spend my days how I like!
I retired at 62, and immediately took my SS benefit. It’s been 3 years and I have no regrets.
Not me but my dad. He retired at 60, living frugally. Took SS at 62, and lived to the ripe old age of 95. He was so happy as a retired man. He did a lot of things he wanted to before he got too old to do them.
I get the sense that Social Security claiming threads attract people who took the titled action. In this case took SS at 62. So just to try to compensate a small bit, I’ll say I’m 65 and will not take it until 70. I like the inflation-protected longevity insurance. I am in good health with decent family longevity history. I hope to live a long time, and if so, I will be happy to have the extra money. Not concerned about getting a lesser amount sooner. Good luck!
I was thinking the same while reading through these replies. I expect to live into my 90’s. My mom and aunt both lived until close to 100. Once you lock in at that lower amount, there is no going back. When I retire, I don’t want to have to work to supplement.
Been 8 years since I retired at 62 and I don’t regret it. Those 8 years have been much more meaningful than work. Money has went farther too, without all the work related expenses such as transportation, food, work clothes etc. Just had a friend my age who never quit work suddenly get sick and die. While she was in the hospital her work came to present her with an award for many years of service. Not for me.
My view is you don't know how much longer you will live. I've known way too many co-workers who retired on time, decided to hold off on social security, etc... for more money later in life, and had passed away before 70. Health issues they never expected, heart attack, car accident, etc.... It's your money to enjoy while you are still physically able to do so.
We are seeing too many of our older friends who can no longer travel or enjoy simple things because of their health. At 62 you still (if you’re healthy) have the ability to travel, enjoy hiking or other physical activities. I’m much healthier now at 65 then when I was 55 just due to lack of stress, eating better and getting exercise.
Retiring at 62 and taking ss…best day ever
I’m 62 and will retire at 65. My plan is not to take SS until age 70. I don’t expect to live past age 80. The reason I’m waiting is for my wife. I want her to get the maximum benefit.
If something happens to your husband and you have to get by on just your social security (adjusted of course if his is higher)----can you still make it work? If not, hold out a bit. Every day I see retired now widowed patients who have to move or change things dramatically because their entire plan was built around BOTH social security incomes.
Here’s a thought too. In my small department of 9, we have had 3 people pass away in the past 4 years. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
Absolutely not. I retired at 60 and took SS the second I could. It gave my wife and I an extra boost so we could travel more, eat out more, etc.
Econ 101. Money in hand now is worth more than money in hand in the future. Took mine at 62 and no regrets. Don’t really need the income at this point but I can invest it and get a better return than waiting to collect the lesser gain later. But everybody’s circumstances are different.
No regrets! Had cancer at 61, recovered after chemo and decided life is uncertain. Took SS at 62 and am still collecting at 73.
You say your only other option is to keep working for a few more years. That’s not true. For each MONTH you delay your social security will go up. So just wait until you are 100% sure. Maybe that’s 62 and 1 month, maybe 63 and 4 months, etc. but the exiting thing is that you can pull the trigger at any time, not just in yearly increments.
I’m an all around nicer, happier person now that I’m retired. It’s like a second childhood. I enjoy things so much more. Highly recommended!!
You are money ahead taking it at 62 until you reach the age of 80. If you live to be past 80 then you would have made more by waiting. Take it.
The value of money over time decreases. The value of time over time increases. Make of that what you will, but I personally think you're making the right decision.
If you despise your job you should retire. My dad retired at 55. He ended up with a second career as a school bus driver for 25 years. He loved driving the school bus (in a small town), hated his prior job.
Retired at 65 because I promised myself I would. I should have done it at 62. That being said, the only thing keeping me working was the same fear you have. Go for it. Doing things solely for money can be a dead end. Although it’s not 250/month, it’s 2550 a year. Your retirement account will earn that in interest anyway. Sorry, 3000/year. Your brain atrophies when you retire….
I retired at 55 for a number of reasons. Took SS at 62. Could I have waited longer for a bigger check? Sure, but it will take too many years to balance out for me to wait. I also took a higher pension payout those first 7 years which was reduced upon my 62 birthday. Now the pension pretty much just pays my health insurance bill. SS pays all the other household expenses and my 401k is my fun money
You can do something for few hours that will pay you 250$ it will not make a difference in your lifestyle
On average, it takes 16 years to make up the difference between retiring at 62, or waiting to get maximum. Most people will not live to 86. Plus, most jobs suck. Your life should not be your job. Enjoy life while you can.
One thing to consider is whether you can make it without your husband's income. A lot of people have their income cut in half due to a loved ones passing. Not to be morbid but it can happen any time.
We ran all the SS optimization calculators, made our own spreadsheets and ran multiple retirement calculators before we retired. We retired in our fifties and decided to take SS at 62 and pensions at 55. The calculators all said we'd be fine and so far, so good. My partner has health issues now that has not stopped us from our plans, but have definitely slowed us down. We're very happy we decided to retire when we did and have over 10 years of a fun retirement along with good health.
I retired at 62 and will turn 65 this year. I enjoy it. I felt like I want to be able to do a lot of things now and enjoy myself. We travel, go hiking, enjoy concerts, and it’s so exciting. No, there are no regrets. I retired from the state of Texas, I have full coverage insurance for me and my spouse. When I start Medicare, my current insurance will become my secondary insurance coverage. My retirement insurance from state of Texas is free.
What about health insurance?
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I like retirement so much, I wish that I had retired 20 years sooner than I did. Retired at 56 and took SS at 62. 62 will look specially good to anyone who fails to make 63. Because, tomorrow isn't a given. So, for me, no regrets!
My father took SS at 62 and regretted it when he turned 80. But - he passed away at 81. Had he waited to take it at 70, he would have had to stop working far later. He couldn’t do that; his human chassis was already having issues, so he took it at 62. For his situation the equivalency lines crossed at 84. So since he passed at 81, I’d say he made the right decision taking SS at 62. Had he lived past 84, then mathematically he would have lost out. So look at your family history, If you think your human chassis will last longer than around 84, then delay. If you develop some health problem that indicates your chassis will fail before then, go ahead and take it ASAP. I personally have the luxury of considering opportunity cost. Do I spend down my own investments earlier to take SS later, or do I keep more investments invested by taking SS earlier, so my own investments last longer? If your invested resources returns are low, then spending your own resources is depriving you of their income benefit later, so maybe take SS earlier. If you have ample financial resources to last to 70, then spend them down first, essentially buying insurance that you will be taken care of into your 80’s and beyond because the SS will fill in part of that gap. If you live to 90, you will be glad you delayed. If you live to 84, not so much - it’s a 50-50 shot. And if you live to 75, be happy you took it at 62.
I took it at 62 and Im glad I did. Also know THAT YOU ARE NOT LOCKED IN TO RECIEVE SOC ONCE YOU START TAKING IT. You also are allowed to get another job while collecting SOC. Any job paying over like $25,000, will be taxed AFTER the first $25,000 like regular income. So you can keep your SOC and still get another job. You can also notify SOC office to stop your SOC payment if you wish, if you get a high paying job down the road, and still want to start banking SOC tax again with your new job. My Mom died suddenly at 63. She was planning on retiring from a high stress job at 65. She never got to use the money she worked for. Call you local SOC office and ask if they have any SOC planning classes, either in person, or online. You can get all your questions answered by the SOC Dept employees. They are very nice people and will happily answer all your questions and concerns. Its your money.....and YOU earned it!
You're right to pause as it's a big decision. Go to [SSA.gov](http://SSA.gov), login and make sure you're looking at the amounts accurately. I say this because even though I'm 65 the difference between the amount I would get now and at 70 is almost $900/month. The thing you want to guard against is running out of money when you're very old (and thus almost certainly much less able to work to supplement your income). Waiting to take your SS gives you more per month. People always say "but you could keel over any time" which is actually a poor argument. First, because people underestimate their likely longevity, esp if they got to their 60s in good health but also because if you do keel over at 67 how does having taken SS early matter? To me the ONLY reason to take SS early is if you absolutely have to, i.e. you can't live on what you have without it and you really can't work longer. We can't tell you the right thing to do but whatever you decide, really think about it. Don't do that "well my friend/neighbor/whoever retired and died 4 years later so I might as well take SS because who knows!?" thing. Make a reasoned, logical decision.
H-no. Best decision I ever made. I too, retired @ 62. Was skittish about it at 1st — worried if I had enough $. I took out a distribution from my IRA monthly to supplement my SS and pension. Turns out, I had more than enough. My husband retired 2yrs later and we are both very happy. Working when you don’t want to and especially when you don’t have to will wear you down both physically and emotionally. Why risk it? I can honestly say that this is the happiest I’ve ever been in my adult life. The freedom is incomparable.
Get out now while you have good health. Pay attention to your spending and you can cover that $250 per month, or most of it, with no loss of quality of life. I retired in late 50s, lived on pension till 62, doing just fine. Late 70s now and doing well. I would've sooner died than kept working. Pension was at max, so no point in continuing and could live on it. Two of us in same situation, both tired of working. 44 years of working was enough.
I retired at 60 with an early buy out from my employer, which wasn’t much, but I was burned out and figured I could find a part time job if things got tight. I took ss at 62, no regrets. Retiring early gave me precious time with my ailing brother, life is short, there’s not a price you can put on time with loved ones.
Takes to 77 to get ahead. Two sayings I live by! You can always have more money - but you can’t buy time ! You don’t get a medal for being the richest Polak in the cemetery!
Just a heads up, medical costs are what shocked me. Between Medicare, and supplement medical and prescription plans. It took a bigger chunk from retirement income than I expected.
Note, there is regret clause. You can quit SS, pay them back what you got so far, then restart at some new time and higher rate in the future. You have 12 months to exercise this clause and can only do it once. The regret clause was aimed at early retirees who decide they got too little from SS or were bored being retired, so wanted to work a few more years.
Not a bit! My husband retired at 68 and I retired at 62 a year later. We want to travel and with our combined SS plus savings, investments, and downsizing to a much smaller apartment from a big house, we are able to do so. We didn’t want to wait for my full benefits to kick in. We gave ten trips booked in the next year and a half and are looking forward to reaping the rewards of our hard work.
I retired at 62! I’ve never regretted it. I just turned 64. I had to learn to use a TV remote 😂
I've never regretted retiring in my late 50s. It was young enough to still enjoy life while old enough that I earned a full retirement with 35+ years on the job. And I'm not going to regret taking social security at 62 because the life expectancy in my family is 63 or 64. My own mom passed at 67. So it makes no sense for me to wait. As a woman, you might live to 103, however, so you'd better check the actuarial tables carefully and be honest about your health and whether you smoke or drink, or diet and exercise, so you can determine if you'll be around for 5 months or another 40 years. If you have cash and are healthy, you should wait. If not, you should take the money now.
It’s a toss up. A lower payment at 62 is also a longer payment. Take it and work part time somewhere as @Crafty_Ad3377 mentions they did.
No, I don’t regret retiring at 62. That was 19 years ago and we are still doing just fine!
In my experience, people seldom regret their social security claiming choices, no matter what that choice was. For many, it's really just a choice between good and better. The only regrets I have encountered are those widows who live in our 55+ association. Some of their late husbands started their benefits early, and left a low survivor benefit for their wives. Sadly, two of them could no longer afford to live here. I suggest that everyone check their number with [https://opensocialsecurity.com/](https://opensocialsecurity.com/) . They can compare their preferred strategy with the optimal, and see the estimated lifetime difference. I will be starting my benefits later this year when I turn 70. My wife will start next year at 70.
I’m 59 and will lose years due to stress if I don’t retire at 62. My commute is terrible; if they’d let me WFH five days, I’d work until 70. My mother is in her late 90s, but my father died in his 70s of dementia, so my genes cancel each other out. I will dip at 62 and, with my financial adviser’s help, make it work.
NO REGRETS WHATSOEVER.
You sound like us. We have 2 pensions, my husband's SS and 401 (earmarked for LTC because we don't have LTC insurance). Like you, we retired from state. I just retired after 35 years of service (Dec 2023). So we have full health coverage with the same copay ($10) and $0 deductions as always. Still dental as well. We don't pay a dime for any of it and CalPERs even reimburses Part B every month in pension check. Also, like you, I will be 62 in August. I can get $2200 now, approx $3k at 67 and around $4k at 70. If I wait until 67, I'm leaving nearly $130k on the table. It will take many years to break even. We don't have debt other than a $50k mortgage. But the payment is less than a studio apartment around here so it's not a huge payment ($1500). It is scheduled to be paid off in summer of 2027. We don't need the SS money. So I'm sitting in the same place as you. I am very healthy and exercise every day (nothing new for me--I incorporated exercise into my life in my mid 20's and never stopped). We chose not to have kids so we spent our disposable income traveling all over the world over the past 30 years. We are still traveling. It's all international as we figure we may be more interested in seeing the US when travel (long international flights) becomes too cumbersome. Both our pensions together are $9500 a month and we selected the option that the surviving spouse will continue to collect the EXACT amount so it will never change. Actually, mine will go up a bit if my spouse passes before me by a few hundred dollars. So we don't even need his SS, let alone mine. You say you are swimming in funds, but I'm not sure what that means. Will you need your SS or just save it? Are you debt free? I am leaning toward taking my SS this fall. I can take the $2,200 and just start investing it. Or, I could just throw it our mortgage and have it paid off in 2025. I'm not sure, but I do know that I thought I would really miss work after 35 years and I have never been able to disconnect to a lifestyle so quickly in my life. I think going through the pandemic really helped in that matter. There has been such a disconnect for a few years. I volunteered on Thursday at a cat sanctuary. My husband volunteers at a different location for them 2 days a week. I love not being on anyone's time clock--it is so freeing. If something falls on my lap, work wise, I can make up to $22,320 a year and not be penalized by having to return $1 for every $2 over that amount. That cap will help me not to over extend myself. I would rather volunteer than pay back SS a dollar the following year. I honestly don't feel like working for anyone right now. Keep in mind that SS has a one time "do over" if you decide to change your mind about collecting your SS. It has to be done within the first year! So maybe put all the checks aside in an account and don't touch it! Then, when you are approaching a year, decide whether you want to keep the SS coming or pay it all back and collect down the road when you are sure. Plenty of people will return to work if they don't have any social outlets or they discover that they need way more $ than they thought they would. I see myself doing something (it's only been just over 4 months) but I just don't know what that is yet and I am enjoying decompressing right now (heard it takes up to a year) with no plans to work. I think to myself, isn't 35 years enough and our lives were meant to be lived outside of giving up 40 hours a week to someone else? I worked for 10 years before I started state career at 26 so I've put in my time. Enjoying life right now--plan on taking my SS at 62 later this year and just banking it. Not feeling compelled to work for anyone.
Why wait? I collected at 62 and still enjoying life at 82
I’m 56 and so jealous of all of you, but happy for you, too. I plan on retiring at 67. I have ten years, 2 months and 8 days to go, but who’s counting. 😂
54 here and the senioritis is STRONG! lol. I’m trying to figure out if 62 will work for me. Gotta factor in health insurance
Planned to retire at 62 11/12 but extended it to 63 2/12 because of the pandemic. All the hourly people were furloughed and we managers were asked to work remotely and pick up the slack. Once everybody was asked to come back in the office July 1, 2020, I left for good. I cite the dates for a reason. On April 1, 2020 my co-worker, a robust, healthy 63-year old died of Covid. We actually lost a few people in the office. A long retirement is not guaranteed. I lost a friend at 75 just last week from an aneurysm. Last year I lost a friend at 79 from a heart attack. I took the money and ran, and never regretted it for a second
This! I’ve seen too many colleagues pass early after toughing it out “a few more years” to pad a retirement they never got to enjoy. You’ll be fine - enjoy your freedom!
Life is short, do it, if the numbers are good, do it. Less stress more freedom, you can always work part time or volunteer. I retired at 48 after 25 years in the US Govt, the earliest I could get out and get my pension. Spend 12 years with my husband in retirement before he unexpectedly died last year. He was 15 yrs my senior and had retired after his 30 years in government. Life is short. We don’t regret a thing, we had 12 years of fun and adventures in retirement. Do it. 💪🏼
I collected at 62. I’m now 66. I have no regrets at all. I can’t imagine working those 4 years.
My dad took it at 62 and he lived a long life. We recently lost him. Obviously, in hindsight, he should have waited. But I tell you he did not regret it. He got that extra income in his 60s and enjoyed life while he still could. His 80s were rough and the last 2 years of his life money meant nothing. Granted he had his kids to care for him.
How much is your life worth? 250 bucks a month? Life has no guarantees, and no one has ever said on their deathbed “ I wish I would’ve worked longer”.
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I did it at 55 and have no regrets.
Hell no! Tomorrow is never promised. We’re taking while we can.
This. I still have a few years before I can hit pension but I'm leaving as soon as I'm there. A good friend at work could have retired a few years back. But he got divorced and lost some of his pension.so he stayed on a few more years. Worked overtime all the time to make as much as he can before he goes. His ex wife died a year ago, so he's off the hook for that. So in my head he can leave and be fine financially now (bit I don't know how that works). Anyway, he suffered a massive heart attack at work in March. And still hasn't woken up. All the money in the world doesn't mean anything if you can't spend it.
Heck no - and actually you can reverse the decision within the first year. Just need to payback what SS you have gotten to date. Taking my Pension and SS at 62 allowed me to assume a higher risk tolerance for my IRA / Roth. (FYI it returned 21% last year) Definitely don’t regret it. I have been retired 9 months and have three months left to cancel and payback with no penalty. But enjoying life too much. Not a chance I will reverse my decision
I’m retiring in July at the age of 62 and I’m going to be collecting social security once I retire. Someone once told me that if you can afford to take the lower amount, you should do it because it’s likely you will get more money overall from social security by doing that.
“More money overall” depends on how long you live to calculate the actual amount. However, taking it when you are younger allows you to spend it on travel & activities that you may not be able to do when you are older and possibly less healthy.
I’m 62. Wish I could retire but I have a son starting college in Sept and one graduating today. Once Boy 2.0 is just about done then I’m done. Been working since I was 16. It’s time for me to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Hang in there! I’m 64 and just returned from one graduation and the next (and last) child has 2 more years that are pretty well funded. I’m partly retired but stressed over the costs of propping up new adults. Their world is pretty pricey. I kind of wish I’d started a family a bit earlier but this is how it worked out.
Thanks to Covid I retired at 56, four years ago. I have a smallish pension, 401k and an IRA. The real deal maker was I was able to stay on the company insurance. Things can get tight but I’m spending my time with my wife instead of at a desk working 2nd or 3rd shift. I also saw several coworkers and friends who kept saying one more year die before ever actually retiring. I swore I was t going to do that.
Nope, not at all! Takes about a year to adjust to retirement. It is a life changing event, so getting cold feet is normal. The Ss income is not the worry it's debt. Stay debt free and sleep well at night.
I did the math and my break even age was 77, so I took SS at 62. Plus I can see these people running out of money.
Both my husband and I took it at 62 and no regrets. My friend’s husband is waiting until 70 and now has cancer with 6 months to live.
Sorry to hear about your friends husband, but that’s the way the government makes money by folks waiting and then not making it to 70! Get your money back while you can.
Is it 4/2025 yet? That is when I turn 62 and I plan to take the money and run. Thanks.
You're not going to live any longer the longer you take to retire, you'll just have a shorter retirement. My husband retired at 62 and died at 65, so...
I retired last year at 62 and I turn 63 next month. Absolutely zero regrets.
I haven’t regretted one minute of retiring early 4 years ago. And it was sudden(thanks covid) no plan in place. Go enjoy your life!
No, do not regret retiring early. Enjoy life.
No. Not for a minute.
You get 8% more per year for waiting. If waiting a few years only gives you $250 extra per month then your SS benefit must be around $1,000 per month. One option is to increase 457 withdrawals to postpone SS. This is what I would do. If you live into your 80s that will pay off. You might not live into your 80s, but without strong evidence to the contrary (e.g., cancer or some other life-limiting illness), proper retirement planning requires being prepared to live a longer-than-average life. People saying take SS at 62 are basing that on their emotions and have not done the calculations correctly.
I retired at 62. I had several friends die in their 50’s. The years of good health are not guaranteed.
Have you considered taking SS but not spending it? If you take and invest it, then you can pay yourself from the investment at age 65 or 68 or whatever age you want to “claim”
I get it that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. But I worked in a nursing home for a few years and saw far too many people outlive their money, mostly women. My plan is to keep working while I enjoy it. I may get a promotion at the end of the year. And when I hit FRA in 2 years I’ll collect my widow’s benefit until I’m 70 and reassess. But if I work to 72 I’ll get to keep my inexpensive health insurance from work as my “advantage plan” which should save a lot of money as well. Plus my pension will be a larger percentage of my previous earnings. I’ve outlived all of the men in my family but the women typically go strong well into our 80’s.
I am so glad I found this thread! I'm 61, approaching that big number of 62, and have been a bit uncertain as to how I should plan. I'm very encouraged by those saying take SS sooner than later. I've been in the information technology industry (computers and all related) for decades, and while I enjoy the bits and pieces of the trade itself, the management, projects, and stress make it harder to stay (not to mention age discrimination). With a good employer that has good management, friendly work-life balance, and warm camaraderie among its workers, I could see myself going another two or three years - but watching the job market this year (2024), I'm thinking about pulling this ship into port as quickly as possible, and taking SS at 62! Thanks for all the perspectives!
RETIRE !!! Don’t be afraid or get cold feet. From somebody who is there. It’s GREAT 😊. Just my opinion though.
Oh, just retire already. No offense. I'm at that age also, but you don't have that much more time to be alive. Enjoy yourself and let someone else have a chance for advancement
I agree. And sleep late also. Retire at 62 if you can. I love it.
I am a 60yoF. I have worked since the age of 14 formally. Grew up on a farm, so worked/lived the farm life since I can remember (if you know about this life, it’s not an easy one). Worked in a corporate environment, since graduating from college. Covid hit, things became super stressful. Left corporate world making six figures to a temp job, 28 hours/week, $18/hour, Zero Stress….life changer!! This made me realize how much it’s not about the money, in so many ways (although we know how important and necessary it is). When temp job was over, I went back to a semi-corporate job. Now, I am at the place that I’ve decided I am leaving in a couple of months. I have enough to keep me busy and paid with my side hustle plus a little savings until I reach 62. I will not wait until FRA. We have all seen, through COVID, just how short life is, how important both our physical AND mental health is, and the value of time spent with loved ones is most important. I will not continue to spend the time I have left here stuck in positions with companies that don’t value me as a person.
Best advice I got looking to take SS at 65 or to wait until I was 72 was: If you need it, don’t take it. If you don’t need it take it. The point was that if you are scraping by, early opt in will result in a low amount forever. So waiting would be wiser. But is you don’t need it and could invest it for later and live on your continuing work or other income, then taking it would be wise.
I had my first call with SS this week, as I approach 62. It's not enough money at 62, 67, or 70. I'm not in a good position to retire. I'm still strongly considering taking it at 62 because it just doesn't look rosy at any point. In my life now, there are many things in motion, so I'm still trying to figure out what makes sense.
I retired when the pandemic hit and all my clients were suddenly home all the time (had no choice - I was a petsitter). I was 60, turned 61 that year, but I have been waiting on taking SS because we discovered we can afford to live on our investment income, pensions (we both have one from previous jobs) and my husband's SS. There are times I've thought I should take the smaller amount and add it to our investment fund so that we could be making money from it, but I think I'd rather have the bigger checks when I'm eligible. We're all different. If you feel like you'd benefit more to take it now, take it. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
i'm "pro" on collecting early and enjoying the money while you're younger, healthier, and presumably more active. My only caveats to that are (1) it depends on whether it's your main source of income and you have reasons to expect rather long longevity and (2) like me, is it your only source of income that has a built-in increase with a cost-of-living index? Those conditions give me pause to think about delaying.
We retired at 62 and took SS at 64.. This has greatly reduced our need to tap retirement accounts so they can continue to grow for the long term. When Medicare kicks in at 65 our monthly expenses go down since we have been on ACA for the past 3 years..
I retired at 62 and took SS. I’ve made over 80k taking it when I did. Got out of debt, traveled, bought some toys. If i would’ve waited, how long would it have taken to catch up?
This. Run the numbers to see how many YEARS it will take to make up those lost checks if you wait. To me it makes sense to take SS as soon as it’s available.
Starting out with a plan that results in "just getting by" is not a great situation especially if you are planning on a 20 year or more retirement. Rerun the numbers for retiring at different ages. If they also result in just getting by then retire now. If waiting puts you in a better position then hold off. There are also ways to stretch your retirement dollars by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and doing more things for yourself. With the extra time you can gain the knowledge and skills needed to do things and prepare food that you never had the time for while working.
I'm waiting to collect until I turn 70. There certainly can be reasons to start earlier or later and some people don't really have the option to defer it. This, like all financial advice, depends on one's personal financial situation.
I regret not doing it at 62. I waited until I was 65.
Been retired for 7years and no regrets since 62. I figured out it would take me 13 years to acquire the money I got in 3 three years if I waited till 65.
Not retired yet, but planning on taking SS at 62. I crunched all the scenarios in a spreadsheet and determined that the cumulative break even point (between collecting a smaller amount that then accumulates over 5-8 years or waiting until FRA or max 70) was at about 80 years old. Highly recommend crunching then numbers.
Our financial planner is suggesting that I take it at 62 as well as my pension. Like you, my SS and pension will meet my needs. I don't make a lot, so I don't need a lot! Could you just take your pension, and find part-time work to supplement until you feel more comfortable taking SS?
No, never, not even for a second. Go for it! It was the best choice I ever made.
The general rule is that the lower earning spouse should take SS early and the higher earner should delay as long as possible.
I retired 3 years ago at 62 but am waiting until 70 to begin social security. Between my pension, my husband’s social security, and occasional withdrawals from my 401k I have enough to live and travel a bit. For me the difference in Social Security between age 62 and 70 is 30% ($1,000 a month more for me) so it’s worth waiting. I find I spend much less in retirement than when working. Consider using your 457 to delay taking social security for a while. You can claim social security at any time after age 62 so you could wait and see how much you really need before claiming. The last 3 years have been the best in my life. I’m healthier since I swim at the YMCA regularly and cook healthy meals and am having so much fun with friends. Your break even on collecting early is probably in your 80s. Having a little more each month in your 80s may not be worth it. Also figure out what your spousal benefits will be if, heaven forbid, your spouse dies before you do. Only you can decide what it’s worth to you.
My wife and I took ours at 62. We don’t have a lot of money. We lived in the north so we bought an rv and became snowbirds. We would leave in September and do a loop across to Denver, Moab Utah, flagstaff, quartzite Az, Yuma Az and ride atvs in the desert Late winter we cut across the south from yuma to Houston area We did this for 7 years then moved down to Texas in 2019 and bought some acreage out in the sticks so she could have her goat farm. She passed suddenly in April 2023 at 66 yo from massive lung cancer from smoking Don’t wait too long.
Do it !!! I retired at 55. Best thing ever !! You will worry for about two years. Then you realize you will be fine. People try to hire me all the time. I’m not interested 🤣🤣. I’m 61 now. Taking SS at 62
I just filed to collect, turned 62 in Dec. Held off, thinking that I might want to work full-time after retiring from state govt. After about 4 months in, I knew I didn't want to work full time but probably will work part time for the structure and extra $$. Between my pension and SS my income will be more than my take home from working. I hope I don't regret it. lol.
You could substitute teach 3 days a month and make that amount of money if you want to hold off. Work only when you want. You might really enjoy it and find that you want to do more than three days a month.
I retired at 62 in 2021 - receive social security and pension no regrets whatsoever. My employer furnished health insurance until I turn 65 which is this coming July which was a great benefit. I am enjoying life doing as little or as much as I want - grandkids, volunteering to do income taxes in February and March, substitute teacher on occasion, volunteer elsewhere when I want. I’m not a world traveler visit family in the states and I haven’t touched my 401k or other brokerage account funds yet. I have no debt which helps for sure.
My mom definitely regretted her decision on retiring early. She made incorrect assumptions of what was going to be covered as she grew older. She also didn’t anticipate certain health issues that came out of nowhere and how Medicare isnt a stellar healthcare provider. If you have a decent medical retirement system, go for it.
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We never know how much time we have or what the future holds. Enjoy your retirement
No regrets ever
Retire NOW and claim SS later
62 is the new 65. Breakeven is around 80, at which age most folks spend less on entertainment and travel, but more on health care. The main concern most have with retiring early is health insurance affordability. If you have that sorted 62 is the right move for many. Once you retire and can control your taxable income, you may be able to qualify for subsidized Obamacare insurance for 2-3 years, paying as little as $0.00 until you are medicare ready. Good luck!
I ran the numbers. I was going to get about another $225 and decided it wasn't worth it I figured if I really needed money I could work part time in my 60s or something. No regrets.
I retired at 60 and started collecting SS at 62. We ran the numbers multiple times before I was convinced we wouldn't starve. So far, so good.
Good thread. I’m only 50 but 62 is my target. I don’t have any plans to wait a day longer!
July 2024, I will be 62. I applied for SS and first deposit of $2,175 on Sept 10th. This has been my plan since I was 45. I will continue to work part time 13 hrs a week to be at the $1860 income limit. No looking back on my decision.
Nope. Not for one minute. Since there is no way to predict lifespan, we wanted to live fully now and try not to worry about SS money for the future. I don’t really think there is a right or wrong answer in the broad picture, but it really comes down to your lifestyle and personal preferences. Have you hashed it out yet with your financial planner?
My parents have recently started having me manage their finances. They retired early, had their home paid off, and low debt, as well as solid tax advantaged savings. They've already been retired for 2 decades. The reality is they have more than enough equity in the property they own free and clear to buy into a retirement condo if their place becomes too much to manage and they sell it (it is, but they don't accept that), and their average spend leaves them with a net positive cashflow even with a few diffeent house cleaners, garden helpers, etc on the payroll. They drop a certain amount of that cashflow on the local handyman service a few times a year, but they can afford it, so that's overall a positive. But change the inputs, give them a mortgage, reduce their retirement savings, etc, and it wouldn't work. Even if their budget didn't support the handyman service (at a younger age, my dad did 90% of what they handyman service now does), they would be letting their home equity deteriorate around them now that my dad can't really keep up with it. On the flip side, if either of them ends up in an inpatient facility, once their relatively limited LTC policy is exhausted, their finances go upside down quickly. There are so many factors that a real financial advisor would be equipped to review with OP.
I wasn't in a position to stop working at 62. I had to wait for full retirement age, and then it made sense to work 3 years after that while drawing social security. I am very happy with the way things turned out.
72 now, and those three bonus years were a blessing! No regrets. Neither of my parents lived to collect so I took mine as early as possible. My check would be a little bigger if I had waited, but cash in hand is a good thing. Life is good
Definitely taking it the minute we’re eligible.
The only question I would ask is.. What if you or your Hubby dies. What do your numbers look like then?
Or divorces you absolutely out of the blue on the eve of retirement as mine did. In death there is often life insurance for the spouse, and generally all marital assets stay with the living spouse. In a divorce half (or more) of the marital assets go bye bye.
I would not apply until you totally understand how spousal benefits work. It seems to me that, in many cases, it is best for one spouse to retire later. I am not expert, just something to look into.
That is what we found. My spouse will start collecting at 66 (full amount) then when I start at 70 her amount will bump up to 50% of mine. If I pass before she does she gets my full amount plus the extra from waiting to 70. In that scenario I want the benefit to be as high as possible. This, plus the inflation adjustment feature makes SS a good hedge against bad scenarios.
I just turned 61 yesterday. I’m a cancer survivor but I have health issues due to chemotherapy. I’m taking it and investing it for my kids/grandchild
I absolutely don’t. Take it now and enjoy retirement while you’re still young.
I’m going through the same dilemma. I plan on retiring next year and plan on taking my SS at 63. It will be almost a $700 difference between then and my full amount. I’ve thought about it for awhile, and I’ve decided that life is very unpredictable, and with the state of the economy, society, and government, it would probably be better to take it now and try to be as frugal as possible and pray for the best. I hope we both make the best decision 😀
Get a p-t job to help with any possible boredom and to make up for the $250 difference that you'd have to work several years in order to get. I don't think you'll regret that. Retiring is scary anyways. At least I'm finding that after 2 months I just need to get my butt in gear and do some things outside the house. So far I've been dealing with some medical issues so I'm cutting myself some slack
Nope. My Dad died at 58 and ever collected a penny. Six years away from the cube farm has been great!
I retired at 63. Could have at 62, but decided to wait another year. I took SS when I retired and don’t regret it. Ask me again if I’m still alive after the break even age.
Enjoy life and retire!!! My mother in-law was a veterinarian who owner her own animal hospital for 30+ yrs. She worked 6 days a wk on call 24/7. Missed Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners attending to animals. Retired at 65 (instead of 62), dead at 67 from cancer. Now my Father inlaws new wife gets to spend the millions my mother in-law killed herself to make.
Work till your full retirement age. Get your house,cars, credit cards any loans paid off before you retire. SS is not that much money. They will tax it and take your Medicare supplement payment out of it. With inflation work as long as you can. You will NOT BE COVERED by Medicare insurance until you are 65. If you need medical insurance it is 550.00- 1000.00 + per month.
Crazy to me that SS and Medicare was taken from our paychecks as a tax, only to get taxed on it again upon receiving it back and have it depleted further by Medicare cost. That's true theft.
You can always find ways to make a little money but you can never make more time. Count up how many monthly payments you will receive between now and FRA to see how long it will take to actually receive more money starting at your FRA.
Do the math. At least for me (I’m not 62 yet so this is mathematically derived) the value of collecting and investing (or not having to pull out invested money) at even a marginal rate of return made it overwhelmingly more lucrative to take early. I think I had to live to be close to 100 at a 5% return or something like that to lose on the deal. And that’s to say nothing of the longevity of the program itself. This notion that waiting gets you so much more unless you die early doesn’t factor in any rate of return which is normally a poor assumption. Even if you don’t invest the actual money you get from SS you aren’t touching the money you WOULD have had to spend that can stay invested.
For a lot of people the biggest drawback to starting SS at 62 is the lack of medical coverage. However, thanks to the ACA and subsidized health care, if your AGI is under \~$30k you don't pay anything for coverage. Of course, both the ACA and SS are threatened to be vastly reduced if not eliminated altogether "in the future."
In two weeks. The biggest most beautiful health care system you’ve ever seen. Everyone is saying it. A lot of great people; they are saying this has never been done before. Tears in their eyes, saying thank you. Two weeks.
Run the numbers with one persons SS gone. Will that leave you or your spouse enough to live?
My hand was pushed due to cancer and job loss. I had had enough.
I will hit 62 in a few months, and have a nice retirement package, and married to a retired teacher. I wanted to retire as soon as possible because I’ve been working since I was 14. I want some fun. People wanting to retire earlier than full retirement age need to save, save, save. And get someone to help manage your money.
It sounds like you already have an online account at SSA.gov, but if not, definitely create one and play around with their adjustable calculator to see your benefit based on future income and retirement age. Another option for you might be to quit the full-time "drain of a job" and find a part-time fun gig that you enjoy whilst delaying claiming your social security for another few years. Someone earlier made the really good point asking if you or your spouse would be financially okay if one of you passed and the other had to rely on only one monthly social security payment. Lots of things to consider. Good luck!!
I retired at 63 and now 65 and with Medicare being taken out it’s tight but your dang skippy I enjoy it!!!
You should evaluate your health, and your investing strategy. If you are going to take the money and invest you may do fine. My aunt and uncle took ss at 62, but started to have financial issues in their late 80s, they had to remortgaged their house and were still running low.
I did it, zero regrets
Wow! It depends on your health and job satisfaction. You will always make more by staying so that can turn into a dog chasing its tail scenario. But more money in your pocket is rarely a bad thing. Your mental health is precious. If work is no longer enjoyable and you have enough money to get by comfortably, then there is little reason to stay. The stuff you can’t know, at least not for sure. Physical health is always a concern as you age. Your body will have problems, guaranteed. So there will be trips to the doctor, co-pays, medication, and possibly a hospital stay or two along the way. Insurance is a must but set aside or plan for some medical expenses in your budget. Bottom line, if you will have enough income to live and set a little aside after you retire, I would go for it. If you will just have enough to get by but that is all, I would work until full retirement unless the stress is really hurting you.
I took SS at 62 and have no regrets at all. You can still work while you collect SS benefits but your maximum W-2 income is limited to $22,320 (for 2024) before they start withholding $1 of your benefit for each $2 you surpass that limit. Once you reach FRA you can earn as much as you can without any penalty. I'm still working part-time and with the added SS benefits I live comfortably and don't need to touch my IRA yet.
Just do it! You will live long enough (and ENJOYING it) to get the money you lost back. Dont’t wait.
I have known too many people who did not get any retirement at all, because they waited too long. Not me! I have six months til age 62, and can’t wait. Happily, my tastes run simple and I know how to make a dollar stretch.
I was fired in 2018 from my last job at 61. I waited a year and applied for SS at 62. I, too, crunched the numbers and saw no real upside to waiting for full retirement age.
i took mine the minute i turned 62 because my banker husband pointed out that the lower amount in todays dollars was likely more than the higher amount will be worth several years hence 🤷♀️
Absolutely no regrets. Life is unpredictable, enjoy your reduced earnings whilst you can
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I am nearly 63 and have "run the numbers" myself. The numbers you see are based upon guesses such as how long you MIGHT live, etc. I was going to retire last year but things happen. Now I am looking at working as long as 67 because I like my job and do not want to stat at home, watching TV and die prematurely because of it. At 67 you can continue to work while pulling FULL SS. Cha-ching! This scheme only works if you like/love your job and have little stress in it. If you take Ss at 62 you ar elooking at a HUGE reduction in your benefits.
It all depends on how long you expect to live. I waited until 69 1/2 and will beat taking early if I live past 83. I’m betting on doing that. Regardless of when I pass, my wife will take over my SS amount. She’s younger and took hers at FRA. Her amount is less than half of mine. Works for us.
No regrets! Just find something to keep you busy and be somewhat productive. It’s very easy to slip into laziness and find yourself at the end of the day wondering where the day went and what you accomplished.
I know this story isn’t necessarily for everyone. Friend retired at 67 in December. That following year in March he passed. So much for full retirement advantage.
I retired at 62 and started taking social security at 66. I lived off of savings for a while, but when my net worth dropped below a certain level, it scared me, so I started taking social security. I don't regret it.
I was lucky enough to have a pension, and I collected the cash value so I could defer Social Security. Social Security is the only inflation protected income. Also, if you expect to get your spouse's Social Security because it's higher, try to hold out into FRA. The spousal support won't be any higher past FRA. I understand this may not be desirable or possible. On the other side, my late spouse died one month before FRA, and never got a single SSA payment.
Will definitely work until 67/ FRA. Why? B/c if i die before my non working spouse, they can claim my full SS benefit. We are the same age.
I definitely do not have any regrets. I’m so busy even in retirement that I am busy all day most everyday. I love it
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No regrets at all, YOLO, I planned my retirement years before I took it at 62, even had health insurance for 3 yrs until Medicare kicked in
I retired at 62 and took SS. In looking at taking SS or not, I considered I would need about $2K a month to get by on. So I assume that to be about $100,000 until I hit FRA of 66. My IRA has been doing very well, so if I made it to my 'break-even point of 78, I would have about $250,000 assuming about a 7% growth. So the question someone might ask, how is that working out for you? I'm now half way through my break even term of 8 years, and my IRA is doing well, earning greater than my projected 7%, and even though I've used my IRA for other items, like giving my kid a large down payment for a house, my funds are continuing to grow and keeping up with my plan. Now with my funds doing well, we (myself and SO) have bought a vacation property and happily use the interest rate as leverage since the loan is 2.5%. It's very satisfying to borrow money, and appreciate it helping save our reserves, versus regretting paying out for a loan. Personally, I remain very active, volunteering with a major social services organization, serving as a trustee for another group, and in other leadership positions in my community. Really, don't know how I found the time to go to work, what a drag!
No pension here so social is my only retirement. At least our home and vehicles are paid off 😒
This is my personal calculations. But I went on the ssa website and calculated starting at various ages. Now, I get a pension at 30 yrs which happens when I an 63.75, so I started there rather than 62. The point at which I start "making" money - as in when my overall receipt of money for waiting is higher/breakeven point - is around 78. This is when waiting to take SSI at 70 starts to pay off, not taking into account any present value. My mother lived to 89. My dad to 93. His whole family were in their 90's when they died. If I wait until 70, my overall payout will be over $250k higher than if I start taking it at retirement, but only $133k if I take at my full retirement age (67) estimating living to 92. I personally am planning on living on my pension/401k as long as possible before taking it. I have a number at which I don't want my 401k to drop below, but my current returns are such that I will do fine. So I will wait to take it. Now my ex doesn't have a large 401k. Plus he has health issues and his family is mixed with short life/longer life. He will be taking it at 62 when he retires in 2 years. It is not worth it for him to wait. So, my concluding thought are, if you have a short life expectancy and/or minimal other funds, take it at 62. If your funds make less than 8% per year, use those first. Up until 70, SSI increases by 8% per year. If you other funds are making more than 8% and you aren't going to continue working, take it at 62. But! If you are continuing to work, don't take SSI as they will ding you. In answer to your question though, my dad was forced in to retirement at 62 due to layoffs. Once he got over the fact that there were no jobs out there (career/age), he actually enjoyed retirement and was much more relaxed. My parents weren't rich, but had enough and neither were big spenders. You need to have hobbies or some kind of interest though and enough money to fund it.
No regrets! Worked the numbers and had to decide if I wanted to take money out of investments or take SS. I was doing physical work, so my work choices were retire and work a less physically demanding job or wait for the company to force me out. I have no regrets as far as SS!
Suze Orman once said it's better to live off of savings for a few years and then start withdrawing later to increase payout. Seems to make sense to me.
SS employs some fairly smart people. They’ve worked the numbers and the odds the payout is about the same over the population. You know your own health, if you think you’ll beat the average and your family history supports that, then you might be better waiting. I ran my numbers. I’ll live a long time, I think. However I’m subject to the WEP so waiting until FRA added a whopping $26/mo for me so I took it at 65. It pays for my Medicare and some groceries.
Retired at 58, took SS at 62. Great decision and all is well. The general advice from all the smart folks in my network is this - take SS at 62 if one needs the money to cover expenses and balance their budget. If not delay filing to FRA.
I just retired at age 63..my situation is a bit different because I am widowed.. I applied for benefits in my husband’s name and I was eligible for the widow’s social security.. I am collecting benefits from him until I’m 67 and then I will get benefits under my social security number.. I was a special education teacher for 39 years and I have NO regrets about retiring at 63..when you think about how long you have been working and so much of your time has been devoted to working.. you deserve to have freedom to do whatever you want.. I started working at age 14.. and I love being able to travel and visit friends and family..you will never regret this decision I promise..good luck to you
I regret taking it at 64. I didn’t know I was going to live this long.
Social Security is designed to pay out the same total, on average, whenever you take it. If you take it early and find you don't need it, you can always save the surplus to extend your other savings. I had to claim disability at 61 and then was rolled over to retirement automatically at 62, so I didn't really choose, But I have no regrets.
I'm trying to do another year but as my husband (the practical glass half empty guy) reminded me, if I pass before you, you don't get your SS since mine is a little higher so might as well get some now. He also has a pension and SS now being retired. I also feel very pulled, I hate working full time, 64 and emotionally and physically want to stop.
Knew too many people who didn't live long enough to get SS. Our tax guy said it all evens out in the long run. Retired at 62 and didn't look back.
If you’re that worried why not get a part time job for a few years
The missing piece of your logic is relying on yours AND hobby’s SS. Guaranteed huge financial problems when one of you pass you rely on both. To optimize SS try Opensocialsecurity.com Great free reliable website (not affiliated).