Your comments welcome

[davidbeitz]

My DW and I are both 60 and just retired. DW has a small pension (with healthcare available) and I have none so we will be living mostly on distributions from our investments.

As a retired teacher (and subject to the windfall elimination provision), DW will not receive much social security (~$2,200 per year at 62) and upon my death she will only receive a small spousal benefit (~$13,000 per year).

In order to provide for her after my death, I’m considering taking SS at 62 to minimize the required withdraw from our investments to try and maximize our investment total to ensure DW has sufficient funds to provide for her after my death.

Is this a possible strategy? What am I missing?

 

[MrLoco]

My DW and I are both 60 and just retired. DW has a small pension (with healthcare available) and I have none so we will be living mostly on distributions from our investments.

As a retired teacher (and subject to the windfall elimination provision), DW will not receive much social security (~$2,200 per year at 62) and upon my death she will only receive a small spousal benefit (~$13,000 per year).

In order to provide for her after my death, I’m considering taking SS at 62 to minimize the required withdraw from our investments to try and maximize our investment total to ensure DW has sufficient funds to provide for her after my death.

Is this a possible strategy? What am I missing?

Sure this is a strategy and has been discussed before.
The problem is that you are making an assumption that the market will keep chugging along and your investments will continue to grow at x % for the next decade or two.


Who knows? What if we enter a 10 year bear or even a flat market for the next decade? Look at the S&P 500 from 12-31-1999 to 12-31-2009.
Even with reinvested dividends....the return was -0.95%. Yuck!!!


Maybe hedge your bets a little? Wait until FRA for SS and draw a little from investments and then at FRA stop withdrawing from investments and let them grow from there. This will guarantee you ( and your wife) a bigger benefit down the road should you predecease her.

 

[ivinsfan]

Small spousal benefit you have a number where did it come from? You do realize that if you take at 62 that spousal benefit will be smaller and upon death it's a survivor benefit not a spousal. Make sure you are using the correct number..

 

[btdt22]

This is one of those 'there is no one-right answer' problems. In 'our' particular circumstances, I was concerned about my younger spouse 'enjoying' her later 'golden' years. Over my lifetime, I have seen the stock market rise and fall a number of times, and I am convinced it will happen again, so I chose to guarantee her income by my waiting for SS until 70 and she taking SS at 66. This means she will get 100% of my maximum social security payments when I throw away my bucket list. As to SS going broke? No way! Too many of us older farts vote religiously (as in often), and I think contribution amounts and age eligibility increases are more on the horizon

 

[kaneohe]

May I suggest that you rename your Title if possible (or start a new thread if not). As you can see from the response to this other thread
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/theory-behind-taking-social-security-early-93511.html

folks around here are like sharks when it comes to the subject of when to take SS. Perhaps including some words resembling that in your title would attract more attention than your very general one.

 

[ivinsfan]

Another problem with your question is not enough detail. Such as nest egg, projected expenses and such. Flesh it out a little, change your title and you will get some feedback.

 

[Lukeee]

Could a 10 or 15 year term life insurance help resolve the issue. Or a staggered policy of (for example) 200K policy for 15 years and a 150K 10 year policy. Staggering the terms will lower the costs (you will need less money as she gets older).

 

[Mulligan]

Could a 10 or 15 year term life insurance help resolve the issue. Or a staggered policy of (for example) 200K policy for 15 years and a 150K 10 year policy. Staggering the terms will lower the costs (you will need less money as she gets older).

That is what I had to do, to bridge early retirement pitfalls for my GF. I bought a 20 year term, not for the next 10 years she is still working, but the 60-70 year stretch the following 10 years when she plans to retire. If I died right after her retiring she could get in trouble financially down the road. Now she can delay SS, leave 401k alone, and just live off my money and her smaller pension.