Every day is a Saturday

[Brianjone5]

Hi all,

I am 61, retired for 6 years. My wife is 53, retired 18 months ago. We worked for the same megacorp in the US and the UK.

We maxed our 401Ks and company pensions, bought good, used cars for cash, never had debts apart from a mortgage which we paid off early.

We have money invested in tax-deferred and tax liable accounts, defined contribution pensions, and a home we own free and clear.

Our budget calls for 3% of our investment accounts and we have not yet started our company pensions. Next year I become eligible for my US social Security pension, but I don't know if I will take it or leave it for a bit. I wonder what others have done?

Anyway, I am looking forward to learning from you all. Cheers.

[street]

I wish you both well in retirement. As far as SS is concerned, in when to take it is a controversial subject and you will have pro's and con's in either way.

I would suggest to look at the past threads on this subject. After saying that, the studies I have seen there is no difference in taking early versus taking at late. Longevity is the a key ingredient but unless you have a crystal ball it is a crap shoot.

The one thing that seems to be over looked in these SS threads is. The money that you are spending of your own money when not taking SS, can be growing for 8 years and seems to never be a good argument when SS threads come up.

It is a personal decision and a financial plan what you want to do with your money and how to max your portfolio while in retirement. I have always felt me having the money instead of an institution is I can do better having the money and putting it to work instead of them doing my financing for me.

We are taking SS early because of your taxes will be higher at 70 plus years old, then they are now. I will go out on a limb and say a very large portion of folks here could live without SS. In saying that I wouldn't need it to live either, so that is another reason for me to take it early, to give it away and blow it, any way I can while I'm young enough to do so.

[Dash man]

There are so many things to consider about when to take SS, that there is no one right answer. In my case, DW’s SS will be higher than mine and her family has typically longer lifespans. So my taking it early and hers later would seem to make sense. But we are doing significant 401k/tIRA conversions into our Roth IRAs each year, so we chose to delay SS until we turn 70 to keep our taxes down. We can always change our mind should the markets tank bringing hard times, but for now we’re delaying the start of SS.
Hope this helps.

[Dalmore]

DW has a government pension, so her SS is very small. We will likely take hers early, still deciding if it will be 62 or 65. I am 6 years younger than her and planning to hold off until I am 70.

[JRon]

We haven’t decided yet as we are not at that age yet, but street & Dash man both gave great answers and while I realize they gave different answers they are both good advice.

[pacergal]

Welcome!
Taking SS is such a personal decision and there are good, convincing arguments for any time. Ultimately, you do what seems appropriate for you and your financial situation.
Personally, we took it early, looking at financials, life planning, family medical history, and our goals. But, that is US.
You do what is right for you.
Enjoy your Saturdays! Isn't retirement life grand?

[teetee]

If you don't need SS, leave until 70 to get the max benefit.

So the question is really if you can be 99.9% sure if you don't need the SS.

I would go on a trip or do something distracting from this topic for a year just to get some different perspectives which may help with the decision when you turn 62.

[Car-Guy]

Welcome to the forum...

There are a bazillion (exaggerated just a bit) threads on this site about when to take SS and the pros/cons... Do some searches on the site and you'll find them... Most are just re-hashes so you just need to read a few.

For "us", we didn't need it but took it anyway as soon as we could...

[Out-to-Lunch]

Welcome aboard!

[Brianjone5]

Thanks for the input and the welcome. There is so much I can learn from the enormous collection of knowledge here. At this point I am not too concerned: NW $4.5m, of which $2.3m in investment accounts provides all we currently need at 3% SWR. However, at 61 and 53 years, we hopefully have a long row to hoe.

[Midpack]

SS depends on your planned longevity and your need for the income. If you have funds to tide you over and you expect to live longer than average (81-84 yo), waiting as long as age 70 can offer the greatest total payout. Here’s the best online tool I’ve seen (make sure to consider clicking the top box for additional situations) https://opensocialsecurity.com/

[folivier]

Happy real Saturday.

[Walt34]

The title reminds me that one of our favorite activities when we first retired was to watch the D.C. area traffic reports on TV. New retirees can be easily amused.

After 19 years of retirement (be 20 on July 1st!) we don't bother anymore.

[Midpack]

Funny I looked forward to weekends when I was working, but now I look forward to Mon thru Fri more. Everything is more crowded on weekends, especially Saturday…

[street]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack Funny I looked forward to weekends when I was working, but now I look forward to Mon thru Fri more. Everything is more crowded on weekends, especially Saturday…

LOL! OHHH that is so true!! I avoid doing some of my outdoor activities and do them all week. The rookies can have the weekends.

[Dash man]

The weekends are always so noisy with lawn mowers, weed whackers, leaf blowers...it’s nice to enjoy the quiet during the week when others are off doing that thing they still do.

[Finance Dave]

Welcome and congrats on living right! We are waiting to take SS until FRA, but there is no one "right" answer...just know the ins and outs and decide for yourself.

I assume you are originally from the UK? Seems so based on some of the wording you used lol. I worked for a Megacorp that had many UK facilities, so I've been there about 10 times.

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack Funny I looked forward to weekends when I was working, but now I look forward to Mon thru Fri more. Everything is more crowded on weekends, especially Saturday…

Same here. Kind of an interesting retirement concept.