Social Security at 70

[HarryHawk]

I decided to wait until I was 70. Mine starts in May. I figure even if I croak soon, my wife will continue to collect the larger amount.

I was already collecting spousal benefits against my wife's SS, so I decided not to activate mine online, rather have a rep do it to make sure it was set up correctly. I made an appointment and sure enough, the rep called me at the scheduled time. It was a very pleasant transaction; the rep was extremely helpful and had good customer skills.

Looking forward to my first check.

 

[athena53]

SS default action is to backdate it 6 months and give you a 6 month bonus check, which sounds great until the 70 person realizes they are getting SS at 69.5 yrs even though they applied at age 70.

Hmm... wonder if that's why I just got $217 from SS zapped into my checking account today. It's not the date I usually get it and my usual payment is about $3,400.

I started collecting Survivor benefits when DH died. He was 78 and I was 62 and not collecting in my own record. I'd planned to wait till age 70 but then decided life was short and taxes were only going to get worse so filed on my own at 69. I did it on-line and would have specified my birth date- in fact, it showed up as Pending for months and when I called they said they wouldn't have a decision till 3 months before it was effective. My birthday was 2/1 and I got my first higher check in March.

Many reasons go into when to collect SS (and there are many threads on it). No single right answer.

 

[reneeh63]

I am 64 and have not started collecting SS yet but for the past couple of months I have been reading the obituaries online in our daily paper and am kind of shocked at the number of premature departures so to say. Many in their late 70's or early 80's. I know this is in not an actuarily sound way to predict life expectancies but something I think about.

My breakeven age if I wait until 70 is about 82 but like the OP said I want to enjoy my SS while I am still in decent shape. Planning to collect starting next year in conjunction with Medicare.

I'm not sure I understand this reasoning. I'm budgeting the same annual retirement "salary" for myself pre-70 without SS as for post-70 with SS. The only difference is the source of it - pre-70 it comes out of my own investments (less my pension).

I'm not scrimping a bit while waiting for my SS. And I don't view it actuarially - I honestly don't care if I "break even" or not. It's my insurance in case I live to 90+ but if I don't, so what? Kinda like the HOW policy you pay on every year and are glad your house didn't burn down, ya know?

The other thing that people must know on some level but seem to actually take it into consideration is that you can decide any single day you want to start SS....you can change your mind! You're not stuck after "deciding". How much have you really lost if you wait a few years but decide to collect a bit before 70? If you get sick, start collecting now.

 

[Dreamer]

Perfectly healthy a 62 and considering waiting until 70. I decided to take it at 62. Next week I'm having major cancer surgery. I was probably brilliant. Why don't I feel it.

I wish you a successful surgery and a quick recovery. I hope that you live to regret your decision by many, many years.

 

[foxfirev5]

Thanks to all. I didn't want to hijack the thread, but thought that my attempted humor in my sig line ended up being ironic and prophetic. At the time I wrote it I felt great and was actually regretting not waiting to collect SS until at least FRA.

 

[Alan]

Perfectly healthy a 62 and considering waiting until 70. I decided to take it at 62. Next week I'm having major cancer surgery. I was probably brilliant. Why don't I feel it.

Thanks to all. I didn't want to hijack the thread, but thought that my attempted humor in my sig line ended up being ironic and prophetic. At the time I wrote it I felt great and was actually regretting not waiting to collect SS until at least FRA.

Wishing you as speedy a recovery as possible, none of us knows what the future holds, apart from the stock market where we are all experts.

I'm 67 and waiting until 70 as my wife has a much lower SS than me and much higher life expectancy. (she is already collecting her SS).

As it turns out, I am receiving an unqualified pension through SERPS, reported on a W2, and a few years ago the IRS(?) decided that SERPS recipients should be paying payroll taxes. That does mean that by age 70 I'll have 28 years of FICA contributions so I'll be receiving a higher benefit as otherwise I would be WEP'ed to the max. I would otherwise be receiving benefits based on 23 years and WEP starts to phase out at 20 years until it is zero at 30.

It does mean I continue to also pay into Medicare even though I will almost certainly never use it.

 

[whatnot]

Foxfire5- Wishing you a a speedy recovery!

DH will start his SS next month at 64.5. He has been retired 4years now. He didn’t want to wait any longer due to family low longevity on both sides of his family.
I plan on taking my SS at 70. My mother and her sister will be 88 and 90 this summer. Also, DH and I had similar earning history.
So, basically splitting the difference I guess. We live on his pension (100% survivor) and 3.5% WR. So basically we will be getting a raise.

 

[Time2]

I'm 67, wife is 62, I plan on waiting until I'm 70. My reasoning, I'll have a larger check than my wife, I want to maximize my check that she will get after I die. I'm maximizing my Roth conversions and if I collected now, I would either have to pay tax in a higher tax bracket or reduce the amount I Roth convert.

I expect when I collect, she will also collect. We should be looking at an extra $53,000 a year, leaving us with a very low portfolio withdrawal rate. I hope that $53,000 doesn't get cut in 2032!

 

[eytonxav]

I took mine at 68.5, as I wanted to get what I could out of SS before it takes a haircut. It amazes me that our gummit has not done anything to shore up both SS and medicare while they pour big $s into other benefits. I suspect inflation and more new gummit spending might speed the up the shortfall date.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I am waiting till 70, even though my heart with a pacemaker keeping it running keeps telling me otherwise.

Only because of DW's ACA need for 2023, otherwise honestly, I would have taken it FRA.

 

[Time2]

I am waiting till 70, even though my heart with a pacemaker keeping it running keeps telling me otherwise.

Only because of DW's ACA need for 2023, otherwise honestly, I would have taken it FRA.

I may be pushing it, I'm 67, my dad died at 74, but he also had a heart attack at 43 that disabled him and more problems after that, including quadruple bypass. My dad's father lived to an older age, his brother is still alive. So, I'm going on the theory that dad had a rough life and from what I know, he installed blown in fiberglas insulation, and he worked in a chrome plating factory, both of these can have some serious medical problems follow.
So far I'm not having any heart problem so I'll take SS at 70 and maybe I'll make it to the crossover point.

 

[Chuckanut]

I am 64 and have not started collecting SS…….

My breakeven age if I wait until 70 is about 82 but like the OP said I want to enjoy my SS while I am still in decent shape. Planning to collect starting next year in conjunction with Medicare.

Keep in mind that if you don’t care about leaving an estate (yes, a big IF) taking SS at 70 gives a person more money to spend each year starting at 62.

 

[target2019]

My plan was to wait till 70 to take my SS. At 69 1/2 I have so many friends with serious illness or passing away I decided to take it now. I'm getting about $3.4k per month which is a nice chunk of change. DH started his at 62 and gets $1.9k per month. $5.3k per month in SS makes these stock market dips much easier to take. I also want to enjoy my SS money while I'm still in decent shape.

That was my plan too. When I hit 69 I decided to go with payments from 68.5. Nice bounce to checking. Monthly check will pay most of my bills.

Several factors all came together to tell me, "It's time to dip into that stream."

 

[pb4uski]

I'm waiting until I am 70. DW was a SAHM so her benefit will be 1/2 of my PIA once I file and mine will be 131% of my PIA at 70... so my benefit will be 262% of her benefit.

Given our ages, family history and health, it is likely that one or the other of us will live to our early 90s so deferring is definitely the best path for us. Luckily, we have plenty saved to carry us until I start collecting at 70.

 

[target2019]

Perfectly healthy a 62 and considering waiting until 70. I decided to take it at 62. Next week I'm having major cancer surgery. I was probably brilliant. Why don't I feel it.

Weather changes, right? You'll be wearing more gear for a while.

I'm sailing a similar boat, and I wish you clear skies after the storm.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

I started at 63 and 8 months — affected somewhat by WEP — so that DH could collect on my record since he was at FRA.

He plans to wait until age 70 in August of next year to draw on his record, but he may draw as early as January of next year.

At the time he starts his own and stops drawing on my record, I will check with SS staff to see whether it might be worthwhile to suspend mine for a couple of years and restart at age 70.

 

[Jerry1]

DW will be at FRA this year (66 & 4 months). Given the current market I think we’re going to go ahead and star her SS by year end unless the market does some miraculous recovery. Her going on SS will reduce our withdraw rate (WR) from about 5% to 3.2%. That seems prudent at this juncture versus waiting any longer.

The next decision is mine. I turn 62 next year. Even at that lowest payout, me starting SS will take our WR from about 3% to 1.5%. I really like that WR but we’ll see how things go and call that one on the fly. Market conditions like we’re experiencing tend to refocus my thoughts on portfolio preservation so that may rule the decision.

 

[MarieIG]

Keep in mind that if you don’t care about leaving an estate (yes, a big IF) taking SS at 70 gives a person more money to spend each year starting at 62.

My priority is taking care of the older DH and myself if still around. This may mean that the bulk of assets goes to senior care, however, I don't see that my timing of taking SS will preclude leaving an estate. The way I see it, long term senior care is the biggest "risk" factor to depletion. Tapping SS later (even at a reduced rate); as well as triggering two smallish annunity streams (at age 70 or later) in addition to DH's pension and primary annunity stream should offer some inflation protection and offset some potential extra senior care costs.

 

[CRLLS]

I will be filing later this year at age 70. Deferring allows either DW or me to collect the greatest amount once one of us passes. I don't consider previous generation life history as a great driver. Medical procedures are so much better today than they were in previous generations and continue to get better as time goes on. It also didn't hurt that I will have collected spousal benefits on DW's benefits for 4 years before I turn 70.

 

[LRDave]

My 98 year-old father reminds me to wait until 70 every chance he gets. He has the benefit of looking through the rear view mirror - he took his at 62.

I don't say this to him, but hell, he hasn't run out of money or anything and he's had a good gig. I don't see how he or my mother (who passed at 89) would've spent any more or less on the pleasures of life with either plan. And I think he has forgotten that his SS plus company pension made his retirement at 62 less anxious.

 

[TheWizard]

Keep in mind that if you don’t care about leaving an estate (yes, a big IF) taking SS at 70 gives a person more money to spend each year starting at 62.

I don't follow your line of reasoning and believe you are wrong, especially in my case...

 

[pacergal]

When to take SS is a personal decision everyone makes based on health, longevity/family history, budget, investment or other income available.
There is no right or wrong, it is what is right, or makes sense for You.

DH and I both took at 62, after analyzing everything forwards and backwards. It gave us the most flexibility for what we wanted now and in the future.We are blessed to have what we have.

Perfectly healthy a 62 and considering waiting until 70. I decided to take it at 62. Next week I'm having major cancer surgery. I was probably brilliant. Why don't I feel it.

My best wishes and prayers to you for good surgical outcome and happy, healthy life afterwards.

 

[pb4uski]

I don't follow your line of reasoning and believe you are wrong, especially in my case...

I don't know about your case, but I am familiar with the line of reasoning. Let's use an example of a 62 yo retiree whose FRA is 67 and PIA is $24,000/year. SS at 62 s/he would be 70% of PIA or $16,800/year and SS at 70 would be 124% of PIA or $29,760/year. S/he also has $500k of retirement savings and is comfortable with a 4% WR.

Option 1: Start SS at 62 and inflation adjusted withdrawals at 4% from the $500k nestegg. Annual inflation adjusted income = $16,800 SS + $20,000 of withdrawals = $36,800

Option 2: Set aside 8 years at $29,760/year (SS at 70), or $238,080 in a side fund and use 4% WR on the remaining $261,920 so first year withdrawals are $10,477 from the retirement investments and $29,760 from the side fund for a total of $40,237. Option 2 allows 9.3% higher spending with similar risk.

A small wart in the ointment is that investment earnings on the side fund that is being used as an SS substitute for years 1-8 need to be able to fund withdrawals adjusted for inflation. In many economic environments interest would be expected to exceed inflation but perhaps not so much today.

But even if you then goosed the side fund by 10% to adjust for that, the option 2 amount would then support spending of $39,284 which is 6.8% higher than the $36,800 of spending under Option 1

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I am waiting till 70 just to benefit my DW. If I Kark it early then she gets my SS as it is more than 2.33 times larger than hers, and her family has a good longevity.

 

[TheWizard]

I don't know about your case, but I am familiar with the line of reasoning. Let's use an example.......

Ok, thanks, PB
My main quibble with the previous quote in question was not leaving an estate if delaying SS until 70.

My case differed considerably from your example by having pension/annuity income that covered my expenses in the years prior to age 70.
And I had no side fund but left all funds invested at my target AA.
And a good portion of the $$$ I did withdraw from tax-deferred prior to age 70 was actually Roth conversions.

As several folks have pointed out, situations vary considerably and the good choices on claiming SS do also...