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As other posters have alluded to, ultimately the answer to the: "When Should I Take My SS Benefit?" question primarily boils down to your guess about your life expectancy. The odds that you’ll live past age 80 aren’t in your favor. But there are other factors you should consider in deciding when...

Puzzley, As an ERer that spends half the year in Mexico, I learned Spanish by watching Spanish language telanovelas (soap operas) on TV, reading a few books and making loads of mistakes by opening my mouth and trying to speak (you always remember those embarrasing moments). For example...

If you or your wife are extremely mathematically inclined, you might want to read Robert Muksian’s article, “The Effect of Retirement Under Social Security at Age 62,” published in the January 2004 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning. He makes a compelling case for waiting until full...

For a worker who was eligible for full Social Security benefits in 2007, the Social Security Administration calculation goes like this: 1. “Index” your actual earnings by multiplying them by the Social Security Administration's "index factor" that expresses the value of your past earnings in...

Dear BigWonderfulWyoming: I think you have plenty to retire now. Success in retirement is all about attitude. As someone who retired at 48, I have found that the secret to a successful retirement isn’t huge personal savings, but a less expensive, simpler lifestyle. The key is to figure out a...

When to take your Social Security? Calculate Break Even Point One data point helpful in deciding when to take your Social Security benefit, is to calculate your benefit break-even point. Your break-even point, according to the Social Security Administration, is the age at which the total...