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I didn't take my SS until I was almost 65. I was thinking I'd maybe take it at 66 or possibly later. I was in no real hurry. The reason I was waiting was because I didn't really need the money. So my plan was to wait to get a higher monthly payment. I went to the SS and Medicare office solely to register for Medicare.

In a stroke of luck, I got a gentleman around my age as my advisor. JFC, I wasn't there to discuss SS benefits at all. I was strictly there to sign up for Medicare. But while I was talking to him, he asked me "Can I show you a couple math calculations on the computer"? I said "Sure".

Well, he laid it all out to me that it was foolish for me to wait to collect SS and that I was just leaving money on the table senselessly. He had showed me that my break even point would be 79.5 years before I would recover what I had already left on the table. Don't remember the exact amount, but it was several tens of thousands of dollars. Right then and there, I told him "Sign me up".

Thankfully, after discussions with my brother, he decided to take his SS at 62. He's in good shape with his retirement. From all the overtime he worked as a lineman for the power company over the years, his pension from the company, and his wife's SS, in addition to their Investments, he and his wife are doing fine.

If you are comfortable working with MS Excel, you can create a simple spreadsheet that will clearly answer your question in about 10 minutes. Eight columns:
Column 1, years 2023 through say 2063
Column 2, your age at the end of the year
Column 3, annual SS income if you start SS now. Just copy paste on down from 2023 to 2053.
Column 4, Running cumulative total of Column 3
Column 5, starting in appropriate year, annual full retirement amount. Copy pasted to bottom.
Column 6 cum of column 5.
Column 7 starting in appropriate year max annual SS amount.
Column 8, cum of column 7.

Now look to see how old you will be when the value of column 8 surpasses column 6. That is your BREAK EVEN point for waiting. For me it was mid to upper 80’s. No one in my mother’s family ever made it to 70. For me, no brainer…

After full retirement date you will not be penalized for wages earned. If you want, you can work full time and draw full SS after age 66 & 10 months.
At age 64 the annual earnings limit is $21,240 for 2023. After $21240, SS will deduct from your benefits $.50 for every dollar you earn.


My choice: I turned 66 and four months Nov 2 of 2022, which was my full retirement date. I put in, and reciecved SS benefits on that date. I worked through the end of Feb, 2023 with no penalty, just to see a few SS checks hit the bank before retirement from the job.

I’m just guessing but if you can draw that much you really shouldn’t need it. These guys are correct on break even years. Wait long enough and you might not draw any at all. Edk

Ed, that's basically the position I was in at 65. My recommendation to you is don't leave that money on the table. If for nothing else, you can use that money to further secure the financial future of the young folks in your family. Or, as my brother did, you can use some of the money for an extended fishing trip in Alaska with the younger fellas in the family, or a long vacation hunting in the woods in the Northeast or somewhere else you haven't been before.

Jim, that is wise advice if a person is not earning wages. BUT, if a person is earning $75,000/year it is a far different situation.
$75,000 minus 21,240 leaves $53,760 divided by 2 equals $26,680.

$26,680 is the amount which will be subtracted from your SS benefit for the year. $36,000 minus 26,680 leaves you less than $10,000 in SS for the year. But you have taken benefits for the year, so are not eligible for the full benefits you would have earned if you had waited until FRD to begin benefits.

That is why I waited for 66 4 months (my FRD) to begin benefits.

She started drawing at 62 and she is now 67. I don’t know how it’s affected her benefits but if it affected them too much she would never have done it. She knows numbers and is also a tight wad.

If you need the money now, take it now.

If you don't need the money now, take it now.

If you can get by for now and will REALLY need more money later, wait.

I started at 62 and have no regrets. My full retirement age is 66 years 8 months. When I did the math if I'd waited until 66 years 8 months I would have to live to almost 80 just to break even. I'd be 90 before it would add up to a significant difference.

There are no guarantees we will make it to even 66, let alone 80 or 90. Based on my parents and grandparents mid to late 80's are common in my family. But even if I knew I'd live to 85 I'd still take it now when I'm young and healthy enough to be able to travel and do some things. My dad died at 89, mom 87. But once they got into their 80's they weren't able to get out and enjoy much life.

That does seem a little surprising. It seems that her benefit would have been reduced quite a bit while she worked. Still, as you say, she’s a CPA, so I’m sure there’s some angle that I don’t understand. Thanks for the reply.

Perhaps she is self employed and handles income differently than a typical wage earner?

I don’t regret waiting until I was 66 to begin taking mine. I guess time will tell if I’ll come out ahead. My SS is penalized 500 a month, because I have teachers retirement.

Retired at 60 started drawing at 62. Just extra money for us. Numbers lined up at 59.

Good Luck

You can put your data into this calculator to see what might be best for your situation. https://opensocialsecurity.com. You have to look at your situation, health and family longevity history and that of your spouse and make a guess. One thing to consider is that on it's current track, social security will deplete it's trust fund in the 2037 or so and will only be able to pay about 75% of advertised benefit unless changes are made to the program.

COLORADO LUCKY DOG: The VarmintWife just went through this and after professional advice she started collecting her social security benefit the first month she qualified for it,
She also kept working (against my urgings!) FULL TIME and the S.S. people simply withheld her monthly S.S. check until the penalty for collecting and keeping working was met (three first months checks of the year were withheld, as I recall, for a couple of years!). Then after those three months she collected both the full S.S. checks and her salary from here job! Then after a couple of years there was NO penalty for her working full time.
My advice "start collecting S.S. benefits" the instant you qualify - I base this on many friends and acquaintances that died before they ever collected a single S.S. retirement check!
There are tables that specifically define how long you have to live if you wait for max benefits to catch up with the benefits you get from an earlier retirement. And theres this, good luck in your dealings with the lazy, arrogant and often stupid sons of bitches and daughters of whores there at your local S.S. office - you'll need it.
So theres that.
Best of luck to you with whichever option you choose - but again WE were/are VERY happy with the VarmintWifes choice of collecting S.S. checks ASAP and paying the minor penalty for that relatively short time while she kept working full time.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I retired at 63, started collecting Oct. 2013. No regrets. Only you know your financial situation. Just get a good financial advisor.

I am probably within a month or two of the OP in age. I'm also looking at this. I punched out of the corporate world six months ago and do consulting on a contract basis. My wife makes decent money in her business.

I am considering filing for SS in a few months when I turn 65. I'm a CPA so I have run the numbers and it doesn't make a difference until my early 80s, cumulatively. Both sides of my family aren't known for their longevity.

I don't want to work full time so as long as I don't make a lot I'm good. If I decided to work more I would have twelve months to change my mind and repay benefits I suppose.

If you wait until your full retirement age to draw you can make as much as you want to without hurting your SS.

I did something similar to this. Signed up at 62, no regrets.

The Goobermint set up that "You'll get more if you wait" scam because they know full well that a significant percentage of people won't live to that magic age.

Using your numbers but not counting any salary penalties, you'd get just under $200,000 between now and age 70. It would take you almost 11 years at the 70yo rate to make up that money.

What could you do with $200,000 over six years? More to the point, what would you get if you decided to wait and died a month before you turned 70? Zero.

My mom worked some sort of job for some 40+ years.
When pop passed, she got his private retirement "survivor benefit".
When she turn 65, she attempted to draw her SS she paid into for umpteen years!
SocSec informed her she could either continue drawing Pop's "survivors benefits"...OR...draw SocSec! She COULD NOT draw both!
Mom passed at 98.

She never drew one red cent of SocSec after paying in for nearly 40 years!

Tell me THAT isn't highway robbery!
I'm still po'd about it!