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IF SOMEONE ASKS ME what my favorite day is, I’d have to say the second Wednesday of the month. That’s when my Social Security check gets deposited into my checking account. I’ve received three checks so far and each one has been a joy. The experts might be right when they say retirees who have predictable income are happier. At age 70, I feel like a little boy who just got his first bicycle.
I waited a long time for my first check—and it was well worth it:
If I die tomorrow, you could argue that I made the wrong decision in delaying Social Security—and you might be right, though my wife will get my benefit as a survivor benefit. On top of that, from a financial point of view, dying tomorrow isn’t my big concern. Instead, what would be more worrisome to me is watching our savings dwindle in our later years—and be left with a smaller Social Security check to fall back on.
I just realized that I’m responding to an older article, but the sentiment remains the same:
Thanks for posting this. I’m aligned with all your reasons! Enjoy your COLA-adjusted lifetime annuity!
Dennis, your thoughts closely mirror mine as to those nice SS direct deposits (ours don’t cover our total overhead costs but they go a long way).
To each his own but I’m likewise glad I waited till age 70 to claim. And yep, that 2nd Wednesday of the month is my favorite day of the month as well—like having a birthday every month of the year!
Dennis: this sounds like the pensions my wife and I receive, except ours get to our bank accounts very early in the morning on the last business day of the month. When we begin taking SS benefits, those checks will give us 3 separate “paydays” per month, and those will be days we’ll definitely look forward to for the reasons you noted. Great post!
It does make sense to feel good about a nice big check that you put off, kind of a like the psychological benefits from delayed gratification. From a math perspective, though, we run the comparisons for IRR and it feels like it comes out to around 6% IRR assuming no future law changes. Again, assuming the difference would have been invested for apples to apples comparison, the last 8 years would have crushed the ~6% IRR breakeven in most portfolios. I do like the Roth conversion point.
Nothing like “mail box money”
This is all income and asset dependent. Each individual and couple has to work out what makes the most sense in their particular situation. Are you trying to maximize your income to ensure you have enough to live on, or are you trying to minimize your income to avoid paying huge amounts of income tax and IRMAA?
I’m one month behind you but couldn’t agree more. Got up in the middle of the night on Bastille Day to see if that first one made it to my account. Just like waiting for Santa!