I retired at 70 in 2022 and started SS upon turning 70 as well. My wife is 10 years younger (61 now, I'm 71 now) and still working. She plans to work to at least 65 and more likely to 66 or 67. Her income is such that she would not get anything even if she claimed her SS benefits before retiring (or maybe before FRA which for her is 67), but I understand SS bumps up her payment over some period of time after FRA if she does claim early (say at 62). Also, her SS benefit will probably be in the neighborhood of 1/2 of my benefit (maybe more than half of my FRA benefit but less than half of my age 70 benefit) so I think we'll just have to wait and see whether it makes sense for her to claim spousal benefits. The question is whether it makes sense for her to claim at 62, or wait until she retires, or until her FRA, whichever comes first. Any thoughts?
Rick, I am also a retired aerospace engineer (maybe we worked at the same company), and really enjoy your posts. This post is especially relevant because it might help us decide whether my wife should take SS next year when she turns 62. She plans to work until at least age 65 and maybe till age 67 or 68 (her FRA is 67). I am now 71 and didn't take my SS until after age 70 (I retired at age 70 + 5 months). In the process 6 years ago of evaluating financial advisors, a very good one we were considering (we never signed up with one) told us that, given these facts, she should probably take her SS as early as possible. However, her income is high enough that she will not receive much, if any, SS until after her FRA even if she does start it at age 62. In your 4th paragragh you wrote, "once you reach your FRA, Social Security recalculates your monthly check, so you get credit for the benefits you earlier lost." To help us decide whether she should take SS at age 62 or not, would you mind providing more detail about how "Social Security recalculates your monthly check, so you get credit for the benefits you earlier lost." Or perhaps you have a reference that would help; I haven't been able to find information about this. It would be nice to know how SS recalculates, and subsequently pays, the credit for earlier lost benefits. Maybe it is better for her to just wait until the earlier of when she retires, or her FRA, whichever comes first, to take her benefits.
Excellent article. My wife and I have excellent medical insurance through her work, and because of that, we chose not to have medical insurance on our automobile policies. Are we making a mistake?
The last sentence in the article asks "As a society, are we any different from those families who live beyond their means and don’t save?" Maybe it is not the same as "society" but, because we have our own fiat money system, our federal government is "different from those families who live beyond their means and don't save" in that our federal government can print money. Admittedly, the government shouldn't print so much money as to cause inflation, but this ability to create money IS a SIGNIFICANT way that our society is "different from those families who live beyond their means and don’t save."
Comments:
I retired at 70 in 2022 and started SS upon turning 70 as well. My wife is 10 years younger (61 now, I'm 71 now) and still working. She plans to work to at least 65 and more likely to 66 or 67. Her income is such that she would not get anything even if she claimed her SS benefits before retiring (or maybe before FRA which for her is 67), but I understand SS bumps up her payment over some period of time after FRA if she does claim early (say at 62). Also, her SS benefit will probably be in the neighborhood of 1/2 of my benefit (maybe more than half of my FRA benefit but less than half of my age 70 benefit) so I think we'll just have to wait and see whether it makes sense for her to claim spousal benefits. The question is whether it makes sense for her to claim at 62, or wait until she retires, or until her FRA, whichever comes first. Any thoughts?
Post: Don’t Delay
Link to comment from April 18, 2024
Rick, I am also a retired aerospace engineer (maybe we worked at the same company), and really enjoy your posts. This post is especially relevant because it might help us decide whether my wife should take SS next year when she turns 62. She plans to work until at least age 65 and maybe till age 67 or 68 (her FRA is 67). I am now 71 and didn't take my SS until after age 70 (I retired at age 70 + 5 months). In the process 6 years ago of evaluating financial advisors, a very good one we were considering (we never signed up with one) told us that, given these facts, she should probably take her SS as early as possible. However, her income is high enough that she will not receive much, if any, SS until after her FRA even if she does start it at age 62. In your 4th paragragh you wrote, "once you reach your FRA, Social Security recalculates your monthly check, so you get credit for the benefits you earlier lost." To help us decide whether she should take SS at age 62 or not, would you mind providing more detail about how "Social Security recalculates your monthly check, so you get credit for the benefits you earlier lost." Or perhaps you have a reference that would help; I haven't been able to find information about this. It would be nice to know how SS recalculates, and subsequently pays, the credit for earlier lost benefits. Maybe it is better for her to just wait until the earlier of when she retires, or her FRA, whichever comes first, to take her benefits.
Post: Losing Benefits
Link to comment from March 25, 2024
Excellent article. My wife and I have excellent medical insurance through her work, and because of that, we chose not to have medical insurance on our automobile policies. Are we making a mistake?
Post: My Father’s Daughter
Link to comment from January 30, 2024
The last sentence in the article asks "As a society, are we any different from those families who live beyond their means and don’t save?" Maybe it is not the same as "society" but, because we have our own fiat money system, our federal government is "different from those families who live beyond their means and don't save" in that our federal government can print money. Admittedly, the government shouldn't print so much money as to cause inflation, but this ability to create money IS a SIGNIFICANT way that our society is "different from those families who live beyond their means and don’t save."
Post: When Free Isn’t Free
Link to comment from February 26, 2023