David, I can relate to your thoughts. During my working years, I planned my retirement without regard to what my SS benefit would be. I have pretty much given up on our elected officials to properly address this problem, which is why I chose to receive my benefits earlier rather than later. I'll take 100% of my payment now at a smaller amount for a longer time as opposed to waiting and having it cut by 25% for fewer payments. Plus I live in a state that does not tax SS, but does tax my IRA withdrawals.
For now, we are keeping some funds in our tax deferred IRA. This allows us to withdraw money each year to at least match the (recently generous) standard deductions for true tax free earnings.
This we know. You can decide to take smaller payments for a longer period of time, or larger payments for a shorter period of time. Of course, if we knew the date of our demise, the decision when to start in order to maximize our benefit would be easy. For myself, and I suspect for most HD readers, the decision either way is not going to dramatically alter their lives. I chose to start at 62. I enjoy seeing that payment go into my account each month. It makes feel good. Sure, I might live longer than my so called "break-even" point, thus making my decision appear as not being maximized. I can handle that easier than the alternative. But if that's the downside of living longer, I'll take it. Also, my state does not tax SS, but they do tax IRA distributions. I'll take my chances that my money will grow and pass that on to my kids. I can't do that with SS.
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David, I can relate to your thoughts. During my working years, I planned my retirement without regard to what my SS benefit would be. I have pretty much given up on our elected officials to properly address this problem, which is why I chose to receive my benefits earlier rather than later. I'll take 100% of my payment now at a smaller amount for a longer time as opposed to waiting and having it cut by 25% for fewer payments. Plus I live in a state that does not tax SS, but does tax my IRA withdrawals.
Post: Short term and long term Social Security planning
Link to comment from August 5, 2026
For now, we are keeping some funds in our tax deferred IRA. This allows us to withdraw money each year to at least match the (recently generous) standard deductions for true tax free earnings.
Post: Contrarian Thinking About Roth Conversions
Link to comment from October 16, 2025
This we know. You can decide to take smaller payments for a longer period of time, or larger payments for a shorter period of time. Of course, if we knew the date of our demise, the decision when to start in order to maximize our benefit would be easy. For myself, and I suspect for most HD readers, the decision either way is not going to dramatically alter their lives. I chose to start at 62. I enjoy seeing that payment go into my account each month. It makes feel good. Sure, I might live longer than my so called "break-even" point, thus making my decision appear as not being maximized. I can handle that easier than the alternative. But if that's the downside of living longer, I'll take it. Also, my state does not tax SS, but they do tax IRA distributions. I'll take my chances that my money will grow and pass that on to my kids. I can't do that with SS.
Post: Rehashing the age 70 thing. Tell Dear Dickie what is it that he doesn’t get about SS at age 70?
Link to comment from August 21, 2025