Making an early social security claim when you have other assets to spend down

[Jingthing]

Yes it would really be nice if those damned politicians would keep their greedy mitts off of our money. The only reason I can see to keep raising the FRA limit is it gives them more time to steal it and us a better chance of dying before complaining. Another pro for claiming early.

I think US life expectancy is actually declining so that would make it politically harder to raise the fra.

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[Jingthing]

The whole SS system is built like a carrot hanging from the stick in front of the donkey
 
It is also similar to a Casino Black Jack dealer meaning the Government/Casinos biggest
advantage in this system is they go last like a dealer giving you every chance to bust first before collecting any winnings [emoji6]
I took the money & ran @ 62
 
 

Well there is always that risk that they won't meet their promises. I feel it's a small risk but the way the deficits are going I may be wrong.

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[meechai]

23 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Well there is always that risk that they won't meet their promises. I feel it's a small risk but the way the deficits are going I may be wrong.

Actually I was never worried that they would not meet their promises.

USD will always be last man standing in today's world

 

I meant many who wait expire before or soon after finally taking theirs, So house/Govt/Casino wins ????

[sirineou]

My social security and Pension goes away after I die, and wife would be too young to  collect hers. There is an option to collect only 60% of my pension per month and the wife gets to keep it for life, but given the state of the Unions , I am not sure how long they will be around, and my union pension is insured for only pennies on the dollar, so I think I will take the full amount while the taking is good. 

I will like to leave something for my wife and daughter when I am gone. And if I draw down my savings to live on .............

So here is the plan.  Upon my retirement(less than a year from now)  50% of my Annuity will go in to a trust fund for my daughter to collect upon my death or if she wants to use it to buy a house.  Leave remaining annuity along  and only draw upon it if needed.

House in the US and Thailand paid off, so live off SSI and Union Pension. 

Would Try living in Thailand full time and see if I like it, (only spend a few months per year,  there now and might not have a realistic view) If I like living in Thailand full time , rather than renting the house in the US  , and all the associated problems involved with that . I am toying with the idea of selling the house and investing the proceed in a relatively safe investment vehicle, the return from it should be close to if not more than rent collected, but no associated maintenance problems as with rent.

 Compounding interest should compensate for property value appreciation equity loss from sale. But one need to be disciplined not to spend the money. 

My thinking of this is still a work in progress, so many variables to consider. Any advice will be considered ,and highly appreciated. 

  

 

[gk10002000]

On 9/23/2019 at 11:19 PM, mrwebb8825 said:

OK, you got me. The obvious answer to why my calculations are off is I was thinking FRA at 65 and 10 months when it's actually 66 and 10 months. Glad I caught it before you did so at least I can make myself feel besot. ???? 

Now it's even more clear that I should start on my 62nd birthday. ???? 

Just keep in mind the effects if you have other income coming in.  That would increase the amount of taxes you would have to pay on your social security income as well as of course your overall income.  Sometimes waiting a year or two before starting Social Security may be better for you in the long run if you have some 401k or traditional IRA funds to distribute or better yet convert to a ROTH IRA.   every year you wait, your social security benefit goes up by about 8%.   And as we have posted on this forum, Traditional IRAs and 401ks have a required minimum distribution thing that kicks in when one gets to 70 1/2.  Hard to plan or think about that I know, but if one had not withdrawn any of your account monies you may get hit with a surprise tax bill and penalties.  And the jump in income for that year could increase your Medicare B premiums if you go over $85,000 in MAGI.  I am sure you have been to the SSA site and checked your benefit amount, your overall pay contributions are correct, etc.

[meechai]

15 hours ago, sirineou said:

If I like living in Thailand full time , rather than renting the house in the US  , and all the associated problems involved with that . I am toying with the idea of selling the house

Everything you say sounds good & is basically what my wife & I did. With the exception of selling US home.

 

I would advise that even if you "like" living in Thailand at this time

The reason being twofold

1- It is a great idea to keep a toe in both places as you never know what the future will bring & Thailand does not give any guarantees unlike your rights in the USA which are guaranteed.

 

2- I was once married into a family that owned a 40 million dollar a year in sales company

One thing I learned from being on the exec board is folks who do well never really sell appreciating assets no matter

what the "associated problems " you allude to may be. You can always sub those things out (now a tax reducing expense) & still be ahead.

 

Instead they keep the appreciating assets, leverage them is they want to & let them appreciate endlessly getting paid from it.

You can even sell them multiple times by mortgaging (getting paid) & letting renters pay it of etc. Or once paid have a nice income monthly stream

[Jingthing]

A discussion of some good reasons to file at age 62:

Anyway, there is an issue that I hadn't considered when I filed early. That is pension requirements for retirement visas either in Thailand or elsewhere. In my case my pension is under the Thai requirement even at full retirement age so I had planned on using the combo method (but now feel that it is too problematic as I can't get an income letter from the U.S. embassy). Anyway in consider of retirement visa programs elsewhere they usually are based on pension levels rather than having bank account options (as in Thailand). Well by filing early you lock in a relatively lower pension level that may lock you out of eligibility for retirement visa programs of some other countries. Anyway, I didn't think of this before but perhaps this potential downside of filing early will be relevant to the decision process of others.