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US Social Security @ 62 or?


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You can plan forever and it's never enough.

 

I had two aunt's that both put off retirement. One died of cervical cancer and the other lung cancer. 71, 72. Both had substancial assets. One a workaholic, the other a semi workaholic. Both could have cut it loose at 50 and not 65.

 

Another uncle just passed at 94. Played tennis until 91 and golf until 93.

 

Conversation is getting off track.

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30 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I don’t disagree but I would change it a bit to if you think your life expectancy will likely be either below average OR average. Obviously not foolproof but there are ways to predict this. Numerous online health history surveys and also noting your parents longevity, etc.

I've done quite a number of those longevity estimates. Most come up late 80's-early 90's for me. I must say that the process of waiting until age 70 to collect benefits (I'm still a few years out) does test one's resolve. It does take a measure of patience and an almost spiritual faith that it will all work  out in the end. If you have a day where you start feeling your age, you can easily start second guessing your decision. I have several siblings who have collected far more than they've paid into social security, so I tell myself it wouldn't be the end of the world if I come up short and my bet on my longevity doesn't pay off.

Edited by Gecko123
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You don't live past 90, you merely survive. My uncle was a total anomaly. My parents 89, 92 ready to call it a day. Another uncle was totally falling apart at 85. An aunt senile 93. My grandfather's died relatively young 82, 87.

 

I'm chancing myself for 90.

 

In all likelihood I will draw benefits after 62 but before 65.

Edited by kynikoi
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I am in the unfortunate position of being someone who thinks the world is so screwed up, the financial systems ( if one can even call it that)  are so rigged as to make no sense at all

( the OP mentions a few absurdities......  55   If the US was  Ethiopia printing trillions of fiat paper dolls they would be laughed off the map.   As it is,  the dollar actually went up  )

 

Given the stress of trying to make sense of it all,  and how it will most likely shorten my life expectancy............... well,  of course I take the money and run !  Somtam and pork chips ,

with some Mama to keep me alive.  God bless social security.

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4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

You're lucky, I paid around 250,000 pounds into the UK national insurance scheme.

My state pension will be around 6,000 pounds a year and I can take it from age 66.

I'll  need to live until I'm 106 to break even.

That's precisely why I didn't take that road. Not to mention in US the money may be cut and definitely inflated to the sky.

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3 hours ago, rumak said:

I am in the unfortunate position of being someone who thinks the world is so screwed up, the financial systems ( if one can even call it that)  are so rigged as to make no sense at all

( the OP mentions a few absurdities......  55   If the US was  Ethiopia printing trillions of fiat paper dolls they would be laughed off the map.   As it is,  the dollar actually went up  )

 

Given the stress of trying to make sense of it all,  and how it will most likely shorten my life expectancy............... well,  of course I take the money and run !  Somtam and pork chips ,

with some Mama to keep me alive.  God bless social security.

The dollar is not in any way 'up' although it's rec'd a tiny bump against the thb in the last week - now pulling back.

 

Ethiopia printing trillions is nothing. It's a nothing economy and currency never worth anything. US on the other hand printing trillions is something to take note. Precious metals track this rather well.

 

If all you have is US SS good luck because they will continue to inflate and possibly cut.

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Live like you're going to die tomorrow. Plan like you're going to live forever.  I'll be waiting till 70 (or is it 71.5 now?)

 

The determining factor for me is whether you currently need the money to live the lifestyle you want to live. I don't really need to collect money so it goes into investments, increasing my tax burden, etc. 

 

I seem to recall they were changing the way benefits were being calculated for dependant children under 18 receiving social security. Something about US residence being required I think. Not sure if this was ever put into law.

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15 minutes ago, gargamon said:

 

The determining factor for me is whether you currently need the money to live the lifestyle you want to live. I don't really need to collect money so it goes into investments, increasing my tax burden, etc. 

Thanks. I'm not certain I will be that well off. I doubt it. I'm currently not drawing on any retirement accounts and will not at least until 62 -65.

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". . . the SSA amount paid to you over your lifetime is actuarially calculated to be the same amount, whether you start drawing  at 62, 65, 67, 70 or any other age."

 

SSA uses an all-American actuarial table that doesn't distinguish by sex, race or other factors.

 

Yet these factors make a big difference. I checked once and I recall there was about a 10-year difference between the remaining life expectancy of a white female and a black male at age 65, for example.

 

So you need to make the calculation based on your own particular life expectancy.

 

 

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I couldn't believe the government was going to give me money... I took it from day one though I really did not need it... I was afraid they would change their mind...

 

That said, not needing the $$ - another important factor that I rarely see considered, how much can you earn by investing that money? 

 

You can even invest it in intangibles, like having fun... 

 

Do you think you might be more capable of enjoying yourself now than when you are older, achier and just want to sleep in front of the television? 

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19 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

Do you think you might be more capable of enjoying yourself now than when you are older, achier and just want to sleep in front of the television? 

 

Point is well taken.

 

I lead a very simple life as well.

 

My largest worry is the ridiculous cost of healthcare and seeing my wife has something to carry her an additional 15 years. Marriage was not in my early retirement plan. I'd avoided it 3x from 20s to 50.

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I started at 62.5 years.   Regretted not waiting.   I did not fully understand the consequences of working and dealing with the max earnings limitations.  AS well, phone calls to SSA usually have a long wait time before you get a SSA Rep and the answers vary between Reps.  Writing takes longer for a response, but you have a document to refer to when there are issues.

You can get estimates of your SSA payment and your "full retirement" date from the SSA website.  The reference handbook has a myriad of exceptions and procedures.  Take the time to study it.

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If you’re single or you are married to a Thai who hasn’t ever lived in the US then there’s a greater chance that the math would support taking SS at age 62.  If married to a US citizen the math is different because your spouse will be able to collect your SS if you die before them.

My last SS statement showed that I would get 42% more if I took SS at age 67 instead of 62.  With the right assumptions about by how much the government will under-report inflation and about how long you will live might make taking it at age 62 work out.  If you’re expecting to die at age 70 and you’re single then definitely taking it at 62 would be the thing to do. 
 

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The OP should separate his retirement planning from his fantasies about the US govt. and the dollar.

 

If you can afford to wait to collect SS, wait as long as you can up to age 70.  If you don't have the means to support yourself while waiting on SS and so you have to take it earlier, then take it earlier.  I waited until age 70 and I am glad I did.  My benefit is 132% of the benefit I would have collected at 62.  The arguments about enjoying your money when you are young or taking it early so that you can invest it and make a killing in the stock market are claims made only by the financially illiterate.

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On 4/7/2021 at 7:35 AM, kynikoi said:

Thanks. That would be five years for me. I'm really expecting inflation to kick in perhaps in two years. I believe it's already running above 4% in usd.

Sorry to Say: You Probably Shouldn't Claim Social Security at 62

 

 

https://www.fool.com/retirement/2021/03/06/sorry-you-shouldnt-claim-social-security-62/?source=eptyholnk0000202&utm_source=yahoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Take the amount you will start getting at 62 and multiply it by 36.  Then divide that number by the difference of what you would get at 62 and what you would get if you waited until 65.  That will give you the number of months you would have to get payments starting at 65 to break even with what you got by starting at 62.

 

When I calculated the number of months to break even from all the income I could have had I figured I might be dead before even breaking even by waiting longer.

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Thanks. That would be five years for me. I'm really expecting inflation to kick in perhaps in two years. I believe it's already running above 4% in usd.

 

I believe you have answered your own question. I agree with you that inflation is going to devalue the dollar significantly in the not too distant future.

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1 hour ago, DFPhuket said:

If you're not able to get into the SSN site, you might try a VPN that shows you're in the US. If I use a VPN I can get with no issues, but without it, I get an error message. 

There is no problem to log in SS website from overseas. There are thousands of people need to get that site from outside of the US. I'm one of them.
There could be sign in problems if you are using home Wi-Fi. Just use your phone data. 
No need VPN either. 

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9 minutes ago, The Theory said:

There is no problem to log in SS website from overseas. There are thousands of people need to get that site from outside of the US. I'm one of them.
There could be sign in problems if you are using home Wi-Fi. Just use your phone data. 
No need VPN either. 

The two step procedures may have let you in now I tried without my VPN

 

We cannot process your request at this time. Please try again later.

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