kilo , in order to give a better answer to your social security question , i located my own personal social security statement that we all receive every year now :
i receive $1,321 a month at age 62
i receive $1,752 a month at age 66
i receive $2,313 a month at age 70
if i wait until age 66 to retire i would collect $431 more a month than i would at age 62 , BUT i also do not collect that 4 year benefit of $63,408 ( $1,321 x 12 months x 4 years ) . if you divide the additional benefit of $431 a month into $63,408 , you would have to live an additional 147.118 months ( 12.259 years ) on the other end of 66 ( or 78 + ) in order to break even and then begin to be ahead after that age .
if i wait until 70 to retire i would collect $992 a month more , BUT i also do not collect that 8 year benefit of $126,816 ( $1,321 x 12 months x 8 years ) . if you divide the additional benefit of $992 a month into $126,816 , you would have to live an additional 127.838 months ( 10.653 years ) on the other end of age 70 ( or 80 + ) in order to break even and then begin to be ahead after that age .
there are of course many other factors such as are you even going to be alive at age 66 , or age 70 , or age 78 , or 80 ? ? . what would the quality of your life be at that time . would the money be better spent now while you can enjoy it . ? ? did your parents ( do you have good genes ) live into their 90's and 100 and beyond with sane mind and a active life style and enjoy their last years . ? ? or is your life , as ALL seniors i have talked to say , " that life is different after 80 " . not bad , but you begin to feel your age AFTER you're 80 . and there are good days and bad days . and the bad days begin to catch up with ya . i just turned 60 and i enjoy a very active life style and surf every day when i'm in hawaii and usually walk 6 to 8 miles a day or more even now in below zero weather in alaska ( and freeze even with my parka on
) and plus 85 / 90 degree sun in hawaii ( i sweat like a pig over there , but it helps keep the winter fat off
) . i never take elevators . always take the stairs in all buildings and i live on the fifth ( 5th ) floor in each of my condos . i always park on the far end of a empty parking lot and walk across the tarmac instead of parking close to the doors . i go on 10 to 20 mile hiking trips regularily in alaska and camp out for days to weeks at a time in my VW Eurovan camper sleeping in a sleeping bag sometimes in freezing weather ( + - 32 degrees F - two sleeping bags
) and stay active working on my real estate clearing brush in alaska and jungle in hawaii by hand with a 36 inch bow saw . i can take down a fair sized tree with my 36 inch bow saw .
most retirement planners i have talked to suggest the sooner you collect a benefit , the better , even at a reduced rate . the wait , in most cases , is questionable . over 80% of the public collect their benefit earlier cause it usually makes sense . also keep in mind , the sooner you start collect social security , the sooner your yearly annual cost of living increases kicks in . in the above examples , i would get 4 or 8 additional years worth of annual increases .
please keep in mind kilo , as with all assumptions in life , god knows what the social security calculation will be in the future or at our age 66 or 70 . and all these numbers are likely to change over time and may not be accurate . i figure the goverment is looking for a way to decrease the benefit . not because they don't like me , but because they are running out of money - fast .
kilo . you can use your own social security statement with your own numbers and a blank sheet of paper and a calculator and play with it . as with most personal decisions , it's different for everybody . good luck and let us know what you decide and why . helps others , myself included , from re - inventing the wheel .
