Social Security

[bill ace 350]

I retired at 56 and I get a pension for life which is rare these days and becoming extinct. When people ask how I did it, I tell them it was my plan 40 years ago, not last week, to be in the position to retire early. That includes being debt free except for normal monthly expenses. I also tell folks who want to retire, do it if you can, but you have to have something to do. Can't just sit in the house watching TV all day or whatever. For me, that's fishing, which is something I love, and occasionally I get paid to take others...

i am so thankful that I get a monthly Military retirement check....

Few more years working for Uncle Sam and I'll get a second retirement, then Social Security..... plus my health benefits

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

Geez, there are a lot of old folks around here.

I took mine at 66, which was FRA for my birth year. Everyone's situation is different, but I couldn't make the numbers work to take it at 62 unless I assumed I was going to die pretty young -- younger than I was planning, for sure.

One simplified way to look at it is that the amount you collect per month is quite a bit less if you take it early than if you wait. Granted, you've collected, say, 4 years of benefits by the time you'd start collecting anything by waiting, but once you start collecting at the higher rate, you eventually "catch up" with the total amount you will have collected by taking it early. Once you pass this "break even" point, you're money ahead for the rest of your life.

I probably could have been better off waiting until the maximum age -- 70 for me, I think -- but my problem is I no longer had a job, and I didn't want to begin withdrawing from my IRAs for a couple more years. I needed the Social Security cash to make that work.

 

[schlotz]

We are both lucky enough that our combined pensions have allowed us to hold off until 70. While we obviously had to manage the budget we've done quite nicely without having to sacrifice. Good news, I'll be 70 late next year and the wife a year later. The ss checks will definitely be welcome.

 

[mneeley490]

I'd retire tomorrow if I could afford it. But I have to admit that I haven't looked into it seriously yet. Things like that tend to put me to sleep. But I do know that I won't get full SSI benefits until I hit 67. So 5-1/2 years to go.
I just hope all the bozos in Congress can keep their hands off of it. It's not an entitlement, nor another source of revenue. We spent our lives earning it, it's ours. But they all seem like a pack of wolves that have Little Red Riding Hood surrounded.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

i am so thankful that I get a monthly Military retirement check....

Thank you for your service...

 

[gmc2003]

62 here, I happen to like my job and plan on working until at least 65. I do 12hr shifts and it works out to about 182 days a year. On top of that I get 5 weeks of vacation a year and can bank up to 240 hours. Not to mention holiday time. It's not too bad a deal. Currently I don't have enough hobbies to keep me busy if I retire early.

Chris

 

[clifish]

62 here, I happen to like my job and plan on working until at least 65. I do 12hr shifts and it works out to about 182 days a year. On top of that I get 5 weeks of vacation a year and can bank up to 240 hours. Not to mention holiday time. It's not too bad a deal. Currently I don't have enough hobbies to keep me busy if I retire early.

Chris

Get another kettle or 2, that will keep you busy.

 

[gmc2003]

Get another kettle or 2, that will keep you busy.

Then I'd have to start exercising and that's against my religion.

 

[clifish]

Then I'd have to start exercising and that's against my religion.

OK then get a couple more beer poles, you can run between them until you pass out.

 

[SherryT]

I took mine at 62 (got my first check in March), but it was increased after my hubs passed in May.

Unless something changes, I'm OK.

 

[Fueling Around]

I took mine at 62 (got my first check in March), but it was increased after my hubs passed in May.

Unless something changes, I'm OK.

Sorry to read about losing your Husband.
Lost my my brother in May, too.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

62 here, I happen to like my job and plan on working until at least 65. I do 12hr shifts and it works out to about 182 days a year. On top of that I get 5 weeks of vacation a year and can bank up to 240 hours. Not to mention holiday time. It's not too bad a deal. Currently I don't have enough hobbies to keep me busy if I retire early.

Chris

Sounds a lot like my job. I worked rotating 12 hour shifts. In a 28 day rotation I worked 14 days(or nights) and was off 14, 6 weeks of vacation plus 96 hours of holiday time which we had to take, no banking or carry over. Could work all the overtime I wanted, but I avoided most of it. I could've taken my pension at 55.

I liked my job and had no real plans to retire before 60, but after a bout with cancer and my father passing away around the same time, I realized that life was short and being financially ready, I packed it in at 56. I miss my job sometimes, but no regrets...

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Two years ago at 59 work went to a 6 day week and I had a long commute. Also adding in a real prick of a boss. First one in all my years. Our manager told them he would make us do 6 days every week but suggested just every other week. They fired him. He ended up going home and killed himself. So sad. My boss stepped into the position. I had enough and turned in my notice. Still got to make another year until SS but so enjoying the time. Glad I did it.Just need to find a women now with a paycheck

 

[gmc2003]

Sounds a lot like my job. I worked rotating 12 hour shifts. In a 28 day rotation I worked 14 days(or nights) and was off 14, 6 weeks of vacation plus 96 hours of holiday time which we had to take, no banking or carry over. Could work all the overtime I wanted, but I avoided most of it. I could've taken my pension at 55.

I liked my job and had no real plans to retire before 60, but after a bout with cancer and my father passing away around the same time, I realized that life was short and being financially ready, I packed it in at 56. I miss my job sometimes, but no regrets...

I work the day shift schedule. I used to do the overnight schedule when the kids were in school. It helped save us some money on daycare and vacation going to their sporting events. I couldn't handle it anymore. It's tough staying awake at 3:00 am when your an elder.

I normally take every other Wednesday and Thursday off during the months of June, July and August. It's nice to only work every other week during the summer.

Chris

 

[clifish]

I work the day shift schedule. I used to do the overnight schedule when the kids were in school. It helped save us some money on daycare and vacation going to their sporting events. I couldn't handle it anymore. It's tough staying awake at 3:00 am when your an elder.

I normally take every other Wednesday and Thursday off during the months of June, July and August. It's nice to only work every other week during the summer.

Chris

yeah that daycare is a killer, at one point (pre Sept 11) we were paying upwards of $21K/year for both. We used to call it the second mortgage on a house we did not have. Had no choice, the wife always had a great job (at least $ wise) and I had the flexibility to take off (own business) to stay home if one of the kids got sick. Cost of living too much here for one salary at the time.

It was a tough choice then, there are even times now we question if it was the right thing to do and they are 21 and 24. But it allowed us to pay off our house by age 47, fully fund both kids college funds, build a second house with no mortgage and fully fund our 401K's. No pension for us and no lifetime healthcare, I would love to retire now (55) but the 10 years of self funding medical scares the crap out of me.

 

[thirdeye]

I probably could have been better off waiting until the maximum age -- 70 for me, I think -- but my problem is I no longer had a job, and I didn't want to begin withdrawing from my IRAs for a couple more years. I needed the Social Security cash to make that work.

I had a similar plan and went into semi retirement at 62. But I didn't pick a specific age, (although I did the break even calculation for taking SS early) to start benefits. I planned to wait until our combined benefit rose to a certain payout, and planned to use SS along with withdrawals from pensions and IRA. The three-legged stool plan.

Then the markets turned down in 2022, so we took SS earlier than planned to offset the sequence of return risk in our IRAs. That means, if you take IRA money when the share price is low, you have to sell more shares. And you never get those shares back. Bottom line, everyone is different and there are a ton of choices out there. That said many of my friends have opted for early payments or FRA, I don't know anyone that stuck it out until 70.

 

[SherryT]

Sorry to read about losing your Husband.
Lost my my brother in May, too.

Thank you.

 

[YooperSmoker]

Went on disability in Sept. of 2011 due to a neck injury at the NPS
still dealing with the trauma , have good days and bad ones
go on Medicare in Jan. don't plan on going to do any more medical stuff
if at all possible [had enough]

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

Then the markets turned down in 2022, so we took SS earlier than planned to offset the sequence of return risk in our IRAs. That means, if you take IRA money when the share price is low, you have to sell more shares. And you never get those shares back.

I was lucky enough to be able to make my decisions when the market was high, costing fewer shares to make withdrawals. Moreover, I was able to live on after-tax savings for almost 6 years , in part because the market was high and growing. That allowed me to minimize my taxable income and, as a result, qualify for subsidized Obama-care during that time. When I reached 65, as I was running out of after-tax savings, I was able to ditch O-care for Medicare, then one year later begin IRA withdrawals -- and increasing my taxable income.

With the volatile markets now, I'm struggling to figure out if I should pay off my house. I owe about $60K on it at about 6% interest (the mortgage is about 20 years old). For a very long time, my annual return on investments was well in excess of that, so I didn't pay if off. Now things are a bit different.

 

[thirdeye]

That allowed me to minimize my taxable income and, as a result, qualify for subsidized Obama-care during that time.

We did the same thing. I did keep a close eye on year end dividends and the upper income cap, and did not exceed it for 3 years. Then in 2021 I went over... but that was after a new bill came out limiting the cost of insurance to 6% of your income. I had to only payback $3,200. Before that I think the penalty was to repay 100%.

With the volatile markets now, I'm struggling to figure out if I should pay off my house.

That one is a moving target. Using savings to pay down your mortgage moves your most liquid asset (cash) to a very non-liquid asset (your house). But until the market turns around, you might not be earning the 6% return.