If I live to be 85, it's better for me to take the SS at 70. If I live to be 84, waiting until 67 is better than taking it at 62. I've got good genetics on my side and expect to live at least that long God willing.

The other thing to consider - if you're married - is you/your spouse gets the higher of the two payments when the other dies. And odds are - our women will far outlive us. That will add up as my calculated SS payment is about $1-1.2K higher than hers.

And your spouse may find themself in a higher tax bracket following your demise.
Filing as single

It might be unwise to ensure that one's spouse is significantly better off financially if one is deceased.

It might impact one's longevity.

I'm shooting' for 85. I can live with having a few thousand bucks left over when I croak. From here on out, the goal is comfort, not speed.

Methinks one's marital status, discrepencies between you, and whether you "need" the SS income, or simply reinvest it at a nice return (say 7%) for the duratuon, or risk getting nothing (if single) back matters. I think it's "play money" for many on this board ....

At 70, I would rather have several hundred K from SS $$$ already accumulated (a lump sum that's mine to do as I please with) rather than just starting to collect.

There is no "right" answer .... unless you know yer "croaked on date" :D.

My best childhood friend and college roommate .... a healthnut, died from Covid at 61. I've had a couple of "close calls" from idjuts blowing through red lights, and my elderly parents' don't even consume what they draw from SS each year....

I sell crystal balls for 19.95 on TV too!

If I were married, I would consider having the lower recipient begin drawing early too.... and investing it.

No "one size fits all" .... and no guarantees in life....

Except death and taxes ;)

My "Full Retirement" age is 66 years and 4 months....meaning no penalty on SSN payments if I continue to work, which I will. I start receiving SSN next month.

The math is really simple: 3 years and 8 months of SSN benefits at, let's pick a number, $3k a month: That equates to $132k before taxes - which is why I will soon be a SC resident since they do not tax SSN benefits - accrued by age 70.

You folks can do the monthly/yearly investment math if you don't need to use the benefit money every month and invest the entire sum, which is what I will do because I will work until at least age 70, god willing.

If I make it to 80, add another $360k at 3K a month, or a total of $492k before investments.

If I wait until 70, I gain another grand or so a month but I lose the 3 years and 8 months of income and investment opportunity and SSN stays solvent.

Now, that is not a lot of money per year but it can provide a very real safety net if you can go the investment route.

Exactly.

This is the same conclusion, only with an "invest" purpose instead of a "have fun" purpose. In both, the time value/current value of money is respected.

My decision was fairly simple . I paid into the system from age 15-60 when I retired . My wife basically the same . When we retired early we had to pay for health insurance ( ouch ) . Paid out of pocket for 3.5 years and then said screw it . Started taking SS and haven't looked back.

We both are on Medicare now so our SS income plus our pensions go into the kitty . Everything we have is owned free and clear so we have substantial $$$ left over each month . And this is without touching the nest egg .

Did I leave $$$ on the table by drawing early ? Maybe yes maybe no it just depends on our end dates . Without knowing the end dates we are enjoying the $$$ while we are healthy in mind and body . Works for us may not work for you .

My parents lived to be 84 and 86, and at 65 I was significantly more healthy that they were at that age. I decided I would wait until age 70 to collect the larger amount. So far, so good.

I just hope to live longer than Keef does :D

There really is no "right answer"...at least in my mind.

My wife has worked all her life and is 9 years younger than I am. She plans on waiting until she reaches 70 as well.

The decision as to when to signup has a ton of variables. For me, I income and the company supported health plans are so valuable that I will continue to work since I still enjoy what I do.

Here is some info from Medicare.gov about signup, penalties, and exceptions

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1679279005.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1679279017.jpg
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I just want to point out that one does not need to start social security to get Medicare.

Yeah, but you won't get Part A for free.

Snipped from AAPP's site:

"Even if you don’t qualify for Social Security, you can sign up for Medicare at 65 as long you are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident."

Zeke, I don't believe that is correct. Unless I am misunderstanding what you are saying.

https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/enroll-medicare-not-ss.html#:~:text=You%20will%20have%20to%20pay%20Med icare%20directly%20for%20all%20coverage,get%20Part %20A%20for%20free).

Part A is free if you qualify for Social Security, even if you have not claimed benefits yet, but Part B carries a premium. In 2023, the standard Part B premium is $164.90 a month; it goes up for beneficiaries with incomes above $97,000 for someone who files an individual tax return and $194,000 for a married couple filing jointly.

If you are not yet receiving Social Security benefits, you will have to pay Medicare directly for Part B coverage. Once you are collecting Social Security, the premiums will be deducted from your monthly benefit payment.

Well, the same site goes on to say,

"You will have to pay Medicare directly for all coverage, including Part A..."

I'm not an expert, soooooo.... I did read through the whole Medicare book they send every year. I even bought a book on the subject many years ago when I was in my 60's. I'll say this, the Medicare book from SS is painfully lacking in detail. No one could read it if it was complete.

You left out a key part.

Even if you don’t qualify for Social Security, you can sign up for Medicare at 65 as long you are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. You will have to pay Medicare directly for all coverage, including Part A (unless you or your spouse are among the small number of state and local government employees who paid Medicare taxes but not Social Security taxes; in this case, you may be able to get Part A for free).

Key part? Small number of government employees?

However, that happens to be germane to the thread as JB used to work for a government agency in CA. In CA, government employees pay into a state system call CalPERS and they don't have SS deductions. I have 3 teachers in the close family, one retired. She gets her CalPERS pension and IDK what she does about heath ins. The other 2 are working so they are covered with the usual contract health ins provided with school district employment.

It may just be that JB is getting a CalPERS pension, or state disability as he WAS injured. So now at age 65 he has to make this go right. And it's not easy. So far, good info in this thread.

The kye takeaway is that one MUST address Medicare at age 65. I was covered until age 68 under my wife's employment. When I finally signed up for Medicare 3 years later, they wanted to pile on the penalties. I had to get a letter from my wife's HR to indicate that my part of her health plan was indeed deducted from her check. Had they gone out of business or something of that nature I would have had a lot of hoops to jump through.

Furthermore, I know a person that has big bucks and ignored the Medicare requirement age. When he finally figured out that Medicare with a comprehensive Supplemental plan was going to be his best bet, they nailed him with a life time penalty of 30% added. Plus his interest income is substantial so he's already paying a lot more than I.

He is 76 and is pretty uninsurable on the open market with his income. Lifetime smoker too, so he's out to lunch.

Have both SS and a State pension. SS is significantly reduced as a result.

Part A is generally free for most people because you worked and paid Medicare taxes (at least 10 years usually). If not, you must buy part A (either $278 or $506 each month based on how long you paid Medicare Taxes) when first eligible (most people at 65) or pay a penalty if you sign up later (10% for each year you wait).

If you buy Part A, you must also sign up for Part B. Part B is what most people pay for. If you are drawing SS, it can come out of your SS payment. The cost of Part B is dependent upon income. It might be anywhere from $164.90 to $560.50 per person, per month based on your adjusted gross income (AGI). If your AGI goes up or down on your tax return, the cost for Part B does the same the following year. Part B also has a late enrollment penalty of 10% per year.

One can get around the penalty if you or your spouse is still covered by an employer, and you sign up within 8mths of ending that employment insurance.

COBRA fits in here somewhere.

COBRA isn't considered group health plan coverage by SS and does not change sign up requirements.

Interesting. So it's for <65.

IMHO, pretty much.

This is what AARP says:

...you need to sign up for Medicare Part A and Part B if you’re 65 or older, even if you can continue your employer’s health insurance through COBRA after you leave your job. Otherwise, you could end up with late enrollment penalties and coverage gaps.

COBRA, which stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, is a federal law that requires companies with 20 or more employees to let them continue their group health insurance coverage for up to 18 months after they or their spouse leaves their job. (Many states have similar laws for smaller employers.) Sometimes COBRA coverage can continue for up to 36 months for certain family members.

Your coverage won’t change under COBRA, but your premiums usually jump because you have to pay both the employer’s and the employee’s share of the costs. Employers generally pay 70 percent to 80 percent of the premiums for their current employees.

Medicare works differently with COBRA, depending on whether you first signed up for COBRA before or after age 65.

What happens if my COBRA coverage started before 65?
If you become eligible for Medicare after you’ve signed up for COBRA, your COBRA benefits cease at age 65, no matter how many months of COBRA coverage you were offered. You’ll need to sign up for Medicare during your initial enrollment period, which begins three months before the month you turn 65 and ends three months after your birthday month.

Medicare won’t inform you that you need to sign up because your COBRA coverage ceased. You’ll learn only after you try to use your private insurance and your claim is rejected.

How does Medicare work with COBRA after age 65?
If you leave your job after you turn 65, you aren’t prohibited from signing up for COBRA, but you could end up with late enrollment penalties and coverage gaps if you don’t sign up for Medicare when you leave your job.

You can delay signing up for Medicare only if you or your spouse is still working and you have health insurance from a current employer. Even though COBRA is the same coverage as you had when working, it acts differently under Medicare rules because you or your spouse are no longer actively working in that job.

If you postponed signing up for Medicare past 65 because you or your spouse was still working, you qualify for a special enrollment period to sign up for Medicare any time while working in that job and for up to eight months after you lose that coverage or the employment ends, whichever comes first. You should enroll in Medicare Part A and Part B before the end of that special enrollment period.

If you don’t, you may have to pay a Part B late-enrollment penalty. And if you or your spouse has not earned at least 40 credits through paying Medicare payroll taxes at work, you also may face a Part A late-enrollment penalty if you delay beyond any special enrollment period you might qualify for.

You’ll also have to wait until the next general enrollment period, which runs from Jan. 1 to March 31, to sign up for Medicare Part B. If you don’t enroll in Medicare when that employment ends, you could face big coverage gaps even before your special enrollment period is over.

Primary vs. secondary coverage. At 65, whether you’ve enrolled in Medicare or not, COBRA switches from being the first in line to pay your medical bills to becoming secondary coverage, potentially leaving you with no primary coverage.

When you’re 65 or older and you and your spouse are no longer working, Medicare pays your health care claims first, and your other coverage — whether COBRA, a Medigap policy or retiree coverage — pays for expenses and services that Medicare doesn’t cover. The secondary coverage may pay for Medicare’s deductibles, copayments and other out-of-pocket costs.

But if you don’t sign up for Medicare, the secondary coverage may not pay any claims. It’s important to sign up for Medicare before — or soon after — the employment ends so that you don’t end up with coverage gaps.

Keep in mind
Prescription drug coverage. The rules are different for Medicare Part D prescription plans. If you have COBRA or retiree drug coverage that is at least as good as Part D, which Medicare considers “creditable coverage,” you don’t need to enroll in Part D as long as you have that coverage, even if it is not from a current employer. Ask your plan if the coverage is creditable.

After losing that coverage, you’ll have 62 days to enroll in Part D without a late-enrollment penalty.

Medigap plans. You can buy any Medigap policy in your area, regardless of your health, within six months of enrolling in Medicare Part B. Otherwise, Medigap insurers can reject you for coverage or charge more if you have preexisting conditions. Within 63 days of losing health insurance that provides secondary coverage to Medicare, such as COBRA, you have another guaranteed issue right (a.k.a. Medigap protection).

However, in most states, you must exhaust COBRA coverage (meaning that you may have to pay for the full 18 months of COBRA) before you’re given this guaranteed issue right, if more than six months have passed since you signed up for Medicare Part B. When first deciding whether to supplement Medicare with COBRA or Medigap, compare the cost of both options and keep this time frame in mind.

https://youtu.be/4Gpzw5wcFo4?t=24