im 63, if i worked another 7 years the stress would kill me. Im taking it at 66 and then working part time in a flyfishing shop.

I retired at age 62 and began taking my SS right away. Why? Because the odds are I will draw more money than the people who wait. Remember it's less per month, but you collect for more months. Second reason is because it's not all about the money. There is something more important than money. It's time and it's the one thing money can't buy. The key is being debt free by the time you retire. I have more money than I will ever spend. Nobody knows the date they will die. We had to bury our 41 year old son who died suddenly last week. Life is just too short. Keep your eye on the prize and the prize is not money.

My oldest brother had a very analytical reasoning for waiting until 69 to retire which included some relatives making it into the 90s and the larger overall payout. He is now 71 and said that he should have retired way sooner because he is loving the non working life.

Don't know how long I'll be here. 65 and on SS. Had a close friend that rose from watching TV, clutched his chest,died from a heart attack 2 months b4 turning 62. My reasoning.

I will start collecting Social Security in 11 months when I am 70. It will be double what I would have received had I started collecting at age 62. I don't think break even analysis makes sense because it's insurance and not an investment. I am insuring against the potential calamity of attaining extreme old age. If I live deep into my 90's as both my parents did, I will be glad I did it. If I expire before I reach break even, I won't experience regret because I'll be dead.

I retired at 60 years old, and started drawing my Social Security at 62 years old. Don't wait!!!!

The key as someone else said is to be debt free at whatever age you choose.

Everyone has their own good reason to collect early or wait, because everyone’s situation is unique and different. That’s why Geoff’s advice is so great, we can take whatever applies to each of us!!

Time > Money I'm taking my Social Security benefits as soon as I possibly can. I'd rather have less money but be able to enjoy myself than having to work until I'm 70.

I have worked with the public for years I have had MANY clients that keep working because they think they’ll live a long time I can’t tell you how many have NOT & they never got to enjoy any retirement.

You just keep getting better and better. Thank you for the information.

Good word like always, I took it early at 62 due to ageing in my trade, 40 yrs in construction. Downturn in the economy due to covid, an the realization that it was getting harder on my body with the minor injuries over the years. So no regrets, just time to turn over a new leaf an see what's on the other side, I always try an look forward an be positive. But we had no children, been married to the same spouse for 35 yrs, made investments over the yrs, house was bought cash, so no mortgage, have residual income coming in by annuities, an pension, health insurance covered by my retirement plan, an money in the bank for home repairs, crunched all the numbers before I made the decision to hang up my spurs, Took a leap of faith to retire an restarting my life over. I know I'm blessed, but me an my other half live frugally an with in our means, an always have, now we are trying to figure out our next move in life. Thx for the vid

I applied for my SS the second I turned 62… 3 years later I have $28,800 in my pocket now than if I would have waited… It may not be much, but it’s better than nothing…Waiting has no guarantee in this uncertain world we live in. My advice is to collect as soon as you are able…

I retired at age 62 and began collecting at the same age. I was self employed, lived cheaply, and saved a lot, putting it into an IRA. I've had a very good investment advisor who has made my IRA grow by about 11% a year for 28 years - with the usual ups and downs. My reason for collecting social security early was to leave as much money in my IRA so my investment guy could work his magic on it. I think I did the right thing but never have been totally sure. I'll turn 82 next April and have more money than I did at 62 and am enjoying life very much.

My Dad worked for 50 years and collected SS at 70 when he had to do so. He passed at 79. I collected at 62. He had 9 years of SS. I will have had 3 years already. Health is super important. Logic tells you that as you age your health issues start to mount. You can have extra dollars as you go from doctor to doctor in your late 70’s. Take it early.

Finally! Thank you for telling your audience about the break even at 78 and asking us to take into account our family's life history. I'll be passing this video around to friends and family.

good info. Glad I watched it !!!

Thank you for posting this helpful video.

62 ,,,,62 and I'm out

Great list! IMO Health is the number 1 determinant on when to file Social Security.

Really appreciate your videos thank you.

#6--The payback period is shortest when you take it at 62. There is no guarantee I wake up tomorrow, let alone live 10, 20, 30 or more years.

Love your videos, thank you! Something else to consider about taking SS earlier, it will reduce your IRA and other account withdrawals, and potentially leave more to your heirs. Just one more dimension to this complex problem.

just turned 62 on november 5. i wii retire on december 31st with a union pension and SS.can’t wait.remember your health is your wealth.

I started collecting at the age of 62 and I saved every payment for one year and put it in an interest bearing savings account and saved $17,420 in one year plus all the interest. I struggle to save $5,000 and I saved over $17,000 in one year by collecting early.

So at 62, I draw $1,300 a month. That's $15,600 a year. If I live to 82, I will have made $312,000 before taxes. If I wait to 71 to draw, I make double $2,600 a month. $31,200 a year. If I live to 81, 10 years after drawing, it balances out the same of $312,000. If I live to 82, I will have made $343,200. One extra year of $2,600 a month. Looks like 62 for me.

At full retirement age I took my SS. My ex was deceased, I had not remarried. I received his full amount; it wouldn’t increase if I waited until 70. If I had used my income basis and waited until 70 it still would have been less. I love Holy Scmidt! videos. He always gives the variables of SS. Too many of these videos tend to speak in absolutes. One really needs professional advice.

Lastest avg age after COVID, the avg life is about 78 yo for men, and 80 yo for women. The two biggest factors should be need of money and health. Having money to enjoy life at 62yo is a lot better than dying with a pot of money at 90.

I waited, and am glad I did - biggest paychecks available for the rest of my long and happy life. Think I'll have a beer.

The increase between FRA and age 70 is likely the cheapest inflation-adjusted lifetime income stream you can buy. Waiting means you have more years to deplete pre-tax assets without them triggering social security taxation. Do figure the spousal benefit part.

I worked for 44 years and retired at age 60. My social security retirement checks began at age 62. If I waited till the age of 70 I would have lost more than $165,000. My family does not have a history of living into the 80s. My mother died at 39 my father at 62.

I retired at 56, and don’t need the SS. Makes sense to take it early and invest it. So even if break even is 76, I will still have hundreds of thousands producing income.

Not me.. I'm going at 62 baby 😁👍

Amazing how one man's opinion is correct for everyone else. What an astounding intellect.

I am taking it at 62. The plan is to slow down at 62 but continue to work; up to the income limit, to keep myself active. I want the S.S. dollars to provide me the supplemental income so I can slow down.

I will wait until 70. My FRA was 66 and with the 8% bonus per year, the COLA adjustment this year, and a similar adjustment expected in 2022, I'm estimating my check at 70 to be close to $4,000 per month.

Time to live and enjoy the gift of life. It certainly is a gift. The maximum time, both hubby and I. Will be 65yrs. We are currently considering 63 yrs. We are on a great path to retire just before 63yrs . 2 years from now 👍😁

I retired at 62 and went back to work 2 years later. Glad I did. I retired at 70 and my SS jumped almost double.

I had been a big proponent of taking it at 62 with the break even logic and such, if you are otherwise ready to not work any longer at 62. But now that I know more about RMD's and the fact that I(we) will be significantly pre tax retirement funds heavy, I will now end up taking it later so I can pull more out of my pretax before SS piles on to my AGI. Maybe 65-66. This is very much an individual thing with a lot of factors to consider. The other big thing I look at different beyond the RMD is the average death age. For men, the average is around 78. That is everyone from newborn on up. If you make it to 65 and healthy then statistics say you can expect to live another 18 years. That puts you at 83. Just think it all through before you pull the trigger.

I’m thinking about retiring around 65, 5 years from now. By then I’ll be debt free, my car will be paid off before then, my house already is. Also I’m think as I should always, bit actively planning on pairing expenses down to the minimum. I’m glad I found this channel.

When to collect SS depends on individual circumstances. In my case, I had lost my job and being an older, white male could not find another one. My dad died at 68. His dad died at 63. Mathematically, if I started at 62, the payout would be equal at 78 if I waited until 66. I.e. 62 or 66 total payout equal at 78. I am now 74 so I am (still alive)and happy so far.

I've never met anybody who said "I should've retired later".

Thanks for the helpful video. I am turning 70 in a few months and your video encouraged me that I made the right decision. I drew my IRA down by retiring at 64 &1/2 and used my IRA up by 70. But I was able to delay Social Security and let it grow. This makes for a big advantage for my much younger wife concerning Spousal benefits I believe. And I like the tax benefits given to those who take a big percentage of their retirement income in the lower taxed Social Security income. And I like the Colas in the future (assuming I live long) that help keep up with possible future inflation. Social Security looks much better to me at age 70 than it did at 45 when I was paying both halves of it doing contract work!

Good Lord willing I'll be retiring no earlier than 70 I'll push it as long as possible, love what I do, lotta vacay time .

Thank you

I want a large check not a small check. Most of us should wait until we are 70. Federal welfare is one nice thing about getting older.

Probably will still start at FRA. Only slightly over a year away. Currently working.

I collected at 62. The only reason I needed was that NO ONE is promised tomorrow. People act like they are never going to die. News flash: It is appointed for man once to die; then the judgement.

I waited one year past FRA to raise my benefit and especially my wife's spousal benefit. If I had either more or less saved I would have waited until 70. If I had more it would give the opportunity to spend down some savings to help with RMD's. If I had less I would need the maximum SS benefit possible and would spend most savings to get a "livable" amount of SS.

I worked until 70 and real glad I did. What this guy doesn't tell you is that if you wait to take you SS until after 66, you tack on an extra 8.25% to you benefits for each additional year of work or in my case, $840 / month for a four year wait. That's a lot of money and it has made a huge difference in the quality of retirement life. That is enough to pay virtually all my bills (my house is paid off so no mortgage). Think about it. It's the smartest thing I did.

Thank you Schmidty, I told this to guys I required with but if you do the math with the early payments at 62 to 70, we are ahead of the deal as you say. Since we do not need the SS I still took it early as mad money to do trips and other things.

All excellent points. I ended up taking SS at 67 mostly for reason #5--I wanted to enjoy life while I was still relatively spry and healthy. Fortunately, I don't need SS. It's just financial gravy. So all of it goes into an IRA which is doing quite well. That SS money is now growing faster than it otherwise would have had I waited until 70 to take SS. Meanwhile, that invested SS money has added a number of years onto the end of my original SS breakeven point of 78 years (as you point out in your video). Sure, I'll have to pay taxes on that additional income. But paying taxes down the road on additional income still results in additional income down the road.

Jeff, would it be valuable for some people to do a video on retiring overseas? Just a thought.

When you file you are deemed to be filing for any benefit you are available for. There is no more switching and their hasn't been for some years now

Take it ASAP! What if you die? What if it runs out? 🤷‍♂️

I never agreed with waiting till 70 before collecting social security. First of all life expectancy tables do not determine how long one will live or how long health will last. Use the money sooner and enjoy it when you’re more likely to be healthy enough to enjoy it.

Everyones situation is different. My wife and I retired with pensions. I elected to take my full pension and not take social security benefits until age 70 since she would get my benefit if I were to die in place of my pension. We treated the social security benefit as an investment with guaranteed return, which you can't get many other ways these days. We collect her social security benefit now.

I plan to take SS at age 62. I have IRAs and 401(k) that I could use to put off SS but I want to collect SS and use it first. that's money I cannot leave to my kids when I die. So I'll take the SS money and use my other money as I need or want to but there should be money left for my kids. Makes no sense to me to leave money on the table and I'm certainly not working to age 70. Whatever decision we make, they are ours.

11 months I’ll be 62. No, zero, nada hesitation, signing up on day 1 .

Took S.S. 6 month's early at age 65 and ten months to coincide with retirement and a 26 year Pers pension. I also changed my State's residency. I'm recieving over 2k per month in S.S. benefits. Given my d.n.a. history, I'll expect a minimum of 20 years of a fund I paid into for over 50 year's.

I think what’s happening next year, tells the real story. The healthcare cost goes up a flat amount (premiums, deductibles, co-pays) regardless how much S.S. payments your getting if you stay on original Medicare. The increase or COLA that your getting is based on a fixed percentage on how much your getting in payments now. Lower payouts equal lower increases vs higher payouts get higher increases. And that carries over to a surviving Spouse! If you are taking a lifetime reduction of 25% in payouts at 62, then your COLA increases will reflect that 25% reduction. For most, you are guaranteed not to get less than you got the previous year, helping with health cost premiums etc, but that could also mean that you were NOT able to have any of that COLA increase left over to pay for food or housing cost increases. So yes, you think you can do better with investments than the guaranteed 8% (good luck!) each year delaying S.S., but are you figuring a 25% reduction in COLA’s for the rest of your life. If you die less than 80 then you gambled correctly. But if modern medicine keeps you alive while sick, you lost big time! Your investments, including retirement IRA’s and Pensions, don’t care about Cost of Living. There’s only two things that do, TAXES and S.S. and they both counter act each other. You can offer water and kool-Aid but most people will take the sugar drink every time.

The problem if you take it early is...you can only make $17,000 ish working while you collect after that you pay a hefty price tag on your earning over that...who can live on 1500 a month.

62 . .I started. I saw two people die months before 62 and 65. I am stressing to a High school Buddy to file His. No waiting till 70. .He made a lot more money than I .

What if I die before I'm 70? I'd rather take it now.

I always say ... "you can't buy time " ....retire asap.

if you need it, you take it. as simple as that.

WOW! The last time I was this this early.... there was no social security and Mr. Schmidt was advocating joining a lodge to help with funereal expenses and pass the hat for the wife.

It’s all about your health status

I delayed in order to qualify for more ACA medical insurance help for the wife... just another factor to consider.

I am 59 now, will wait until 67, that’s only 8 more years.

I just retired. Turned 62 on September 15th, 2021. No one is promised another day! Best decision, I ever made. Enjoy Yourselves!!!-- Notice my last name.

With all today's stress, how many will even make it to that time? I rather collect early, but collect more checks. Tomorrow, is another blessed day, if it will come. A small advise to all, if you are 60 male, start dating 20 years younger, its a very very heavy check every month and I love it. I promise you, SS will go much further.

Currently taking spousal benefit (worth half of my spouse’s benefit) so getting about $1300/ month. At 70 I’ll switch to my benefit which will be the max possible. Fully expect to live well into my 90’s so I think it will be worth it.

I’m 66, in very good health and I work from home. I don’t have the stress of commuting or lack of sleep. I’m paid well for computer work that’s no harder for me than a hobby. I’ve seen a lot of people my age retire. In a few months they are bored and go looking for some easy part time work. I’m already home. I’ve already got easy work, I have insurance, my employer contributes to my 401(k) and I can buy the big ticket items that will be still fairly new when I do retire. Why would I retire and give up the income when there isn’t much difference in the way I’ll live anyway?

Here's one.....at age 70 you've got one foot in the grave. What are you going to do with more money when you can't enjoy it. Jeez.

taking social security and retiring from your career job are separate items. Given that starting SS early means relatively low payments, how hard is it to retire from a high stress job, drive Uber for a few years, to take SS at a later age

I am one month past my FRA, have enough saved to retire, and have been holding off on drawing SS thinking the spousal benefit would continue to grow until 70. Shame on me for thee blissful ignorance. I'm signing up as soon as I finish this post. Thanks for the valuable information!

I waited til 75 and got $1762 per month and a $12,334 bonus. Both sides of my family lived well into their 80's.

Would you be able to discuss what a SEPP thanks John

Another reason not to wait is because while you’re getting a lower Monthly payment you will also be receiving more payments. You could save money or invest it and use it to help lose the gap later on.

I'm not waiting till 70 when life expectancy is 78

I'm 64 and would receive about 50% more money if I wait until age 70. Supposedly, the SS fund will be out of money in 2030 if not adjusted. Financially, our nation is in a mess. The US paid $562 billion in interest payments alone, just in the latest year (2021). What a waste! What happens if congress doesn't fix our SS funding? The fix may include additional taxes as well as a reduced payout. Why do we keep electing representatives who are sending our country into financial ruin? Why don't we have a balanced budget for our nation? Good luck to all. I'm leaning toward applying for SS money after I turn 65 next year.

We are planning on retiring Jan 1 2023. I will be 63 and 4 months and my wife will be 62 and 10 months. Increasing SS payments for my wife is a moot point in our circumstance. I have a pension that is 1.75 times my SS payment that my wife will receive upon my death. Everyone's circumstances are different.

I took SSI when I signed up for Medicare, it was easier and I think it will be ok, even if I live much longer than 70 y/o.

My dilemma is whether to take SS when my husband retires. I'm 65, retired with pension, will reach FRA next spring. Husband is younger and still working at a nice salary so I haven't taken SS yet. We can replace his paycheck completely with his SS and mine but only IF he works past 65 to his FRA, at which point I will be almost 70 and would file for my SS. It's the time/money tipping point for us.

How does being single going into retirement impact when you should draw, or how you handle Social Security in general?

I'm going through this kind of discussion with my 2 brothers at this point. I'm the oldest of 3. I'll be at FRA in 3 weeks. I plan to wait to 70 to file. My brothers say, why not take it already? My analysis is this: 1 - I'm in good health. True, I don't know how long I'll live, but what I tell my brothers is that dying is not the problem. If I die prior to the break even point in the calculation, then all my problems are taken care of. The idea is to postpone to 70 to create the maximum cash flow in retirement, just in case you do live a long life. Who knows, they discover a pill to make us healthier and live longer and it costs a $1000 a month. Well, the additional cash flow from a larger check will help with that. 2 - Most people taking their checks at 62, do they really know how much money they will need in retirement? I retired a year ago. One of the things that I'm doing is trying to figure out how much money I will need in retirement each month to have the kind of lifestyle that I want. Even though I do have some IRA investments, I try not to count on that to live on 10 years from now. As everyone knows, markets are historically in a bubble state at this point. We could very easily end up in a bear market for a decade or two and then your assumed IRA value will be not something you can count on. 3 - After I figure out how much I need each month to live comfortably, I will know how much extra money I will have each month after 70 to account for emergencies. 4 - You also have to figure out what is going on with the world and financing at the time that you're deciding whether to take the social security check and invest, or to wait. For me, with the current stock market and realestate in bubble territory, it is best to use money from investments to pay for living expenses and let the social security amounts build to age 70. Then, the delayed payments are a nice guaranteed cash flow for life. 5 - With the additional money at 70, for whatever number of years I do get to live, I can always help others. For example, I'm originally from Cuba. Most retirees in that poor country try to survive on a retirement of $20 a month. I have lots of cousins living there. I could do a lot of good with some of the additional money from retirement at age 70. That's my story and I'm sticking with it. 🙂

I do plan to take Spousal benfit for 4yr then take mine at age 70. My concern is if SS ends in 2032 that would sad cause my benefit would be higher and to loose would be a bad thing!

The Mrs and I split the difference. I took mine at 66 and she's able to collect half of my amount while deferring hers until she hits 70. I don't think this is allowed any more, or by that I mean both spouses had to have been born by 1954 or earlier in order to take advantage of this.

I am 48 going on 49 with about 15 years to go. I plan to self-fund retirement for the first 5 years and then tap SS. My FRA will probably be 68 or 69.

I took it too early and lost a great deal of money that would have been useful later when working would be hard or impossible

When I turn 62 my son will be 16, so for the first two years I'll get a benefit for him. However, my pension dies with me and for that reason I'd like to leave my wife who is 9 years younger a bigger SS benefit. I'm not sure what I'll do but I have 11 years to figure it out.

Would another reason to take SS early also be if you have a spouse who is older and could get a much higher benefit by taking SS on my benefit and will be 67 when I turn 62. If I take my benefit at 62 she will be able to start spousal benefits of $1358 a month as she would be 67. Her benefit on her own earnings would only be $920. Neither of us are big spenders and I will have about $900k by the time I reach that age so not really worried about the extra bump holding off until am 67 or 70. Our current spending could easily be handled on 30K a year and I can get Veterans Medical and have about 50k on my HSA for unexpected medical costs.

Took it at 65 , from 65 t0 70 is about $140,000.00 in payments for me ,and you couldnt make that amount any other way

In retirement you find you have a little left over at the end of the year. What avenue would you invest these funds?

I enjoy my work and plan to retire when my body tells me to.

#5 Enjoying life! 💯 62 for me 😉 😎 😉

How many people can reasonably expect to live to 80 or more? My grandfather lived to 76 my grandmother lived to 72 my father lived to 72 my uncles 70. I don’t understand how the ave life expectancy could possibly be this high.

I took mine at 62

If your spouse did not work much, waiting until 70 means he/she will get the highest possible pension if the higher earner should pass first.