Collecting Social Security Benefits

By

alberto.elliott

I need to really understand the rule of thumb?

By

Indianone

Definitely be sure all your bills are paid, no mortgage payments or car payment unless of course, you have a large ss check coming in or other income that will cover this. Also, at age 62, you will not be eligible for medicare so you will have your own health/prescription insurance to pay yourself. I retired at age 62 & I got my health/rx coverage thru' my former employer's retired employee program (not all companies have this) & because of my years of svc, the company only paid 25% of premium each month. I say, figure carefully all your expenses, bills, etc before retiring early because you may have all those covered with your money tjat will be coming in but you may not have any pin/play money which is really bad when you can't afford to do much or go anywhere. Good luck, my frame of mind is in a defintely healthier state though.

By

pamphyila

It's a complicated question - and you also have to figure in your spouse's social security if you are married. We frankly needed the money, and I am practically retired, so I did it. Better to have the money to travel, etc. when I still can. You can still work part time, and even pay back the benefits received to go back to the higher monthly payment.

By

NoRulesArt

Do the math, an Excel spreadsheet would be a great way to try many different "scenarios". Also see this about collecting at 62 then down the road paying it back to receive a higher monthly amount. Gather all the information you can from your meeting and do your homework before making an informed decision. Good Luck!

http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourmoney/ ... ity/articles/paying_back_social.html

By

Amandablue

I would say do the math. If I retire now at 62 I collect so much money over the years which equals $$$. Then I retire at 65 or 66, and collect $$$ over the years. Look at health issues you might have, are you happy working, etc.? My husband took early retirement at 62. Also, even though I did not earn enough credits to collect Social Security on my own person, I do collect, one half of my husband's Social Security amount at age 62. I did not know this was possible until my dear sister in law told me.

By

brojrs

Thanks to you all for the good info and advice, and personal accounts. I visit the SS Office tomorrow. So we'll just see.
Jack, Murray, KY

By

yard_sale_annie

Take it now and don't worry about the money because it might now be there later when you want it or you may be dead before you can reach the age of retirement. I say go for it at 62.

By

wolfbytez

I just read about this in the AARP magazine and if you start collecting SS now at 62 you won't get the full amount later.

The amount will be locked in at the time you start accepting SS so be sure you can live on the amount you will be getting before settling!

By

deebomb

If you wait you can get more in your monthly check.

By

Patty Lynn

If you decide to retire at 62, you will still be allowed to work part time. If you choose to do this, my best advice is to seriously concentrate on paying off all of your bills while you're still working, so that when you eventually decide to stop working, living on reduced social security will not be a hardship for you.

By

foxrun41

You can go to the social security web page at www.ssa.gov. or to google.com and type in social security and under the first list that comes up click on retirement. It will give you all kinds of information. You can retire at 62 but you won't get the full amount as if you retired at 66. For people born in 1943 the retirement age for full benefits is 66. If you retire at 62 and would like to continue to work the maximum you can earn is $14,160. It is all explain in the ssa.gov web site.

By

duanedv

I was told when I retired in 2000 that a 'rule of thumb' sort of depended on your health and how many more years you expect to live. In my case they (speaker from SS admin) that if I thought I would live MORE than 13 years after retirement, to wait until 65. If I thought less, retire at 62 (which I could do at that time). so I did retire at 62. I asked the SS speaker when she planned on going for her social security and she said 'as soon as I am eligible' so I gather she was planning on probably 63 or so by now. But, your mileage may vary. It all depends on how much you are eligible to draw. The money you get at 63 may not be enough but the money at 66 might. Check all the options and make up your own mind. Don't take my advice just because you read it here. Check it out!

I'm 63 and working full-time. When should I start collecting my Social Security?