Community Chat

[adelle38]

On 10/22/2014 GrettaGarbled said:

On 10/22/2014 tansy said:

On 10/22/2014 Melania2 said:

On 10/22/2014 tansy said: Another reason to wait until full retirement age to collect SS if at all possible.

Yep! or longer.

An extra 8% is nothing to sneeze at

No, it is not! Why so many who can't afford to do so, retire at the first possible moment is beyond me. I've countless friends who retired early and they've relegated themselves to near poverty.

Unfortunately, many are forced to take early SS because of health issues or companies down sizing. I really wanted to work longer but was unable to do so.

[Qwackertoo]

It is all a big gamble. Roll of the dice.

You could work to 65 or 68. Keel over at 70. Gamble. You lose.

Or.

You could save and retire at 55 . . . postpone collecting to 62 or 65. Keel over at 70. You win 15 years.

Or.

You could retire at 65 or 68. Live to be 95. Live SS check to SS check. Win or Lose?

Or.

You could save and retire at 55 . . . postpone collecting to 62 or 65 or 68. Keel over at 95. Run out of money/savings at 80-85. Live SS check to SS check. Win 25-30 enjoyable retirement year. Lose 10-15 SS check to SS check.

Or.

You save & save and retire at 55 or 65. Enjoy 20-30 good years with no money worries until death.

It is all a GAMBLE. A big roll of the dice. To each their own. My preferred option would be the last one. Closer to 55 than 65 would be preferable. As you never know what those last 5~ years might be like.

JMO

[tansy]

On 10/22/2014 adelle38 said:

On 10/22/2014 GrettaGarbled said:

On 10/22/2014 tansy said:

On 10/22/2014 Melania2 said:

On 10/22/2014 tansy said: Another reason to wait until full retirement age to collect SS if at all possible.

Yep! or longer.

An extra 8% is nothing to sneeze at

No, it is not! Why so many who can't afford to do so, retire at the first possible moment is beyond me. I've countless friends who retired early and they've relegated themselves to near poverty.

Unfortunately, many are forced to take early SS because of health issues or companies down sizing. I really wanted to work longer but was unable to do so.

That's why I said if at all possible, Adelle. i know there are situations that make early collection necessary.

[GrettaGarbled]

On 10/22/2014 adelle38 said:

On 10/22/2014 GrettaGarbled said:

On 10/22/2014 tansy said:

On 10/22/2014 Melania2 said:

On 10/22/2014 tansy said: Another reason to wait until full retirement age to collect SS if at all possible.

Yep! or longer.

An extra 8% is nothing to sneeze at

No, it is not! Why so many who can't afford to do so, retire at the first possible moment is beyond me. I've countless friends who retired early and they've relegated themselves to near poverty.

Unfortunately, many are forced to take early SS because of health issues or companies down sizing. I really wanted to work longer but was unable to do so.

I should have qualified my statement by adding the word "healthy".

[occasionalrain]

Which only means that half of those collecting SS will get less than the $22 a month. They are the ones who need a raise the most and will get the least. Why not, instead of a percentage that favors those who earned more while they were working, a cross the board dollar amount raise.

If you give it any thought you'll realize that those who earned smaller paychecks were less likely to be able to save and then when they retired they get less and then the raise is a percentage which doesn't help them at all.

[tansy]

On 10/22/2014 occasional rain said:

Which only means that half of those collecting SS will get less than the $22 a month. They are the ones who need a raise the most and will get the least. Why not, instead of a percentage that favors those who earned more while they were working, a cross the board dollar amount raise.

If you give it any thought you'll realize that those who earned smaller paychecks were less likely to be able to save and then when they retired they get less and then the raise is a percentage which doesn't help them at all.

If you are a lower income worker, SS comes closer to covering your salary percentage wise. I do think the wage cap should be lifted though.

[Marp2]

On 10/22/2014 adelle38 said:

On 10/22/2014 SoftRaindrops said:

On 10/22/2014 MaggieToo said:

We get bupkis while millions have gone to expelled undesirable "people".

I remember in high school taking an Economics course where the teacher told us NEVER to think about using Social Security to retire on.

I remembered that through my entire working career and made sure I always socked away enough money for my retirement.

Unfortunately, not everyone was able to do that and even people who saved run into very unexpected expenses these days.

I can attest to that. Taking care of my mother has not only all but decimated my retirement savings but I had to take early SS which will affect me for the rest of my life.

[kittymomNC]

I still don't understand what they include in their definition of "inflation". All my insurance coverages go up (not much this year, but some), my homeowners insurance goes up, my car insurance goes up, groceries go up, it seems the only thing that's down is gas prices.

Regarding the comment that those who get less should get more COLA, Social Security benefits are calculated based on what you earned over your lifetime if you worked. Why would the increase not be calculated as a percentage of your benefit? It's part of what you earned. When you get a raise on your job, it's a percentage of your current income -- or should the people who have lower salaries get a higher raise? Who ever heard of an "across the board" amount for raises? None of that makes any sense IMO.

Since Medicare and insurance have been mentioned here and since many posters over many months have denigrated AARP and talked about how bad they are, I also want to say that their United Health Care Medicare Supplement (NOT Medicare Advantage) premium went up very little the beginning of 2014, and it is apparently not going up at all the beginning of 2015. I've had it for a few years now, and have had no double digit increases at all. I think the most my premium has gone up is about $7.00 - $9.00 a month for any given year.

[kittymomNC]

On 10/22/2014 MaggieToo said:

That means my check will be less than it is this year. I will have to start paying $39.00 a month more for my insurance coverage, minus the $22.00. My check will be $17.00 lower next year.

Just wondering if you would be willing to share whether you have Medicare Advantage or regular Medicare and a Medicare supplement?

[MaggieToo]

On 10/22/2014 kittymomNC said:

On 10/22/2014 MaggieToo said:

That means my check will be less than it is this year. I will have to start paying $39.00 a month more for my insurance coverage, minus the $22.00. My check will be $17.00 lower next year.

Just wondering if you would be willing to share whether you have Medicare Advantage or regular Medicare and a Medicare supplement?

AARP Medicare Complete Plus (HMO/POS)