Community Chat

[NicksmomESQ]

@topcat10  I have several friends who are collecting pensions & are receiving S.S. Their S.S. benefits were not lowered at all because of it.I have one friend who worked for the county & only her benefit was impacted.That is because her pension amounted to 90% of her very generous salary .

  Would you please explain your point on that ? I’m confused. Thank you.

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@topcat10 wrote:

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@BornToShop wrote:

I just turned 65 & want to retire now before my retirement age of 66.  I have researched that my monthly payment would be $170 per month less if I retire now.  My first question is, does that amount minimize the closer you get to 66?  For example, I am 8 months to 66.  Does the $180 gap become less if I retire 4 months or so before 66?  My second question is, should I take IRA/401k withdrawals until 66 to ensure maximum Social Security payments?  TIA!  

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I would advise you to visit the SSA.GOV website and of course, you can call your local SSA office to get assistance there too....I would say to you, it's wherever you are financially....

(1) Under your full retirement age, each mth you wait, your amt will be higher....at 66 it's at your full benefit amt (which you said +$170) and from 66 thru 70 it's even higher with delayed retirement credits each January....so if you take it now, you are locked in at that reduced rate (of course you'll benefit from the small COLA increase when there is one).

(2) SSA will look at if you are receiving a current/future pension from your employer and if you do not have 30 years of coverage for that pension, it will also reduce your mthly benefit amount.

(3) If you have a spouse and he is receiving, you could receive spousal benefits (but you can only restrict for spousal benefits at age 66), that way you can still let yours grow until age 70 for that maximum amt.  But a sidenote if you apply now, once SSA run the comps on you and your spouse and if your primary insured amt is less than half of his, you will be deemed to file and they will have to take a spousal claim and you will receive on both records at a reduced rate.

So if you can take the $170 less per mth, then go for it.

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[jeanlake]

Isn't it an 8% increase each year you delay? Remember to check out 'apply & restrict' if you were born 1953 or earlier. You can receive half of your spouse's social security - no decrease to spouse's payout - and wait until age 70 to take your social security. Gives you time to increase your payout. Hard to explain, but ask your social security experts.  

[ccassaday]

Whatever monthly amount you and your advisor to get from you 401k and such does not effect the amount you get for SS.  If you do take to much from retirement you could end up paying taxes on your SS. So it’s important to talk to your FP to make sure you don’t take to much and you pay taxes on your SS if your taking both at the same time. Whether you take SS now is really a personal decision and really depends on how much you have in retirement accounts.  

[Pearlee]

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@BornToShop wrote:

I just turned 65 & want to retire now before my retirement age of 66.  I have researched that my monthly payment would be $170 per month less if I retire now.  My first question is, does that amount minimize the closer you get to 66?  For example, I am 8 months to 66.  Does the $180 gap become less if I retire 4 months or so before 66?  My second question is, should I take IRA/401k withdrawals until 66 to ensure maximum Social Security payments?  TIA!  

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@BornToShop  I think there is a chart on the SS site that tells you exactly how much more you'd get per month.   I've grappled with this myself, and am choosing not to receive my benefits until age 70 (I turned 66 already so already qualify for them) when I'll receive 8% more (the max I could get).   But I seem to remember there is a lot of info on that site, including a chart that lets you know exactly what amount per month more you'd get.

[jannabelle1]

You really need to talk to 2 people: your IRA investment advisor and someone from social security.

[KentuckyWoman]

I strongly urge you to talk to someone at SSA, a tax accountant or financial adviser.  You will get many different opinions here and none of them may be the right one for you.  Only you know your financial situation.  Take all your information and seek professional input and suggestions.  

[phoenixbrd]

@itsmetoo  "Exactly"....you will pay taxes on your money twice....once when you were paid your salary and you paid taxes on your income....twice when you take it out of your financial investments as it will be considered salary again...so you get to pay again!

[Nancy Drew]

Get help from SSA or financial adviser. Even then then at some point only you can make decisions for your self. Example: the best thing is to go as long as possible to collect SS but if you have a health problem and might not even make it to that age, take it early. People say work past retirement age but that might not work for everyone. The extra money might not be worth it if you truly hate working. Might be better to stop working and down sizing and cutting expenses. Is that fancy car really worth it? Everyone has different priorities and situations. 

[Sooner]

There's also the question is you retire earlier, take the ss income and bank it, how much would you have in the bank by the later retirement age, and how long would it be before you made up that amount.  

You can take it early then pay back and get a higher amount in some instances or it used to be that way.

Lots of numbers to shuffle and you need someone who knows the angles.  It isn't just about the difference per month to think about.  It's your total financial situation.

[AuntG]

Yes, that gap will get smaller each month that you wait. If you really can't hang in there until full retirement age, then you certainly could use money from your retirement fund and put off drawing SS. No doubt you'd pay taxes on the money you withdraw. Enjoy your retirement @BornToShop.