Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Posts
    14,685
    Blog Entries
    13

    Default SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION

    Question:

    I recently turned 62. I was NOT planning on taking Social Security right away, because I figured I can increase the amount of the payout by $13 for EACH MONTH I DELAY. I really don't need the money at this exact moment in time. I was planning on waitin guntil I was about 65 or 66 before starting to collect.


    HOWEVER- I know the payout amount is based on the amount I paid in over the years . Now that I am no longer working for the feds, I'm just making like $5 grand a year doing a radio show at a local radio station. So working more years isn't going to necessarily add to the value of my SS payment.

    But now I am hearing that January's Social Security raise is going to be significant.

    QUESTION: If I claim Social Security now, I think I will get a 9% or so Social Security increase in January. But if a DON'T claim anything now, I would not get any benefit by waiting. If I claim next summer instead, I still will be paid based on the amount I paid in over the years.

    AM I missing anything? Would it make more sense to claim now so that I can capture that January increase? Anybody here work for Social Security and know if it is worth claiming now so that I can get the January increase, instead of waiting a couple of years?

    example: If I claimed SS now, I'd get about $2000 per month.
    If I wait, that amount increases by $13 each month. 12 months the payout would be $2156 a month.

    But if I claim NOW, and receive the January 9% increase, I would be collecting $2180 a month starting in January.

    Am I missing something? AM I looking at this correctly?

    Thanks in advance for comments.
    Last edited by James48843; 09-19-2022 at 08:13 AM.


  2.  
  3. #2

    Default Re: SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION

    get on SS site and see how much money u and your employers put into the system. usually if one starts collecting at 62 it will take 18 or more yrs just to break even. if one waits to full retirement age or longer, might never ever get back just the money a person puts in. plenty of you tube and web sites showing this. ponzi scheme it is.
    increase in '23 will be around 8% from latest reports.

    I started collecting at 62 along with fed pension and have zero need to touch bank account and TSP/IRAs etc.
    "Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and Religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the goverment of any other." John Adams 10/11/1798

  4.  
  5. #3

    Default Re: SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION

    I think they pro-rate the increase for the year you start claiming SS, so you wouldn't get the full increase anyway. $13 a month for delaying doesn't seem like a lot - < 200$ a year? I'm not sure how long I would delay for that small return.

    One thing I'm continually perplexed by is calculating your SS benefit if you stop work but delay benefits. I'm not sure where the correct calculation for that is. The benefits statements from SS assume you continue working until the time you start withdrawing, but if it only gets $13 a month I think it would be better to claim early (my opinion anyway )

  6.  
  7. #4

    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Posts
    14,685
    Blog Entries
    13

    Default Re: SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION

    You said: "I think they pro-rate the increase for the year you start claiming SS"


    Does anybody else know if that is true? Is the January SS increase PRORATED? Or does everybody get the whole increase? If it is PRORATED- that changes the math.

    I know the FERS adjustment is PRORATED- but I thought the SS increase was full, even if you started collecting just a month before. Anybody know for sure?




    Thanks!




  8.  
  9. #5

    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Posts
    12,151

    Default Re: SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION

    James do the math.
    Since we are closer to 2023 I'll use that as my starting point.
    $2,000/month = $24,000/year, over 7 years you will be paid $168,000 by age 70.
    At 70 if you wait, you will receive $2,156/month = $25,872/year, that's a difference of $1,872/year. By 77 you will have received $181,104.
    If you start collecting in 2023 over the next 14 years (by age 77) you will have received (at $24,000/year) $349,104 vs. $181,104 (by age 77). This doesn't include yearly increases.

    Hopefully I did the math correctly. Good luck.
    May the force be with us.

  10.  
  11. #6

    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Maryland
    Posts
    33

    Default Re: SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION

    I recently turned 62 too but will not claim for a few years and had the same question. Looks like the benefit increase will apply whenever you start receiving benefits.


    Cost Of Living Increases | Maximize My Social Security

    Will I Still Get The COLA Increase If I Wait Until After The First Of The Year To Sign Up?

    I turn 65 on 10/31/22 haven’t signed up for social security yet I’m still working full time , if I wait till after the first of the yr in 2023 to sign up will the cola increase for 2022 be added to what I would get if I filed in October of 2022
    Hi. Yes. All Social Security cost of living (COLA) increases that occur after a person turns age 62 are added to their Social Security retirement benefit rate regardless of when they apply for benefits.



    Posted:
    Thursday, September 15, 2022 - 14:29


  12.  
  13. #7

    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Posts
    14,685
    Blog Entries
    13

    Default SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION

    Quote Originally Posted by nasa1974 View Post
    James do the math.
    Since we are closer to 2023 I'll use that as my starting point.
    $2,000/month = $24,000/year, over 7 years you will be paid $168,000 by age 70.
    At 70 if you wait, you will receive $2,156/month = $25,872/year, that's a difference of $1,872/year. By 77 you will have received $181,104.
    If you start collecting in 2023 over the next 14 years (by age 77) you will have received (at $24,000/year) $349,104 vs. $181,104 (by age 77). This doesn't include yearly increases.

    Hopefully I did the math correctly. Good luck.
    I got something different- it’s $13 a month increase for each month delayed. That’s $2156 a month the second year. And then $2312 the third year, etc. by the 7th year, it works out to significant bucks. The real payback break point is, like you say, around 77 or so. I’m not likely to make that- but you never know, do you?

    The REAL question is: how long do I think I will live? And then how long will my spouse live, because she is going to have to live on the income of half a FERS pension, SS, and TSP remaining. The longer I put off claiming, the more the SS will be for her.

    Yeh, I guess I’ll go ahead and start filing for SS. I’ll just take that money and invest it for her.


    Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums

  14.  
  15. #8

    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Posts
    12,151

    Default Re: SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION

    Quote Originally Posted by James48843 View Post
    The REAL question is: how long do I think I will live? And then how long will my spouse live, because she is going to have to live on the income of half a FERS pension, SS, and TSP remaining. The longer I put off claiming, the more the SS will be for her.

    Yeh, I guess I’ll go ahead and start filing for SS. I’ll just take that money and invest it for her.

    Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums
    James, that is the 64-thousand-dollar question. Take what you have and enjoy every day and if you have the extra to invest to make the future a little better do it, because you never know when life is going to throw you a curve ball. Unfortunately, we got that curveball and couldn't hit it. Don't forget to give your wife a hug every day just because.
    May the force be with us.

  16.  
  17. #9

    Default Re: SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION

    Yeah, it's the "how long will you live" part.. Back around 1987 my dad took it at 62, he passed at 65 in 1990. My mom lived to 80 so she collected for a good number of years. He had a small pension from working a number of years at a grocery store back when they had pensions.

    I know you've already retired, but for me, it's more on whether I retire at 62 or work a few years longer. The extra years seem more significant on the pension side if I'm figuring it out correctly.. Same boat as far as the survivor benefits, gotta make sure my wife can live on this when I'm gone.

    Quote Originally Posted by James48843 View Post
    I got something different- it’s $13 a month increase for each month delayed. That’s $2156 a month the second year. And then $2312 the third year, etc. by the 7th year, it works out to significant bucks. The real payback break point is, like you say, around 77 or so. I’m not likely to make that- but you never know, do you?

    The REAL question is: how long do I think I will live? And then how long will my spouse live, because she is going to have to live on the income of half a FERS pension, SS, and TSP remaining. The longer I put off claiming, the more the SS will be for her.

    Yeh, I guess I’ll go ahead and start filing for SS. I’ll just take that money and invest it for her.


    Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums


  18.  
  19. #10

    Default Re: SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION

    Quote Originally Posted by jonfresno View Post
    Yeah, it's the "how long will you live" part.. Back around 1987 my dad took it at 62, he passed at 65 in 1990. My mom lived to 80 so she collected for a good number of years. He had a small pension from working a number of years at a grocery store back when they had pensions.

    I know you've already retired, but for me, it's more on whether I retire at 62 or work a few years longer. The extra years seem more significant on the pension side if I'm figuring it out correctly.. Same boat as far as the survivor benefits, gotta make sure my wife can live on this when I'm gone.
    I retired at 62 and started drawing immediately (mainly due to restrictions caused by the CRS Offset) . I retired because my wife and I were caregivers for my mother who died 45 days after I retired. I would probably have worked a few more years to save for a house on the lake but we can only base our decisions on what we know at the time. Nothing wrong with working a few years longer if you like what you are doing and the people you work with!

  20.  

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
S&P500 (C Fund) (delayed)
SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION
(Stockcharts.com Real-time)
DWCPF (S Fund) (delayed)
SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION
(Stockcharts.com Real-time)
EFA (I Fund) (delayed)
SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION
(Stockcharts.com Real-time)
BND (F Fund) (delayed)
SOCIAL SECURITY QUESTION
(Stockcharts.com Real-time)

Yahoo Finance Realtime TSP Fund Tracking Index Quotes