Went to a party last weekend and the topic of discussion was retirement. Everyone had a different idea as to when was the best time to retire. Some were waiting for full retirement 66 and 2/3, someone else had the idea to wait until age 65. The thought behind that being that she would be eligible for Medicare at 65 and the dollar difference between retiring at 65 and waiting for full retirement was minimal. Then there was the school of thought to take early retirement at 62.
An argument being that the money will even out at some point because you will be collecting longer. The biggest drawback to the idea of early retirement is health insurance and we said earlier the magic age for Medicare is 65. Some of the arguments for taking early retirement are you can enjoy yourself while still healthy or you may have health reasons. Or if recently laid off and rather than find something new take the social security and run. Also mentioned is the belief that social security will not be around much longer. While I have seen very tempting arguments for early retirement I don’t think taking the early plunge is for me.
I took both the early retirement amount and the full estimated amount, totaled them up and they match at around 14 to 15 years. But while the grand total is the same I would rather wait for the higher monthly amount. Besides, working the additional 4 years I get the benefit of making more than the social security will pay and still contribute to my 401k. Finally, I don’t have to spend a lot of time figuring out what I am going to do on any given day. Work, as painful as it is sometimes, still makes me feel useful.
So how about you? Anyone going to wait until 70? I was thinking about maxing out until I realized that I may not live forever. So I’ll look forward to 66 and 2/3, but will keep my options open in case circumstances change.
When are you going to take the plunge?
Let me know at AgingwithHennessey.com
Until the next time…..Dan
AgingwithHennessey 