PERSONAL FINANCE
How I Gambled My Way to Maximum Social Security Benefits
The key lay in starting decades before retirement age
After a 47-year work history (52 years if you count my paper route) I am finally eligible to start receiving Social Security retirement benefits. If like me you are at or near retirement age, your news feed is regularly littered with stories debating when to start claiming benefits. Today’s story focused on author David Bach’s advice that you should claim benefits as soon as possible. Yesterday it was someone claiming you should wait as long as possible.
At issue is the fact that claiming your benefit at age 62 reduces it by 30%. You have to wait five years, until age 67¹, to receive 100% of your benefit. And if you wait even longer you can receive more than your full benefit, up to 124% at age 70, when the delayed retirement credits stop. So the debate focuses on taking a smaller benefit for more years or a larger benefit for fewer years, with the break-even point between the two extremes occurring around age 80.
I’m no expert, but It seems to me that the best age at which to claim your benefit is determined by a variety of factors. Any age could prove to be the best choice depending on your individual circumstances. The more pertinent factor is how much…
