What is the significance of SS full retirement age?

It's never what you make but what you spend that counts. If you haven't learned that by retirement age you are destine to chase the ball to the end.....
Some on here has their own personal "self worth" tied up in their employment. Therefore-they don't wish to retire.
Has anybody ever heard someone say on their death bad- "I wish I worked more"..................
 
I used to think the same way. Unexpected health issues forced me to reconsider. (mitochondrial dysfunction, sec adrenal insufficiency, thyroid failure, mixed connective tissue disease, and muscle failure)

61 is just a couple months away, and I hope to collect at 62. If for some reason I earn money, SS will simply reduce my benefits and pay more later. That's a non issue.

More importantly, I can do what I want with SS income. Let's say I invest at 5% per/yr long term, I would have a nice sum at FRA. And since I have retirement accounts that earn little to nothing (don't ask) maybe the right thing is to pull money from those accounts for living expenses starting in Jan 2025.
They will deduct if you earn more than $22,000.00ish.
 
Everyone's situation is different. Current health, family history (longevity) as well as need all come into play. The break even point is around age 77-78 when comparing taking benefits at 62 versus 70. There's no use waiting till later if family memebers don't make it past 70. I likely will take it between 62 and 65 even though my FRA is 67.
Exactly… in my mind, FRA is the age where the actuaries have determined you’re likely never going to be able to withdraw all that you and your employer paid in. Yes, yes, I know FRA isn’t set by SSA, but I’m willing to bet actuaries were involved when the age was raised before, and they’re involved now since FRA will likely be adjusted again in the very near future due to SSA trust mismanagement at the allowance of Congress.
 
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I certainly hope you are correct.
I wonder what the difference is between a widow and survivor.

A widow(er) is considered to be the surviving spouse who was legally married to the decedent at the time of death. SSA defines a potentially eligible survivor as follows:

Spouses and ex-spouses

You may be eligible if you:
  • Are age 60 or older, or age 50–59 if you have a disability, and
  • Were married for at least 9 months before your spouse's death, and
  • Didn’t remarry before age 60 (age 50 if you have a disability).
Ex-spouses who were married for at least 10 years, as well as some valid non-marital legal relationships, may be eligible.
You might be eligible regardless of age and how long you were married. One common example is if you’re caring for a child of the person who died.

Children

Children of someone who died may be eligible if they're unmarried and are:
  • Age 17 and younger, or
  • Ages 18–19 and in school (K–12) full time, or
  • Any age if they developed a disability at age 21 or younger.
Under certain circumstances, we can also pay benefits to married children, stepchildren, adopted children, grandchildren, and stepgrandchildren.

Dependent parents

You might be eligible if you’re age 62 or older and were financially supported by your child who died.
 
Some on here has their own personal "self worth" tied up in their employment. Therefore-they don't wish to retire.
Has anybody ever heard someone say on their death bad- "I wish I worked more"..................

Exactly. (y)
 
Exactly… in my mind, FRA is the age where the actuaries have determined you’re likely never going to be able to withdraw all that you and your employer paid in.
If you have an account with SS, you can see exactly how little that actually is.
Easily surpassed in the first 10 yrs.

How that money was handled is a whole other subject.
 
Generally what ever the higher earning spouse was collecting at the time of their death , I believe the surviving spouse gets half that amount.
Nobody gets “half”. A spouse gets the higher amount of their two payments. If Daddy dies with a higher payment?…Mom gets his check amount and hers is discontinued.
If a smaller check spouse dies ..that payment just stops
 
I doubt that many (if any) of us on BITOG could live comfortably with only a SS paycheck after turning 70 years old. The 401K and other savings/pension/dividends are normally used to supplement the SS amount to maintain a comparable quality of life.

Really? I guess what they (SS Admin) are saying I will be given at age 70 per month is a fair amount more than what I am actually currently living on (after healthy 401K and savings contributions). I guess I don't need a lot of money to live on. I have zero debt.
 
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I did not read all 4 pages, but I appreciate the calculations. As others have pointed out, each situation is different.
What has been important to me is financial security. That means minimizing expenses going forward SO YOU DON'T NEED MUCH TO LIVE ON. Get your home paid off and fixed up while you are working.

If you are lucky, get yourself into a position where Social Security is enough to live on, at a minimum for month to month costs.
Add to that dividend paying assets and other income vehicles.
Good luck.
 
You would think that somebody taking phone calls at Social Security would know the answer to such a basic question.
On another item-

You may or may not have heard the IRS position that if you make an "error" on your return due to bad information from a Rep on their phone line they are not responsible.

So-it's a no win situation.
 
If you have an account with SS, you can see exactly how little that actually is.
Easily surpassed in the first 10 yrs.

How that money was handled is a whole other subject.
You just made my point, thanks. If FRA = 67, the fact that the average life expectancy is again below 77 shows that the trust is in a good position to keep some money that wasn’t theirs. About half the people who made If it to FRA won’t make it past 77, and those who retired before FRA receive reduced amounts so they, too, are not as likely to exceed the amount collected. If Congress bumps FRA to 70, the trust is then in an even better position to profit vs. break even.
 
Most of the calculations on break even points concerning when to start SS don't take into account the time value of money.
They do. The initial calculation is based on contributions adjusted for inflation - you just don't see that part, and also most recent earnings affect your payout the most.

Going forward, you would get a COLA to SS annually. Its supposed to all work out because in theory those paying in will pay more every year because its a flat percentage of earnings which grows with inflation - and also in theory the SS trust fund invests in US treasury issues that in theory pay slightly above inflation due to fed policy and their neutral rate, the so called R*.

In theory of course - the system broke because from 2008 to 2022 both bond rates and COLA were manipulated by fed ZIRP. Not to mention there were several payroll tax holidays that will now cause the trust fund to be empty sooner - current estimates by the SS admin themselves say 2033 - which means at that point they will only be taking in enough payments to cover some lesser percentage of promised payments. Anyway the SS Admin report for 2024 is here: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/
 
Really? I guess what they (SS Admin) are saying I will be given at age 70 per month is a fair amount more than what I am actually currently living on (after healthy 401K and savings contributions). I guess I don't need a lot of money to live on. I have zero debt.
What you may be overlooking is the inflation factor that degrades the relative buying power due to inflation over the next 18 years before you reach 70 years old. Some projections estimate that it takes ~24 years for the cost of living to double. As an example, a Big Mac burger cost $2.90 in 2004, today the price is $5.69. Another major concern is that healthcare will likely be a significant expense at 70+ years compared to 52. (I'm not getting into the Medicare discussion here since it will inevitably devolve into a Medicare Advantage vs. Medigap debate.)
 
They do. The initial calculation is based on contributions adjusted for inflation - you just don't see that part, and also most recent earnings affect your payout the most.

Going forward, you would get a COLA to SS annually. Its supposed to all work out because in theory those paying in will pay more every year because its a flat percentage of earnings which grows with inflation - and also in theory the SS trust fund invests in US treasury issues that in theory pay slightly above inflation due to fed policy and their neutral rate, the so called R*.

In theory of course - the system broke because from 2008 to 2022 both bond rates and COLA were manipulated by fed ZIRP. Not to mention there were several payroll tax holidays that will now cause the trust fund to be empty sooner - current estimates by the SS admin themselves say 2033 - which means at that point they will only be taking in enough payments to cover some lesser percentage of promised payments. Anyway the SS Admin report for 2024 is here: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/
I think we are talking about two separate things. I wasn't referring to SS calculations for benefit amounts, but personal calculations on optimum dates to start benefits. People calculate a break even age without considering money received years earlier is worth more.
On the other hand, extra SS income monthly is something you can't mess up. If my investments go to zero tomorrow, with no debt and a paid for house I could get by on my and my wife's SS alone. And it wouldn't be a red beans and rice existence.
 
I think we are talking about two separate things. I wasn't referring to SS calculations for benefit amounts, but personal calculations on optimum dates to start benefits. People calculate a break even age without considering money received years earlier is worth more.
On the other hand, extra SS income monthly is something you can't mess up. If my investments go to zero tomorrow, with no debt and a paid for house I could get by on my and my wife's SS alone. And it wouldn't be a red beans and rice existence.
OK, I got you.

On the other side of that - my dad took everything I think either at 65 or a little earlier. He never spent much of it. He put most in the bank - he never trusted investments. He passed away at 85. I wonder in his case if he would have more or less in the bank had he taken it earlier. Of course you never know how long you will live so who knows.
 
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Tom, my earlier post was wrong. I finally found a source that spelled it out without being ambiguous.
SSA handbook, Section (Paragraph?) 407, Amount of Widower's Insurance Benefits. 407.1
"The widow(er)'s insurance rate equals 100% of the deceased worker's primary insurance amount plus any additional amount the deceased worker was entitled to because of delayed retirement credits."
Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) is what you get at FRA. In your case, you should get 100% of her higher amount, which is her PIA plus delayed credits.
Phew, good news for me too.
https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0407.html
Thanks for the link! This agrees with what I have been reading.
 
Again, the average at death for an American man is now 73.2 years and declining slowly. Not 77, not 81.

And yes if you make it to 65, you are likely to live beyond 73. But remember, 1/4 of your ADULT male friends don't make it to 65, or more accurately, by the time YOU are 65, a quarter of your American male contemporaries have died.

My father died at 70, and by age 66 or so, it was clear he was not going to live long. I'm 60 and struggling. I hope not to be one of those who dies before 65, but men with my list of conditions can't diet and exercise themselves into health. I do try, but exercise knocks me down hard sometimes and lack of exercise makes me feel poisoned.
 
Again, the average at death for an American man is now 73.2 years and declining slowly. Not 77, not 81.

And yes if you make it to 65, you are likely to live beyond 73. But remember, 1/4 of your ADULT male friends don't make it to 65, or more accurately, by the time YOU are 65, a quarter of your American male contemporaries have died.

My father died at 70, and by age 66 or so, it was clear he was not going to live long. I'm 60 and struggling. I hope not to be one of those who dies before 65, but men with my list of conditions can't diet and exercise themselves into health. I do try, but exercise knocks me down hard sometimes and lack of exercise makes me feel poisoned.

Yea-put off taking SS until FRA and the government wins.
 
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