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"..................
What is the significance of SS full retirement age?
- Thread starter Dave1027
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Has anybody ever heard someone say on their death bad- "I wish I worked more"..................
They will deduct if you earn more than $22,000.00ish.
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.
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).
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.
Dependent parents
You might be eligible if you’re age 62 or older and were financially supported by your child who died.
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.
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
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.
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 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.
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/
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.)
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.
Average life expectancy for a 65 yr old male in the US is 83.
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.
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.
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.
