No. of Recommendations: 5
That's what we intend to do. Article on this topic from Kitces.
https://www.kitces.com/blog/why-it-rarely-pays-for...(Note: I always print out articles that I think are important to me and put them in a file.. And/or save the PDF on my computer.)
If you are reading that article from a printout you saved, you need to go back and read the Update/Note.
That strategy was closed off in 2015.
This article a few months later explains it:
https://www.kitces.com/blog/congress-ends-file-and..."Thus, anyone who is eligible for a wife’s or husband’s spousal benefit is deemed to have filed for their old-age retirement benefit as well, and similarly anyone who is eligible for a retirement benefit is deemed to have filed for any spousal benefits to which he/she is entitled."
Apropos of this thread, the title of that first article is "Why It Rarely Pays For Both Spouses To Delay Social Security Benefits" After the 2nd article was published, the first should be retitled "Why It Rarely Pays To Delay Social Security Benefits" since both are deemed to file at the same time.
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there's no need to wait until age 80 or 90 to spend the $182,000. If you know you'll have a larger inflation protected income after age 70, you can spend more of your retirement nest egg today and ... Again it's just math.You have forgotten to account for the returns that the $182K would have gained.
Well, it's not just math.
And you've just switched the argument. Or maybe moved the goalpost.
There is also a risk you have to take into account. This would be spending your own money now and depending on money coming later. Current projection is that SS will run out of money in 2035 and will have to cut benefits to 75% of promised benefits. Will Congress let this happen? Probably not. Possibly yes, or possibly just a smaller reduction.
Congress already screwed SS recipients when they started taxing SS in 1984, so there is real world history of them effectively cutting SS benefits.
Looking at how the Federal government is handling finances, how confident are you that they won't change anything about SS?
So you'd be looking at two alternatives:
1) Spend my own money now and depend on getting other money later.
2) Get other money now and keep my money in my own little hands.
There is another thing to consider if you have heirs. Your SS benefit stops at your death. If you have spent your money, then that's it. If you have taken SS early and kept your money, your money will be there to be passed down.
