For those that are old enough to draw Social Security, at what age did you start?

Do you wish (today) that You would have waited to start drawing when You were older?

Every retirement seminar I've been too suggests it's the same money. A smaller portion over a longer period of time or a large amount over a shorter period of time. Kinda sucks for me and my wife, as she is a teacher and won't get any of mine when I pass away. I'm not in the best of health, so I plan on drawing it as soon as I hit 62 and just bank it for her when she retires. She's several years younger than I am and still has 8 to 10 years before she can retire.

Started a at 66. The full age for me.

As a guy who helped, in the literal least, in the upper hundreds of people retire, none of them wish they would have taken those benefits sooner.

I started drawing survivors SS at 60, with that and my pensions I was able to retire at 60. I switched to my early SS at 64 1/2 (survivors drops when you switch) because the difference between then and waiting until 66 would take 10-12 years to break even....no regrets.

do the numbers.....check and see what amount you will be eligible to draw at age 62 then check what the amount would be if you waited until you got to full retirement age.....we did that with my wife and took her SS check and put it in the bank for 3 years because she would have to live until almost 80 years old to equal the dollar amount we received if you would have waited to 65 1/2 to start drawing her full amount...

What if you said I will retire at 70 then died when you were 64

Different situations for everyone will have a bearing on what age you start to draw it. They keep adjusting the Life Expectancy numbers up from the latest data. So, if you are in purty good health, drawing a smaller amount at age 62 would not amount to as much withdrawn if you live to be 80 vs. what you would have drawn if you waited until 66 or 70. I'm 66 and don't plan to draw it until 70. If I kick the bucket before, the wife can still choose to draw mine which is higher than hers. If we both die, then the millenials will eat it up I suppose.

Added: There is a calcultor that will "model" your ending amount of SS money that you draw for each possibility. I.E. age 62 draw vs. age 66 draw vs. 70 draw. But it all relies on how long you keep ticking.

I plan to start at 65 when I take Medicare/Supplements and the plan is to retire right at the end of this year. That said there is more to the equation for those thinking they will take it as early as possible. You also have to calcuilate monies lost by retiring early versus keep working and draw a salary + if you receive company paid health benefits.

Do they Also tell you how your earnings if you start early are restricted? If you start early for every $2 you make over a certain amount they reduce your SS check by $1. I am lazy to look but it used to be around $18,000.00 when this scenario kicked in. Further, if that scenario doesn’t apply to you when your combined income from all sources (including your wife) reach a given amount your SS becomes
taxable. The amount of you SS income subject to tax can be as high as 85%.
Open an SS.gov account and the resources to help you are there.

started at 62 cuz IT'S MINE DAMIT! MINE, MINE MINE, ALL MINE!

so there!

tr176 laid it out best, if you stop working then 62 may be ideal, working then waiting till you hit full retirement and then no reductions for income offset.

for me the extra 4 yrs. of drawing it have helped me out hugely, everyone is different tho.

I pulled mine when I hit 66...my full retirement age. I'm still working so yes it shoves me into a higher tax bracket but we've managed to pay off most of our loans, purchase items we couldn't afford to when we really "retire" and are on a fixed income. The rest we stash in saving\401's. yep I'll owe higher tax's but I can spread it out over a year with quarterly payments and still have "extra" funds to pay off stuff.

I earned my social security over the 51 years I've been employed...so I have no problem getting what I have earned.

Like GTrigg my wife is a teacher, so she can't draw mine if I die before her. Being that she is 5 years younger than me there is a high chance she will outlive me. I retired at 62 and have to make it into my 80's before the money catches up. Being neither of my parents made it past 76 (dad died at 68) and I have a heart condition, I chose to enjoy the 4-1/2 years it would take me to get to full S/S. As for your S/S being taxable, they count my wife's teacher retirement as income just the same as if she was still working.

Freeze your property tax at 64