path1 wrote:
I’ve been reading articles when I see them about drawing social security early and 99.9% say drawing early is not recommended and a bad decision.
The people that write these articles I bet have more education than me. But when I run my numbers I can’t figure out why they come to that conclusion.
I think the 'experts' are trying to steer people into working longer because that is the safer decision for an individual w/o detailed personal analysis. Plus more $$ are paid into SS and less $$ will be paid out of SS. Based on posted comments, most on the forum understand that crossover point is significant. When I did an analysis there was very little difference in the number of years to crossover between 62-1/2, 63, 64 or 65 and also little difference in with or w/o inflation (for the % I used).
But I think the important question that is overlooked is what is the alternative? I doubt that most of us take our monthly SS check and stick it in a sock drawer or a bank account. If that was our situation, then when to begin taking SS wouldn't be a big question. Instead, it is used to cover monthly expenses. So, if SS payments are delayed, and we can't or don't want to work, those monthly expenses must be covered from other funds.
I believe I can manage my investments better than the gov. can manage SS and therefore my goal has been to minimize withdrawals from my investments (so they can keep growing) by taking SS at 62-1/2 for both myself and my spouse. If I mis-manage those investments, then my strategy may fail, however I am more motivated than the gov. to prevent failure. Since retiring at 55, my available assets have still doubled over the past 11 yrs, so by taking SS early, I have kept withdrawals well below my SWR.
