{"id":427913,"date":"2022-04-07T13:03:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T10:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/outside-the-box-4-key-considerations-when-youre-deciding-when-to-claim-social-security\/"},"modified":"2022-04-07T13:03:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T10:03:00","slug":"outside-the-box-4-key-considerations-when-youre-deciding-when-to-claim-social-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/outside-the-box-4-key-considerations-when-youre-deciding-when-to-claim-social-security\/","title":{"rendered":"#Outside the Box: 4 key considerations when you\u2019re deciding when to claim Social Security"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a279d6ee5b38\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a279d6ee5b38\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/outside-the-box-4-key-considerations-when-youre-deciding-when-to-claim-social-security\/#%E2%80%9COutside_the_Box_4_key_considerations_when_youre_deciding_when_to_claim_Social_Security%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Outside the Box: 4 key considerations when you\u2019re deciding when to claim Social Security&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/outside-the-box-4-key-considerations-when-youre-deciding-when-to-claim-social-security\/#Richard_Connor\" >Richard Connor<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9COutside_the_Box_4_key_considerations_when_youre_deciding_when_to_claim_Social_Security%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Outside the Box: 4 key considerations when you\u2019re deciding when to claim Social Security&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\">\n<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div class=\"article__side\">\n<div class=\"container--sticky not-active\">\n<div id=\"cx-next\" data-nosnippet>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000765411\" role=\"document\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"\n                inline\" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetArticleReader\n              \n              inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetArticleReader\n              article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-object-article-reader\">\n<div class=\"audioplayer\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000765411\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Listen to Article\" tabindex=\"-1\" id=\"articlereader\" data-show-title=\"false\" data-theme=\"wsj-article-reader\" data-show-header=\"false\" data-show-subscribe=\"false\" data-ads-enabled=\"true\" data-save-publication=\"false\">\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       The <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social<\/a> Security\u00a0claiming decision is one of the most complex\u2014and contentious\u2014choices that retirees have to make.<\/p>\n<p> I was reminded of that in December, while at a Christmas party. Two former colleagues were discussing their Social Security decision. Both are male, single, childless, retired engineers. Each has a traditional pension, a paid-off home and significant retirement savings. Ted is age 77. Fred is 66.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       Ted took his Social Security at 62. His reason was\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humbledollar.com\/money-guide\/life-expectancy\/\" class=\"icon none\">longevity<\/a>\u00a0or, rather, the lack thereof. He had been a smoker for many years. He calculated his\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humbledollar.com\/money-guide\/breaking-even-on-social-security\/\" class=\"icon none\">break-even<\/a>\u00a0age as 77, at which point he would get back as much as he\u2019d paid into the system. He decided to collect a lower benefit as early as allowed and then invest the money. Ted lives frugally, and will leave a handsome legacy to his nieces and nephews.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read: <\/strong>Do I need to file a tax return if most of my income is Social Security?<\/p>\n<p>Fred is waiting until age 70 to collect. He\u2019s in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly good health, and family history suggests he could live a long life. Although retired, he does some consulting for his former employer. It provides mental stimulation, while covering the extras\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>, electronics, cigars, wine\u2014in his budget. If you\u2019re younger than your\u00a0full Social Security\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/benefits\/retirement\/planner\/ageincrease.html\" class=\"icon none\">retirement age<\/a>, which is 66 or 67, depending on the year you were born, Social Security has rules\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humbledollar.com\/2020\/11\/that-monthly-check\/\" class=\"icon none\">limiting<\/a>\u00a0how much you can receive if you\u2019re also earning an income. Since Fred hasn\u2019t yet reached his full retirement age, his benefit would be reduced if he claimed early. That was another reason he decided to wait.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read:<\/strong> \u2018I have researched the right moves over the past 12 months; I am still confused\u2026claiming Social Security is a nerve-racking decision\u2019<\/p>\n<p>In short, here we have two retirees in fairly similar situations who made entirely different\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humbledollar.com\/money-guide\/claiming-benefits-early-and-late\/\" class=\"icon none\">choices<\/a>\u00a0based on their circumstances. Still, unlike many retirees, they\u2019re fortunate: Both have the financial wherewithal to make taking Social Security an option, not a necessity.<\/p>\n<p>Many retirees have no choice but to start Social Security as soon as possible. My parents fit that de<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a>ion. Serious health problems prevented them from accumulating any retirement assets, other than minimal equity in their home. Once they stopped working, their Social Security checks were their only income.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read:<\/strong> Opinion:\u00a0Republicans have painted themselves into a corner over fixing Social Security\u2019s finances<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve studied this topic from half-a-dozen different angles, and I\u2019m still not 100% sure what my wife and I will do. I turn 65 in September. My wife will be 64 in March. Although my lifetime earnings were higher, my wife\u2019s benefit is 86% of mine. I\u2019ve tried to build a logical framework to help us make the right choice. If you\u2019re facing a similar decision, here are some key considerations:<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>Marital status.<\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019re married, upon the death of the first spouse, the surviving spouse typically continues to receive the larger of the couple\u2019s two\u00a0benefit\u00a0checks. One\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humbledollar.com\/money-guide\/claiming-strategies-for-couples\/\" class=\"icon none\">strategy<\/a>\u00a0we\u2019re considering: Have my wife claim her lower benefit at her full retirement age, while I delay until 70, when I\u2019d get my maximum benefit. That way, my wife would receive my higher benefit as a\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humbledollar.com\/money-guide\/survivor-benefits\/\" class=\"icon none\">survivor<\/a>\u00a0benefit, should I predecease her.<\/p>\n<p>This is a strategy that could help many married women, who typically have lower lifetime earnings but often live longer than their husbands. According to the Social Security\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/news\/press\/factsheets\/women-alt.pdf\" class=\"icon none\">Administration<\/a>, women reaching age 65 in 2019 typically outlive men by 2\u00bd years. In 2019, the average annual benefit received by women 65 and older was $13,505, compared with $17,374 for men.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spousal benefit.\u00a0<\/strong>A\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humbledollar.com\/money-guide\/spousal-benefits\/\" class=\"icon none\">spouse<\/a>\u00a0may be eligible to receive up to 50% of the other spouse\u2019s benefit, even without a work history. The tricky part: The spouse who was the main breadwinner must begin benefits before the other spouse can claim spousal benefits. This creates an incentive for the higher earner to claim benefits no later than when the lower-earning spouse reaches his or her full retirement age. If the lower-earning spouse delays receiving benefits beyond his or her full retirement age, there\u2019s no further increase in the spousal benefit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Longevity.<\/strong>\u00a0Singles have a simpler choice. If you have health issues, or your family hasn\u2019t been blessed with long lives, you may want to claim your retirement benefit as soon as\u200b you\u2019re\u200b eligible.<\/p>\n<p>\u200bFor married couples, it\u2019s more complicated. If the higher-earning spouse is also the spouse with lower expected longevity, there\u2019s still an argument for delaying benefits\u2014because the other spouse could receive that larger benefit as a survivor benefit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nest egg.\u00a0<\/strong>If you have no other sources of income, you may be compelled to start benefits earlier. Fortunately, my wife and I have the necessary savings, along with my pension, to cover the five-plus years until I reach age 70. Thereafter, our combined Social Security benefits and my pension should cover our expenses, and allow our portfolio to continue to grow.<\/p>\n<p>There are tools available to help you with the choice. The Social Security Administration provides a portal where you can create your own Social Security\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humbledollar.com\/2021\/08\/eyeing-that-check\/\" class=\"icon none\">account<\/a>. It will show what you\u2019d receive at your full retirement age, plus estimate your benefit at 62 and 70.<\/p>\n<p>Another useful tool is financial writer Mike Piper\u2019s\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/opensocialsecurity.com\/\" class=\"icon none\">Open Social Security<\/a>. It\u2019s a sophisticated calculator that allows you to investigate a variety of scenarios and options. Open Social Security scores each scenario by calculating the lifetime benefits it would produce. The tool generates a heat map that lets you easily compare each scenario to the optimal payout. I found this useful in understanding our situation. It showed the value of my waiting to claim until 70, and that my wife\u2019s claiming choice had much less impact.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the optimal scenario recommended that I claim at age 70, and my wife at 65 and four months. That produced a present value average of $1.4 million in benefits over our lifetimes. If my wife claimed a year earlier, it would reduce our total benefits by only 0.1%. If she waited until she was 70, the total is reduced by 1.3%.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, if I claimed at my full retirement age of 66 and six months, and she waited until 70, our lifetime total was reduced by 5.2%. If we both claimed at our full retirement ages, the total is reduced by 7.2%. These numbers support our plan to leave my benefit to grow until age 70. Meanwhile, we have about 18 months until we reach the optimum claiming date for my wife. A lot, of course, could happen between now and then\u2014and that could prompt us to change our plans.<\/p>\n<p><em>This column first appeared on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humbledollar.com\/\" class=\"icon none\">Humble Dollar<\/a>. It was republished with permission<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Richard Connor is\u00a0a semiretired aerospace engineer with a keen interest in finance. Follow Rick on Twitter\u00a0<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rconnor609\" class=\"icon none\">@RConnor609<\/a><em>\u00a0and check out his earlier\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/humbledollar.com\/author\/richard-connor\/\" class=\"icon none\">articles<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>    <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author  hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Richard Connor\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Richard_Connor\"><\/span>Richard Connor<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7BAD-E3E88B772C2E%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Outside the Box: 4 key considerations when you\u2019re deciding when to claim Social Security&#8221; The Social Security\u00a0claiming decision is one of the most complex\u2014and contentious\u2014choices that retirees have to make. I was reminded of that in December, while at a Christmas party. Two former colleagues were discussing their Social Security decision. Both are male, single,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":427914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-390674\/social","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-427913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}