Social Security
Terry. I enjoyed your SS article in the Sunday Chicago Tribune. Crystal ball question, I’m 67 and intend on waiting until 70 to draw SS. Given the shaky condition, is there any wisdom in drawing it early before they possibly reduce or means test, since they probably can’t claw back what they’ve already paid out.
Terry Says
Do you feel lucky? Do you think there’s a chance you’ll live beyond your “actuarial age”– currently 16.7 years?
How long did your parents live?
Did you notice some recent celebrities who died at age 100 -=- including Gene Shallit (the Today show film critic, former President Jimmy Carter, Alan Greenspan former Fed Chair, who died at age 100 a few weeks ago)?
So, I’m not sure how you define lucky -=- living longer than projected, (and possibly running out of savings) or dying just “on time” as projected. But if you think there’s a significant chance your lifetime will be longer, you’ll want to get the highest monthly, inflation-protected benefit.
And I think Congress will think that way too, since they get SS benefits. So any adjustments are likely to be made on taxable wages and perhaps on adjusting benefits for the very wealthy.
