Everyone has heard tips: Wait for you to have 70 to demand social security and you will get the most possible monthly check. Tim F., who retired a health care worker from Arizona, followed this advice to the letter. But now, at the age of 75, he has second thoughts.
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Gobankingrates talked to Tim to understand why he wanted him to demand his own benefits earlier. His insights can simply change the way you think about your pension plans.
Tim thought he was doing everything right.
“Everything you have read is said to wait up to 70 years if you can,” he shared. “I think I was thinking, well I can, so I should. I didn’t stop thinking about whether it was really the best plan for me.”
Tim loves larger monthly checks, but he’s not sure they were worth the price. “Looking back, I wanted that extra money when my wife was still there.”
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Tim’s wife Sarah died at the age of 68 before they could bring their benefits together.
“Sarah and I had plans,” Tim shared. “We really thought for a long time when we probably had to be more realistic because of how long we were left.”
Tim is not sure what advice except that except what lives today (and be sure to consult your doctor regularly).
Tim said he did not really think how his own health could change as aging.
“I’m not as active as I was 30 years old – Heck, even 40,” he said. “When you get older, the year means that there may be a lot of health changes. I wish I just took the money earlier and partially used for travel and partly to a high interest savings account. The hint is 20/20!”
Financial advisers talk about the “breakpoint”-this is the age when all the benefits you get when waiting, exceeding what you would have acquired earlier.
“They told me I would break about 82,” Tim said. “But when you are 75 years old, 82 feels quite a long way. I wish I think more about how to enjoy the present and not always plan the future.”
Tim did not consider investing some of his social security income if it had been claimed earlier.
“I’m not an investing power plant,” Tim shared. “But I could put money in a high interest savings account and force them to work. Oh, okay.”