The spending comfort piece resonates - people spend 80% of guaranteed income but only 50% of portfolio withdrawals. That psychological difference matters way more than most break-even calculators account for.
Very helpful, and agree. However, as someone who did not wait until turning 70, let me add 2 cents. There could also be circumstances that are not anticipated. I was very happy at my last job for almost seven years. There was no way I could have known about the shakeup that led to my retiring ahead of MY schedule. Also the Social Security Calculator makes certain assumptions about your future earnings that might not happen. When crunching the numbers it is also helpful to think about what you won't be spending money on once you retire. In my situation, I have been saving a lot of money on gas, insurance and wear-and-tear on my car. Not to mention (as a woman) not having to pay to get my hair cut and colored every other month, or spending on make-up and clothes. These are just the most obvious expenses in my case. Everyone is different and must really look at their own situation when deciding on when to take social security. One final note, I had a co-worked who was forced to retire even earlier and start taking social security at 62 after being diagnosed with a chronic, serious health condition.
The spending comfort piece resonates - people spend 80% of guaranteed income but only 50% of portfolio withdrawals. That psychological difference matters way more than most break-even calculators account for.
Indeed it does, Frank...
Money is much more than just math as you know from your work and your writing
Very helpful, and agree. However, as someone who did not wait until turning 70, let me add 2 cents. There could also be circumstances that are not anticipated. I was very happy at my last job for almost seven years. There was no way I could have known about the shakeup that led to my retiring ahead of MY schedule. Also the Social Security Calculator makes certain assumptions about your future earnings that might not happen. When crunching the numbers it is also helpful to think about what you won't be spending money on once you retire. In my situation, I have been saving a lot of money on gas, insurance and wear-and-tear on my car. Not to mention (as a woman) not having to pay to get my hair cut and colored every other month, or spending on make-up and clothes. These are just the most obvious expenses in my case. Everyone is different and must really look at their own situation when deciding on when to take social security. One final note, I had a co-worked who was forced to retire even earlier and start taking social security at 62 after being diagnosed with a chronic, serious health condition.
Thank you, Suzie.
I appreciate you sharing your personal journey, and you make an important point...
No matter how sound your planning is around Social Security (or anything else), life has a way of surprising you.
So it's good to have a plan but remain flexible based on whatever the future may bring.
Great info!
Thank you, Nick! Appreciate you giving it a read...
Thanks for reading and for your comment.
Money is much more than math and life doesn't happen inside spreadsheets...
Sad to see people save, save, save over decades but then be scared to spend