I figured out the formula for taking SS early if you’re still working but below full retirement age. It only took four days of re-reading the rule until it stuck, then doing a quick calculation.
The TLDR answer is that if you make substantially over $18,900 in yearly salary, the reduction that they apply eats up every bit of any benefit payment. So that’s not a thing that I’ll be doing. I’ll wait until I’m 66 years, four months old until I consider this again. Or until I retire, whichever comes first.
two points need to be made here.
If you take SS early, the reduction lasts forever. It doesn’t go away when you reach full retirement age. It is the price you pay for starting early withdrawals.
By law, the reduction is calculated such that you will break even, that is receive the same total amount of money, at age 80 (approximately. It varies by person a few months either way). So if you die before age 80 you actually come out ahead. If you die after 80, you lost money when you consider the total amount of SS you collected. How much you lose, or gain, depends on when you pass away.
How to take into account the value to you of having more money earlier (62-80) and less money later (80-?) is a calculation I am not able to figure out for myself…
I concur with all. I think the “same benefit at 80” is a bit looser than noted but nothing to quibble about.
I wrestle with when to take it as well, but I’ve come down on taking it earlier. My parents waited and regretted it. They were pretty active until their later 70s and then trailed off quite a bit. They were still pretty healthy, but they weren’t very eager to travel, or go on active vacations. The extra money from 62-75 would have been put to good use. The extra money in their 80s just sat in the bank, and they really didn’t need it at that point and didn’t use it.