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Suze says:

January 2nd, 2009 at 02:10 pm

I don't watch Suze Orman much, mostly cause my dh does not like her. However, I do watch CNN a lot and once in a while, she is on there.
She was on CNN for about 30 seconds on new year's eve.
Her advice: Take social security as soon as you are able to.
She gave no reason why! My guess? She is afraid it might run out.
Well, that is what I did. My family does not seem to live a long time. I lost all 4 grandparents by the time I was 11. All my aunts and uncles died by the time I hit my mid 30's.
My father died of a heart attack at age 55 and my mother got cancer at age 55. My sister died at age 59.

So, I signed up a few months before age 62. You do not get s/s on your 62nd birthday. You have to wait til 2 months later. You also do not get a check on the first of the month. It depends on your birthday. The checks come out on Wednesday's and mine is the 4th wednesday of the month.

I decided to take my social security check and save it every month. So far, have never spent a penny. I don't feel a bit old, so I will save it for my old age. What do you think you will do?

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments »

15 Responses to “Suze says:”

  1. merch Says:
    January 2nd, 2009 at 02:17 pm 1230905860
    1230905860

    Pretty far off more me. With that said, I am planning on SS to not be around when I retire. So been putting the max into 401(k) for five or eight years now.

    I have the opposite issue in my family. All my grandparents are still alive and most of their siblings. The largest fear in my family is outliving your savings.

  2. gamecock43 Says:
    January 2nd, 2009 at 02:33 pm 1230906805
    1230906805

    That sounds like the right decision for you. Though I hope you enjoy SS for a long long time!

  3. fruitbowlk Says:
    January 2nd, 2009 at 02:36 pm 1230906986
    1230906986

    I always thought they said it was best to wait a few years to start collecting ss. Maybe she knows something we don't.

  4. creditcardfree Says:
    January 2nd, 2009 at 02:43 pm 1230907392
    1230907392

    fruitbowlk, government tells you to wait as long as you can because the check will be larger. Ima did the right thing for her...she doesn't even need the check! She takes it and invests it and will probably have more than a lot of people later who simply spend the whole check! Good job Julie!

    Since I'm 36, I don't expect ss to be around for me. I'm not very optimistic, huh?

  5. Petunia Says:
    January 2nd, 2009 at 02:43 pm 1230907416
    1230907416

    I don't plan on SS being around when I'm old enough to collect it either.

  6. Myrtle Says:
    January 2nd, 2009 at 02:44 pm 1230907446
    1230907446

    I am no expert on social security but I do remember hearing that you should take your social security the soonest that you could. Something about you never really make up the amount by waiting to the latest time to take it and getting a bigger amount.

  7. Amber Says:
    January 2nd, 2009 at 04:07 pm 1230912443
    1230912443

    I would take as soon as I can but I do believe SS will never run out because people are always working and paying taxes; however, I am positive it would be far less than what one could have ever imagined.

  8. Aleta Says:
    January 2nd, 2009 at 04:29 pm 1230913743
    1230913743

    If a husband makes more than his wife and his social security check will be larger, it makes more sense for the wife to go ahead and start claiming her check at 62 Since later, she will probably file under his anyway.

  9. asmom Says:
    January 2nd, 2009 at 04:52 pm 1230915165
    1230915165

    I don't expect SS to be around when I retire and if it is, I doubt it will meet my needs. I will probably do the same thing you did Ima.

  10. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    January 2nd, 2009 at 05:00 pm 1230915653
    1230915653

    Straight from the mouth of Social Security: "you can start reciveing SS benefits at age 62....However, your benefits will be reduced based on the number of months you receive benefits before you reach full retirement age. If your full retirement age is 66 benefits will be reduced 25% at age 62; 20% at age 63; 13.5% at age 64; or 6.66% at age 65. You may decide to wait beyond your full retirement age....If so, your benefit will be increased by a certain percentage for each month you don't receive benefits between your full retirement age and age 70."

    A table shows the yearly increase rate for delaying benefits after full retirement age depends on when you were born as follows:

    Born 1937-38 gets an increased benefit of 6.5% per year by so delaying.

    1939-40 gets 7.0%

    1941-42 gets 7.5%

    1943 or later gets 8.0%.

    In addition, one qualifies for Medicare at age 65, even if SS benefits are not taken at that age. That is the current rule.

  11. scfr Says:
    January 3rd, 2009 at 03:34 am 1230953648
    1230953648

    I'd be interested to hear Suze's reasoning.

    I don't plan to decide until I get closer to retirement age, because I'm sure the benefits calculations will have changed (assuming SS is even around then ... I personally expect it to be around tho' substantially reduced). Tho my father died extremely young, all of my grandparents lived in to their 80's and 90's, so there is definitely longevity in my family. That makes me lean towards waiting longer to start receiving my benefits.

  12. Broken Arrow Says:
    January 3rd, 2009 at 06:31 am 1230964310
    1230964310

    Personal finance is personal for a reason, because most of the decision should be made based on your personal situation. In that way, I think you did the right thing.

    I too do not expect SS to be there for me by the time I retire.

  13. ktmarvels Says:
    January 3rd, 2009 at 07:10 am 1230966624
    1230966624

    I was just reading today that there is a program where you can get the higher income you would have got if you waited until you were older...the catch is that you have to pay back what they have given you.

    This probably isn't for everyone. Realistically, most people wouldn't have the money to pay them back, but it is something to keep in mind.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/105188/Secret-Ways-to-Boost-Your-Social-Security

  14. homebody Says:
    January 3rd, 2009 at 03:08 pm 1230995317
    1230995317

    KTmarvels, where have you been? I miss your updates!

    As far as SS, I have to be 67-1/2 I believe, (born in 1957) to start collecting or maybe that is the full amount. I will make the decision when it is closer to the time depending on our circumstances.

  15. Ima saver Says:
    January 4th, 2009 at 09:45 pm 1231105513
    1231105513

    You can take s/s at age 62 then at age 70, if you pay back the full amount (In my case about $53,000) you CAN get the full social security benefits based on age 70. The best thing is you get to keep all the interest you have earned on that money.

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