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Originally Posted by Brad Hunt
Davydd: I know that there is that 62 vs 70 and the break even point is 78 consideration. I am self employed these last 27 years and have had to create my own pension. However I was considering living off stock dividends, Lirps, bonds, Ira and Sep. account withdrawls and investing my SS checks for 8 years (62-70). Would 78 still be the break even point given a modest 5% return since I won't be as aggressive in those years? Neither my Edward Jones Rep. or local Scottrade office knew the answer. It's not a burning question since I have 11 years to go.
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Conventional wisdom says you should start taking your Social Security as soon as possible. There is one caveat. You can't be working for wages for more than about $12,000 if you are taking. But if you are living off your investments then every cent of your investments should be earning you more than what Social Security is going to appreciate while you hold off. So if you take it early you can theoretically add that money to the investment pool and let it gain along with your other investments or in essence not have to spend as much of your capital that is appreciating. Starting January 1st (age 64 for me) I will start taking Social Security. I couldn't this year because I worked a half year for wages and retired at the end of June. Plus, I didn't need it. My investments both private and 401(k) are on target to appreciate better than 20% this year. They won't next year because the little birdie tells me to go defensive and protect the nest egg.
Up until June 29 I was on AC shore power and am now on battery power with a Social Security trickle charge. I just hope I have good batteries without too much load on them.
For you Brad who knows. You can't predict the future and 11 years is a long time. So many things can change, some for the better and some for the worse. Retirement kind of puts you in a quandary. You should cheer Republicans for the tax cuts especially in capital gains, interest and dividend tax rates that the Democrats want to roll back but you want too as much health benefits you can get that the Democrats seem more willing to dole out. It's a mess and we can't afford it all and neither party is willing to bite the bullet and fix Social Security. I'm like you, I decided to take care of myself 15 years ago and invested more than 30% of my income toward retirement in and outside a 401(k) and had a couple of fantastic investments to boost that savings. If you are eligible, maximize your Roth IRA.