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IPFS News Link • Social Security

What age is best to start drawing Social Security benefits? Truth is, it depends.

• http://www.washingtonpost.com, By Rodney Brooks

Granted, it may be good advice, but few people take it. It makes you wonder: Is there a disconnect between financial planners and "real people"?

In fact, most Americans don't wait that long. According to the Social Security Administration, 37 percent of people take benefits at 62, as soon as they are eligible. Another 18 percent take benefits at full retirement age (66 for most baby boomers), and only 3 percent waited until 70.

But the problem is that life expectancies are ever increasing — to nearly 80, according to the last report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you live till 65, you are likely to live another 18 to 20 years, depending on your sex.

If you take Social Security before full retirement age, you lock in a 25 percent reduction for the rest of your life. If you wait till you are 70, you can get an additional 32 percent boost in monthly benefits (or roughly 8 percent for each year you wait).


www.universityofreason.com/a/29887/KWADzukm