Working, Retirement and Social Security

I was having dinner with my folks this weekend when the topic of Working, Retirement and Social Security came up. My mom just reached the age to file, and my step dad is 72 years old. He's one of those guys that when people come across him, they say, " they don't make guys like that anymore". He was UDT in Navy during the Korean War, for those of you unfamiliar they were referred to as "Frogmen", and are currently named U.S. Navy Seals. He's worked ever since he was 16 years old, and I've heard the story of how he got his first job more than once. He applied at the store down the street and the owner told him he couldn't hire him. He kept going back every day for 2 weeks asking "can I work today?" Finally, the store owner game him the job of sweeping the floors. Well here we are 56 years later, and he's still working. The problem is, that he is limited on how much money he can earn before he is penalized through his social security. WHAT? You mean that after 56 years and counting of paying into it, he's now "capped" on what he can make? Did the economy give him a "cap" on inflation, or are they still paying the same high cost for everything that everyone else is. Sorry....the 50 cents a cup senior discount on his coffee doesn't quite cut it. I've seen his AAA, AARP, and NRA card, I haven't seen his "INFLATION CAP" card......

So let's talk about minimum age. You currently have to wait until you're 62 to file. There's a "sales pitch" from the SS administration that you should wait until you're 66 to file, as you'll get an increased amount. Where do I start? First off, you do the math. Let's say you're monthly benefit would be $1700 a month @62 and $2200 a month @66, $500 more a month. Let's take the $1700 a month, and multiply by the FOUR YEARS that you would have to wait. That's $81,600. Now you wait, you're getting the $500 more. It's going to take you 163 months (13 years) to make back that $81,600 that you waited for by getting the additional $500. Which means you would have to wait until you were 79 until it STARTED to make financial sense. Second of all, they are continually changing the "age you have to wait until for the bigger benefit". It used to be 65 years old, now it's 66. By the time my brother files, it will most likely be around 70, I'm personally not counting on Social Security to still be around (at least not paying out benefits, but probably still collecting) when I hit 62.

When you're in your 40's, and 50's, you pay more attention to health concerns. You're on the lookout for more things, and generally tend to not be such a rebel. By the time you hit 60, you're medical costs will most likely double from what you were paying 20 years before. If you're 62 and still willing and able to work, you can probably work pretty hard still. Certainly harder than you can when you hit 70. So why would they "cap" you on your income from 62 to 70 but by the time you're ready to hit the rivers and go fishing @ 70 and not wanting to work anymore, now you can make all the money in the world and not be penalized. WHAT? You mean that not only have I paid into this for all of my adult life, pay taxes on my benefits, and capped on what I can make during the last few years that I actually WANT to work, and to add insult to injury you're going to lift that "cap" once I hit 70???

I know a lot of us who aren't quite there yet in age don't pay much attention to what's going on, myself included. Our Seniors (Moms, Dad's, Uncles, Aunt's, Grandmas, Pa's, etc...) DEPEND on their family members to help keep them tuned in to the current stuff that's going on. WE, as the next generation should not only keep them tuned in, but also tune into what's going on with them. Too often we get wrapped up in our own day to day operations, that we forget these things. As we get older and closer to having to deal with these issues personally, of course we'll pay a little more attention then. But if we can try and help those who have worked their whole life and were productive members of society, then the actions we take now will have a ripple effect lasting to when our kids are our age.