DOES THE EARLY BIRD GET THE WORM?

When people plan and invest for retirement, the decision of when to begin taking Social Security benefits eventually comes up. Social Security is an important source of retirement income for many individuals and, therefore, the decision of when to take these benefits can make a big impact on retirement income.

A retired worker who is fully insured can elect to start receiving benefits at any time between age 62 and 65 (or even later). Benefits can start as early as 62, but if you so elect they are permanently reduced by 20%. Here is where the question arises. Is it better to start taking checks at a reduced amount or wait until Normal Retirement Age and receive full benefits? Before addressing the inherent problems with this empirical question, let's lo View the rest of this article