Will You Light $180,000 on Fire by Taking Social Security at Age 62?

On the television series Dragnet, Sgt. Joe Friday was known for his calm demeanor while questioning witnesses. When they began to ramble, he would corral them with comments like, ‘Just the facts, ma’am.’ Sound advice for the witness stand, but when it comes to retirement planning, Sgt. Friday was giving the wrong instructions. Instead of asking for ‘just the facts’ we should ask for ‘all the facts.’
A recent article for Bankrate featured a frightening graphic quoting Social Security Solutions founder William Meyer: ‘Two-thirds of Americans take Social Security at age 62, giving up $180,000 if single, $323,000 if married.’

With those statistics in mind, holding off until age 70 can seem like a no-brainer. Let’s take a closer look, though, with ‘all the facts’ in plain sight.

This post was published at GoldSeek on 18 November 2014.