Hi, I am new to this forum but not new to Clark’s wisdom. I am a retired RN and my husband is a retired Registered respiratory therapist. I turn 67 in February 2026 (excellent health) and my husband is 73 in fair/good health. My husband and I live off of his social security and our RMD’s. We have two annuities with Midland National, one annuity with USAA, joint brokerage account with Wells Fargo advisers, Fidelity Roth, Fidelity rollover IRA have two inherited IRA’s (Fidelity/TRowePrice) that I need to spend down in 5 and 6 years. Porfolio investments about 600k. 2024 Tax return: Adjusted gross income 98k. So, own a house without mortgage (no debt period except credit cards that I pay off fully each month). Propert taxes are 12k a year. Connecticut is expensive. Would it make a huge impact in financial security if I take social security at full retirement or should I wait to age 70 to begin social security payments? Recent news about social security made me ponder about this. Thank you. Hug.
When you should take your S.S. is dependent on factors including whether your husband or you have higher social security earnings. Two excellent website calculators for your decision are opensocialsecurity.com (free) and maximizemysocialecurity.com ($49/year).
Side note- would you consider alternatives to Wells Fargo advisors? If so, to get feedback, indicate dollar value of your assets under management, current Wells Fargo charge (1%?) and the average expense ratio of your funds.
thank you for the links ! I pay commission to Fidelity and Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo Advisers (not the bank) is doing a great job for us for the past 4 years.
Depends on how long you plan to live!
I ran Open Social Security and Maximize My Social Security, both of them told me to wait until 70. I’m blessed to have the wherewithal to do so. I’m currently 64.
I was basically wondering if there was a significant incentive to wait 4 years. I will be at full retirement age this Dec. Besides, current social security issues (social security trust funds will be depleted in 2034) has caused me to consider full retirement age.
@NurseJane you can’t “reason” or “talk” your way through the decision… you have to do the math. Fortunately, the math is done for you. Try the free Open Social Security website. On the web interface, there is a checkbox “Assume that Social Security benefits will be cut in the future?” (yes or no).
I always check “Yes” because I have little faith in Congress. It STILL told me to take my benefit at age 70.
Your results may be different, for a myriad of reasons. No one here can advise you with specifics. If they do… they themselves don’t understand how individualized the process is.
The answer for any retirement finances question is… you have to do the math. You have to have a good retirement calculator that takes account your lifespan, budget (ins and outs), inflation, taxes, and the possibility of poor market returns in the future. There are many. I like the Fidelity retirement planner (free), and Flexible Retirement Planner (free).
I just re-ran both yesterday, and they pretty much agree, which is a confidence builder. They tell me I’m set to retire next year close to my 65th birthday.
I’m just waiting for t-6 months then I’ll tell my employer.