Ask Larry

Widow(er) Benefits

Don’t take a one-time payment. You can’t count on dying on time

Eric: I’ll be 69 in April and have held off taking benefits up to this point. I did a calculation to see what the break-even point would be at starting times of 66, 67, 68, 69 and 70. It turns out that all of them reach the break-even point at about age 80 to 81, at which time I would have made up the “leave it on the table” money and start coming out ahead with higher benefits (even factoring in the interest income lost).

Posted: 
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - 22:15
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